KHarms
Sep 28, 2009, 04:05 PM
Some long term HCA users have commented on the new Home Mode features as being confusing. I think this comes from the fact that what the Home Mode features try and solve was solved previously with programs and schedules.
So I thought I would take a minute to discuss where the home mode features can be used and how they may make setting up a new design simpler.
There are two major uses for the home mode feature that we have found working with users.
When we started doing research on ways to reduce home power consumption we found that so many things in a home draw power all the time. Some people have called then “power vampires”. Anything that is plugged in using a “power brick” or has an IR remote is drawing power all the time. The other problem is lights that get left on inadvertently can be on for no reason for hours.
The idea is that when you are not home, or asleep, it would be nice if HCA could power off these devices. In previous versions of HCA you did this by creating a program. The program then is triggered by some action – an “I’m leaving” button or an “I’m getting up” button – and executes a number of elements to control the devices on or off. Lots of users did this.
This worked well except that each time you wanted to change what happens to the device you had to change the program. Add a new device and you also had to change the program.
Think of the home mode concept as a program. You setup a trigger for it and then instead of having a sequence of elements - one element for each device - all you need do is to express what happens in the properties of the device. This is what the “Action on entering mode” controls. It answers the question: What happens to the device when the home transitions into this mode?
Quickly you can adjust a number of device properties on what should happen when you leave home, return home, go to bed, and get up. Think of it as four programs that HCA has built-in and the elements are the devices themselves.
The other problem that Home Mode solves is the interaction been schedules and programs. It is very easy to schedule a light to come on each day. It’s harder if you want to schedule the light to come on conditionally. In previous versions of HCA one way to accomplish this was to create a program that controls the device and schedule that. Then in the program any conditional logic needed to determine if the light should come on is implemented. Another method was to have more than one schedule. For example, a schedule for when you are home and another for when you are not.
Both these methods worked well, but again, they required a lot of modification as your needs changed. In looking at lots of users automation designs we kept seeing these same sorts of things – conditional control of devices and multiple schedules. Often the conditional control was for what is happening – home or away, asleep or awake.
Using the new Home Mode it is simple to express what the schedule can and can’t do. A light can be scheduled to come on all the time, but if you are away then the schedule doesn’t control the light. This is what the “Action while in mode” settings do.
Does the new home mode logic eliminate the need for multiple schedules? No. Does it eliminate the need to created programs to control devices in order to expression conditional control? No.
The new Home Mode concept is just another tool in your toolbox.
So I thought I would take a minute to discuss where the home mode features can be used and how they may make setting up a new design simpler.
There are two major uses for the home mode feature that we have found working with users.
When we started doing research on ways to reduce home power consumption we found that so many things in a home draw power all the time. Some people have called then “power vampires”. Anything that is plugged in using a “power brick” or has an IR remote is drawing power all the time. The other problem is lights that get left on inadvertently can be on for no reason for hours.
The idea is that when you are not home, or asleep, it would be nice if HCA could power off these devices. In previous versions of HCA you did this by creating a program. The program then is triggered by some action – an “I’m leaving” button or an “I’m getting up” button – and executes a number of elements to control the devices on or off. Lots of users did this.
This worked well except that each time you wanted to change what happens to the device you had to change the program. Add a new device and you also had to change the program.
Think of the home mode concept as a program. You setup a trigger for it and then instead of having a sequence of elements - one element for each device - all you need do is to express what happens in the properties of the device. This is what the “Action on entering mode” controls. It answers the question: What happens to the device when the home transitions into this mode?
Quickly you can adjust a number of device properties on what should happen when you leave home, return home, go to bed, and get up. Think of it as four programs that HCA has built-in and the elements are the devices themselves.
The other problem that Home Mode solves is the interaction been schedules and programs. It is very easy to schedule a light to come on each day. It’s harder if you want to schedule the light to come on conditionally. In previous versions of HCA one way to accomplish this was to create a program that controls the device and schedule that. Then in the program any conditional logic needed to determine if the light should come on is implemented. Another method was to have more than one schedule. For example, a schedule for when you are home and another for when you are not.
Both these methods worked well, but again, they required a lot of modification as your needs changed. In looking at lots of users automation designs we kept seeing these same sorts of things – conditional control of devices and multiple schedules. Often the conditional control was for what is happening – home or away, asleep or awake.
Using the new Home Mode it is simple to express what the schedule can and can’t do. A light can be scheduled to come on all the time, but if you are away then the schedule doesn’t control the light. This is what the “Action while in mode” settings do.
Does the new home mode logic eliminate the need for multiple schedules? No. Does it eliminate the need to created programs to control devices in order to expression conditional control? No.
The new Home Mode concept is just another tool in your toolbox.