Gira HS questions

[sx3]

Hello,

I'm currently configurating my very first Gira HS Project and I need some advice from you experieced users/integrators!

1.) When I reboot the HS, the HS doesn't show tha actual current state of dimmers/actuators, I want the HS to "read on init", so every time the HS reboot it will learn in the actal state of Everything. I have under HS-GA, set central adress connected to status GA, I have also checked the box saying "Query on start", but it doesn't update when reboot. In ETS I have set feedfack telegram update-flag to Active.

2.1) I have 1 roller blind, using ABB JRA 24V, this Product uses 1 byte 0-255 for status and position. But in HS QC config, when I add the function for roller blind it only supports 0-100%. Is it possible to adjust this function in HS to adopt the 0-255 value instead?

2.2) I have for above roller blind, set position status as central function to the set position GA, but the HS will not adopt actual value if I drive the blind from a push button. I have as for the lights, set the update-flag to Active.

3.) Is it possible to import a 3rd party function to the QC? Or am I stuck with the ones provided in the QC config?

4.) I want to visualize my heat-pump and also my ventilation system. Is there any plug-ins for HS that can show interactive Pictures? Such as used in industrial Environments?

5.) I have a couple of energy meters that I want to put on a graph, will HS store all data or should I have a 3rd server with database that HS will read from? Is it possible for HS to bypass the info to a 3rd server? Because values come in the KNX-bus and the HS would be an apropriate interface then.

[bramlangen]

Regarding you first question: each GA you want the HS to know the status of after a reboot needs to have the 'read at restart' checkbox ticked. In ETS that GA must have the read flag set at one KO (only).

The answer to your last question depends on what you want to capture, in which detail, and which display method you desire. I display energy usage by phase for a 24 hour period in resolution of 10 seconds using the HS. For longer periods I capture total energy only, at a lower resolution, and display that by day, week, month, year or decade. Those graphs are generated using the RRD tool (a round robin database) on a Raspberry Pi. Communication between Pi and HS is via IP telegrams.

I don't use QC, the pocketvisu gives me all the flexibility I want. It is easier than you think, and may be the answer to your question #4.

Bram

[sx3]

Thank you bramlangen!
I will check the read flags tonight, I haven't found any "read on restart", only "Query on start" perhaps this is the same?

Alright, I don't know what PocketVisu is? I'm not using the actual QC-screen, only the QC editor and running an app on my Android mobile.
I'm new to the World of Homeserver.
Is the pocketVisu a plugin for the Homeserver? where can I find more info about it?

[bramlangen]

Mani,

The exact text in experte 4.4 is 'Query during starting:'. Tick that box for any GA you want queried upon boot.

PocketVisu comes standard with experte. There are a few settings to configure before you can use it. The designs can be made under 'Visualisation', see attachment where to find the icon. The user manual typically is located at C:\Users\Public\Documents\Gira\HS+FS Experte 4.4\docs\en\Gira-hspv-doku.pdf. Once you have set up a visu, you can access it through a web browser or full screen on for instance an Android or Apple device.

Bram

[sx3]

Thank you Bram!
Setting the read flag did help read on init!

I now noticed that QC in android app for phone can't display quadrants, graph's or anything fun.
I guess it would be the same using an android tablet aswell? From what I understand regarding the designs it's only the QC-client/server and iPad that is able to show the graph and stuff.

I think I'll go the pocketvisu road, my current mobile phone supports 1080x1920 resolution, but when looking under master data for interface I can only find odd resolutions for normal monitors. which resolution is recomended to use in your opinion?

[bramlangen]

From what I remember, on a tablet you can only see one quadrant at a time. You can call up a graph though if you have it configured in a quadrant.

For a custom visu design you can modify an existing design to fit exactly your screen resolution. Somewhere on this forum it has been discussed what the proper route is to do so (I looked for it, but could not locate it). I used an unofficial route: simply copied an existing design and used a text editor to change the resolution settings in the file. Works perfect for me, in my case I use a Nexus 10, which has a screen resolution of 1280*800. Presumably the screen on your smartphone is pretty small. You may want to use either pop-up screens or detail pages if you want to control things like lights or blinds, at least if there are many of those to control. In my case I do not use buttons, but a floor plan with the lights etc. located where they actually are. Those are all things of personal preference of course.

Bram

[sx3]

Thanks Bram,

I elaborated this week with the pocketvisu/ajaxvisu and it is indeed more versatile than the QC, but I found the HTML-visu to be not that smoth, for example in the QC I'm able to press and slide a dimmer to a position and then drop it. The test project I did in pocketvisu i had to either click the on the slider, or use value input.
I tried with HS-client, but that program won't open any visu for somehow, don't know why.
The ajax-Visu worked better.

But if I'm going to acess my visu from a mobile or tablet I would need to use my browser, because there aren't any visu-apps, right?

Anyway, I continued a bit with the QC visu and tried to make a graph showing a temperature.
I created an archive and used the EIB GA that the temperature comes in (2 byte / 16 bit).
I used ring memory 500, cycle is unticked and dead time is set to 0. The XM field was auto-named "GA_0_2_13"

I went back to the QC config and created a temp-graph in one quadrant and uploaded the visu.

I can now see the plugin/quadrant but when I open it, it does not show any graph/lines. the only thing I can see is to the right 1 arrow pointing at the graph with actual temperature. But the graph won't plot anything.

Do I have to export all data using RRD and then read out from the RapberryPi? I though the RPi wa only for storage of longtime data.

Would be great if there was any tutorial on this (and other functions), the Gira manual isn't that detailed and contains not much details unfortunatly.

[bramlangen]

The pocketvisu does not have or need an app. It uses a browser. You can configure the page to show full screen, accessible from an icon on the home screen of your device.

For a graph to show, the archive must have data. For temperature, I suggest you write a value to the archive (using the logic of the HS) whenever the temperature changes more than a specific value, say 0.2 degrees. If no temperature change occurs within a specific timeframe, then a watchdog logic queries the sensor and writes the current value to the archive. Verify you write data to the archive by calling up the contents of the archive (IP address of the HS followed by '/hslist?lst=name_of_your_list'. That name is set under the 'HTTP calling' tab of the archive, it is the 'Calling code' field.

If your archive is set up and properly populated, and if you want it to show up in QC, then make sure it is included in the 'Data archives' tab. The quadrant where you want to display the graph then of course must have that graph included, with the 'Archive data' fields filled in for the periods you want to show.

Populating the HS archive and the RPi RRDatabase are separate actions, both must be done if you want to utilize both. For instance, for detailed energy use with values updating every 10 seconds I use the visu. Attached is the overview page for electricity consumption by phase and total. (More details can be called up in the visu for the past 24 hours.) On the other hand, the RRD graphs show less detail but cover longer periods to enable comparison between energy use this year versus last year. An example of a weekly graph is also attached.

The RRD graphs are generated from the RPi. Documentation is here: http://oss.oetiker.ch/rrdtool/doc/index.en.html. For the HS this is off-topic, if you want I can send you fairly detailed instructions on how to set that up, via a private message.

Bram