How do I correctly set temperature from HA actions?

[tmchow]

My configuration YAML is this relevant section:

substitutions:
  name: ruby-room-climate
  friendly_name: Ruby Room Climate
  remote_temp_sensor: sensor.ruby_room_temperature

esphome:
  name: ruby-room-climate-controller
  friendly_name: Ruby Room Climate Controller

- platform: homeassistant
    name: "Remote Temperature Sensor"
    entity_id: ${remote_temp_sensor}
    internal: false
    disabled_by_default: true
    device_class: temperature
    state_class: measurement
    unit_of_measurement: "°C"
    filters:
    # Uncomment this line to convert F to C on incoming temperature
      - lambda: return (x - 32) * (5.0/9.0);
      - clamp: # Limits values to range accepted by Mitsubishi units
          min_value: 1
          max_value: 40
          ignore_out_of_range: true
      - throttle: 30s
    on_value:
      then:
        - logger.log:
            level: INFO
            format: "Remote temperature received from HA: %.1f C"
            args: [ 'x' ]
        - lambda: 'id(ruby_room_climate).set_remote_temperature(x);'

However, when i call the set_remote_temperature action from Home Assistant, if I pass in say 72 (meaning 72F), my device recognizes it as 32F which is wrong.

Can you tell me how this is supposed to work? I'm working on another automation and trying to figure out how to use set_remote_temperature

[phidauex]

In this example, you don't need to send the action at all - simply updating the state of sensor.ruby_room_temperature in HomeAssistant will send the new value to the ESPHome device, which will run the filters (convert to C, check range, throttle too-fast updates), then send to the heatpump's internal service call.

If you want to force an update, you could use an action to update the sensor value, homeassistant.update_entity, but most people wouldn't need to do this - the sensor will push the value on its next natural update.

If you want to expose an action to HA for manual updating (like, from something other than a sensor), then the older-fashioned way to do this would be to put this api section back in. It has a similar convert lambda in it. I used this method along with an automation for over a year, but recently moved to the newer example, with no automation, and it works much better, honestly, with fewer moving parts to maintain.

# Enable Home Assistant API
api:
  encryption:
    key: !secret api_key
  services:
    - service: set_remote_temperature
      variables:
        temperature: float
      then:
# Select between the C version and the F version
#        - lambda: 'id(hp).set_remote_temperature(temperature);'
        - lambda: 'id(hp).set_remote_temperature((temperature - 32.0) * (5.0 / 9.0));'
    - service: use_internal_temperature
      then:
        - lambda: 'id(hp).set_remote_temperature(0);'

[tmchow]

Thanks @phidauex . The reason I went down this path is this convo in another discussion where I think I have issue with remote temp sensor not changing values so values are ignored then it triggers a timeout:

Ultimately this other thread has the author creating an automation that every 20 mins ensures that the sensor reading is sent so the timeout of 30 mins never occurs.

#176 (comment)

Given this which approach do you recommend for the automation to set the temperature manually?

[phidauex]

Oh, that's right, didn't recognize the same name. ;) On that topic I think there is something else going on with the underlying hardware or settings, I don't think a workaround like the automation firing manually every 20 minutes should really be needed, though as a short-term workaround I suppose it is fine.

In that case then the api section is what you'd need. For a year and a half or so I had an automation that would trigger on a change in numeric state of the temp sensor OR every 5 minutes. The condition was that the state of the sensor was numeric (not unknown or unavailable). The action was the set_remote_temp action. It worked fine, but required me to maintain 5 automations. The sensor method ends up being cleaner.

[tmchow]

Oh, that's right, didn't recognize the same name. ;) On that topic I think there is something else going on with the underlying hardware or settings, I don't think a workaround like the automation firing manually every 20 minutes should really be needed, though as a short-term workaround I suppose it is fine.

In that case then the api section is what you'd need. For a year and a half or so I had an automation that would trigger on a change in numeric state of the temp sensor OR every 5 minutes. The condition was that the state of the sensor was numeric (not unknown or unavailable). The action was the set_remote_temp action. It worked fine, but required me to maintain 5 automations. The sensor method ends up being cleaner.

In my config I actually already have the api section but I realize i'm not doing a units F/C conversion here like yours.

api:
  encryption:
    key: !secret api_key
  services:
    - service: set_remote_temperature
      variables:
        temperature: float
      then:
        - lambda: 'id(ruby_room_climate).set_remote_temperature(temperature);'
    - service: use_internal_temperature
      then:
        - lambda: 'id(ruby_room_climate).set_remote_temperature(0);'

I do have this section where I am doing a conversion so tryign to figure out if I need to do the conversion as well in the api section:

- platform: homeassistant
    name: "Remote Temperature Sensor"
    entity_id: ${remote_temp_sensor}
    internal: false
    disabled_by_default: true
    device_class: temperature
    state_class: measurement
    unit_of_measurement: "°C"
    filters:
    # Uncomment this line to convert F to C on incoming temperature
      - lambda: return (x - 32) * (5.0/9.0);
      - clamp: # Limits values to range accepted by Mitsubishi units
          min_value: 1
          max_value: 40
          ignore_out_of_range: true
      - throttle: 30s
    on_value:
      then:
        - logger.log:
            level: INFO
            format: "Remote temperature received from HA: %.1f C"
            args: [ 'x' ]
        - lambda: 'id(ruby_room_climate).set_remote_temperature(x);'

Also related to your comment about this not being ideal. My understanding from the other thread is that there appears to be a bug that @homegreen discussed here: #176 (comment)

Specifically:

The sensor updates when there was no change were being filtered by HA (as is normal HA behavior)
The ESPHome integration, in the code that handles sending updates to ESPHome devices that register a homeassistant sensor, was also filtering when there was no change (https://github.com/home-assistant/core/blob/e4aaaf10c32e271aeddf5f4f2c68538a3b8ed10b/homeassistant/components/esphome/manager.py#L294-L299).

So unless i'm mistaken, if I just update the sensor value, since the value is the same, don't I still hit the same issue?

[tmchow]

The answer was address by @jontires in his reply here:
#176 (reply in thread)

What I needed to do what add F to C conversion in the api section. The automation works and now am gettign the temperature keep alive always sending and keeping the things working