For a couple of weeks ago I had a problem with my Daikin HVAC was turned on by HA as a side effect when a template sensor triggered scripts controlling other entities. I described this issue in this topic:
I believe this behaviour was triggered by an old automation only visible on the automation tab with a strange “restored” state. I deleted this automation (on the automation tab) and the problem disappeared. My Daikin HVAC has been in a stable “off” state since I deleted this restored automation. However, yesterday this problem came back again after I restarted HA. But the restored automation is not back. But somewhere in HA there is an reference to this Daikin entity and HVAC is turned on when a template sensor changes value.
I have tried to change the name of the Daikin entity to make all old references to this entity invalid. But still the HVAC turns on after two other scripts have been executed. This is very clear when you look in the log book I have made screen dumps of this in my previous topic. And I have searched for all references to the Daikin entity in my automations and scripts. They only exists in a script that is not executed when this problem occurs.
Anyone who has an idea how to pinpoint this problem? I get a feeling something is wrong in deep down in my HA configuration. It seems like the old automation is still somewhere in the system fooling me completely.
Not possible. That is merely an indication that you have deleted an automation from yaml but there is still a pointer to it in the .storage registry. The automation no longer exists, there’s just a record of its id. Deleting the “restored” automation deletes this record.
If you are sure you no longer have any automations that control this entity (search the entire /config folder for mentions of the entity_id) then check other sources of control. Like a schedule in the actual HVAC unit, or other automation services you may have used like Alexa or IFTTT.
Thanks for your input. Good to know what this restored automation comes from. Maybe this weired behaviour has been there all time. When I deleted the restored automation, I was not at home for almost two weeks. And unfortunately my cloud access broke down during this stay. So I could not check the real status of the Daikin HVAC. However, I got the impression the problem was gone the first few days before the cloud access broke down.
II have checked my yaml files a number of times. There are just few references to the Daikin entitiy. In the automation.yaml I find
And in my script.yaml I have few procedures acting on this entity. But those are not executed when the HVAC is turned on. At least not according to the log book. And they should not be executed in this specific situation.
I have also checked the Daikin app to see if there is any schedule or similar that can explain this behaviour. I can’t find anything. And I have no other services enabled like Alexa, Google Assistant.
The Daikin HVAC always wakes up 1 or 2 minutes after two other scripts are executed. Those scripts deal with other entities not related to the Daikin HVAC.They are triggered by a state change of my template sensor. A condition in the Daikin automation (the is_state_attribute function i referred to above ) prevents corresponding Daikin script to be called. And this works since my Daikin script is never executed.
Maybe the is_state_attribute function triggers the Daikin to wake up as a side effect? Seems to be a long shot, but unfortunately I’ve run out of ideas.
I disabled the automation using the is_state_attribute function, and that made no difference. So you are right. That was a blind shot. You can find my scripts in the topic i referred to earlier.
I made another test. If I manually change the state of my template sensor that triggers my automations, the HVAC remains off. This make me believe there is an external service that kicks in and the HVAC is activated. My template sensor is updated by the energy price. Earlier this year, I tried an external service that promised to take control of my HVAC and avoid using the heater when electricity price is high. It never worked and I have terminated this service. Maybe this service is still active in the background, and creates this mess. One thing that supports this theory is the Daikin command is executed approximately 1-2 minutes after my scripts are executed. But it seems strange the Daikin on command is visible in the log book if this originates from a foreign service.
Here comes an update on this topic. I have temporarily removed all scripts that control my Daikin HVAC. Still the unit was activated at midnight when my template sensor changed status to normal, since the electricity price went below the average price this day. So there are no other references to the Daikin entity in my YAML files except for the is_state_attribute function I mentioned before.
So I can’t see my HA system sets HVAC action to ‘heat’ and turns on my Daikin. But still I find this entry in the logbook:
Daikin changed to Heat
00:02:27 - 7 hours ago
I just can’t understand how HA can create this entry unless this command originates from HA. Is it possible the Daikin integration listens to messages from the unit and by that discovers the unit has been activated from another source? If this is the case, the source of this command must be triggered by a change of the electricity price. The command is issued approx 2 minutes after my HA system noticed the change of the electricity price, and this indicates this command is issued by another system.
This is creepy!
Edit: I have now disbable the Daikin integration in my HA to convince myself this problem is created outside HA.
Nothing in home assistant is triggering it. This comes up all the time in various threads. People claiming that Home assistant has no record of something triggering, but it’s triggering. 100% of the time, it’s an external source.
Did you connect this to Alexa? Does Alexa have hunches on?
Did you connect this to google?
Did you connect this to ANY other service?
If the answer is yes to any of these, go through each one and verify that it’s not causing the problem.
Typically, Alexa Hunches is the root cause. Or if it’s a zwave or zigbee network, it’s a scene that’s being activated.
Daikin can connect to Alexa. Daikin also has an app. Daikin doesn’t appear to have machine learning. However alexa hunches are machine learning. I.e. it tries to learn your schedule and apply settings to devices.
I’d say that this is either alexa hunches if you connected it to alexa. Or it’s the built in schedule inside Daikin’s thermostat.
I have never used any Alexa service so I just can’t figure out how this should have come into play. However, in the logs I can see some traces of Alexa connected to Nabu Casa cloud access, “Fetched https://alexa-api.nabucasa.com/access-token (400)”. And now I see Alexa is enabled on the cloud integration page. It seems like this is enabled by default.
Gah, what a mess! Network connected devices are bit scary to be honest! Alexa seems to sneak around in my system and get a lot of interesting info. Creepy…
OK, I don’t have Alexa and I have not enabled anything in HA than the Alexa switch in the cloud configuration.
I have the Daikin app, but no schedule configured in the app. That’s it. Nothing more. I have the Daikin integration disabled right not, and I will see what happens tonight when the electricity price drops.
I just wonder how I should be able to identify the service that fools me. Wireshark? The connection to the service must be initiated from the Daikin (or HA), since I have no port forwarding setup in my router. Maybe I can kill this service (whatever it is) if disable/remove the Daikin app?
Ok, and how do I clear any settings in the device? This is extremely annoying.
As expected the HVAC turned on tonight when the electricity price went down. And the Daikin integration is disabled in HA. So I agree - HA is not guilty.
It is obvious there is a service somewhere that is aware of my specific electricity price, and this service wakes up my HVAC when the electricity price drops below the average price the actual day. And I can’t figure out when and how this service has been initiated…
I don’t know why you keep bringing up the price drop. It’s most likely a coincidence. Look up your thermostats manual and read about how you program it.
FYI most thermostats have programming built in where you can change set points based on the time of day. That’s what you need to figure out about your thermostat. Its 100% done by your device, i.e. you won’t see any internet traffic because the device itself is doing it.
Also, if it is a wifi thermostat and you got it from your electric company with a rebate of some sort, they may be adjusting it as well. Although I find that unlikely.
It is 100% correlated with the price drop. For many days now. 2 minutes after the price drop the Daikin HVAC is turned on. I have not programmed anything in the Daikin. It is absolutly clean. At least what I can see in the Daikin App.
I tried to use a WiFi controller (Sensibo) steered by energy supplier this winter, but it didn’t work. So I have thrown this out. Disconnected and not used at all after February/March timeframe. Maybe the energy supplier still try to control my Daikin by means of the built-in wifi support? But I can’t understand how they have hi-jacked the Daikin wifi controller. The Sensibo controlled the HVAC by IR.