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Ideas & Feature Requests
Show Power value on Switch tile
Are there any device handlers out there already where ActionTiles will combine a switch (or some other capability) and power meter capability into a single tile?
The context around this is I'm writing an integration that brings over data from a Sense Energy Monitor. It brings over a list of devices along with their current power usage. I'm running a custom handler right now that has switch and power capability, but if there's a standard handler out there I can use that ActionTiles will already combine, I can certainly do that. To got a step further, the most ideal option would be to use a "read-only" type switch or something since there really is no use in being able to toggle the on/off status manually since that does nothing at all (it's a 1-way data flow from Sense).
I realize this may be a bigger conversation around the one-off customization of special tiles like this - I know that requires a lot of extra work, but I figured I'd ask since it seems like it would be cool :-)
To add more clarity, I think what I'm asking is if there's a way the Power Meter capability could be a footer option similar to the way the battery capability is treated now. With my DTH, I've got both "switch" and "power" capabilities on the same device - it would be awesome if AT could just stick the power value as a footer.
Customer support service by UserEcho
Hi Brian,
We have a few similar requests to this with variations, so we might merge this, or add cross-links to the Topics.
If the Switches are "read-only", though, why does a regular Power Tile not suffice? A value of Zero = Off, right?
maybe a radio switch for bottom left (user picks one of the device capabilities)
...A switch would have relevant options....
Then repeat the same set of options for bottom right selection.
That makes sense. My hope for this particular case was that it might be easier than some of the others given it's dealing with capabilities on the same device, but that's just me hoping :-)
I think the best option for now is probably just use the Power Tile for now and let 0 be off. It would just be a little nicer visually to show something as "on" with a bit more flair than raw numbers. Thanks.
You're correct that showing multiple Attributes from a single Thing is substantially less complicated than the next level of combining or summarizing Attributes from multiple Things.
We never presume that any Feature is trivial though. In the case of Switch, the footer contains the State (on/off), and, where applicable, the Dimmer Level (0% to 100%). I don't think we even attempt to show Battery Level because 99% of Switches are mains (AC) powered.
Adding a Tile Setting to swap out the space allocated to Dimmer Level with Power is worth consideration. So voting on this Topic is encouraged. As mentioned earlier, however, we might wait until we come up with a more comprehensive feature.
FYI: We have another Feature Request that, if implemented, might be an alternative or interim solution.
i.e., This would allow informational Tiles with numeric values (e.g., Power), to have Intention and/or Custom Colors set based on the current value. Thus the Tile showing 0 Power utilization ("off") would be a default color, and all values above 0 would be a different color ... and maybe even extraordinarily high values would be a third color.
The above Feature Request has a practical use cases, and now your case can be added.
I wanted to add a belated comment to this. The only reason I currently bother with power tiles at all is because they work together with the on/off status of a switch. 0 and off are very much not the same thing. 0 just means no power is being drawn and that can be of interest when the switch is on. If an appliance should be, or has been, drawing power then 0 is diagnostic. It may represent charging being finished, for example.
For a switch with power monitoring the 'on' status can be represented by a power value, including 0, but the 'off' remains necessary. If there are two tiles one of them is always redundant in terms of information being provided.
just to throw a curve ball, while I'd find the power usage in the footer of a switch tile most useful, I can well imagine switch status in the footer of a power tile being just as useful to many. It depends on the appliance.
Thanks for the feedback, Orange.
We know that the "footer" area of any Tile type could be more powerful. Using it just for state, dim level, and/or battery (where applicable) are the current options; but obviously increased flexibility is always going to be desirable (temperature, power, etc.).
Bright future possibilities across the spectrum for our product!
Voted for this, but I'm more looking for power and energy on the same tile, not state and power.