Template as trigger never triggers

[daufinsyd]

Hello

I try to send a notification when the outdoor temperature is about to reach the indoor temperature (or vice versa).

I have 2 sensors and created a derivative helper from the outdoor sensor.

Now I made the following template as trigger but it won’t trigger the automation.

The template listen to the following events:

• Entity: sensor.0x00124b0025031c97_4_temperature_2 → outdoor sensor
• Entity: sensor.0x00124b0025033e5e_3_temperature → indoor sensor
• Entity: sensor.derivee_temperature_sud → derivative from outdoor sensor

{## store temperatures in var ##}
{% set temp_int = float(states.sensor["0x00124b0025033e5e_3_temperature"].state) %}
{% set temp_ext = float(states.sensor["0x00124b0025031c97_4_temperature_2"].state) %}

{## calculate the difference between the two ##}
{% set temp_diff =  float(states.sensor["0x00124b0025031c97_4_temperature_2"].state) - float(states.sensor["0x00124b0025033e5e_3_temperature"].state) %}

{## predict the temperature in 30 minutes given the current temperature and the derivative (mili Celcius/minute) ##}
{% set derivate = float(states.sensor.derivee_temperature_sud.state) * 30 / 1000 %}
{% set predicted_temp_ext = temp_ext + derivate %}

{## if the predicted outdoor temperature (in 30min) is above the indoor temperature, trigger the actions. ##}
{% if predicted_temp_ext > temp_int %}
  true
{% endif %}

The result in dev tool is ‘true’.

Automation trace is empty (I also checked that notification is working using time pattern as trigger).

What am I doing wrong ?

[daufinsyd]

According to the logs (I enabled them all).

I get

2022-05-02 11:54:48 ERROR (Thread-186) [homeassistant.helpers.template] Template variable error: 'state' is undefined when rendering ...

Why !? copy/pasting it in the Developper Tools Template is working flawlessly …

[tom_l]

Please include your full automation trigger in future.

Heed this warning:

https://www.home-assistant.io/docs/configuration/templating/#states

Provide default values for your float functions.

Consider using float filters instead of functions for readability.

Set your template to provide a true or false result. e.g.

{{ predicted_temp_ext > temp_int }}

Consider editing your entity ids to be something human readable that does not begin with a number so that you don’t have to use square bracket notation.

[daufinsyd]

Hi @tom_l
Thank you for your response and tips.

I updated the automation as follows:

- id: '1651479244973'
  alias: Ouverture des fenêtres
  description: ''
  trigger:
  - platform: template
    value_template: '{## Store temperatures in var ##}

      {% set temp_int = float(states(''sensor.0x00124b0025033e5e_3_temperature''),
      0) %}

      {% set temp_ext = float(states(''sensor.0x00124b0025031c97_4_temperature_2''),
      0) %}


      {## calculate the difference between the two ##}

      {% set temp_diff =  temp_ext - temp_int %}


      {## predict the temperature in 30 minutes given the current temperature and
      the derivative ##}

      {% set derivate = float(states(''sensor.derivee_temperature_sud''), 0) * 30
      / 1000 %}

      {% set predicted_temp_ext = temp_ext + derivate %}


      {{ predicted_temp_ext > temp_int }}'
  condition: []
  action:
  - service: notify.mobile_app_f3
    data:
      message: Temp C
      title: Changement de température
  mode: single

config/home-assistant.log doesn’t show errors anymore but the automation is still not triggered.

Consider editing your entity ids to be something human readable that does not begin with a number so that you don’t have to use square bracket notation.

Thanks for the tip, I’ll consider it (changing the entity ID from mqtt devices causes issues with HA).

[petro]

You know there’s a derivative integration that calculates the actual derivative?

Derivative

The example in the docs makes a sensor that calculates the temperature change over the last have hour, exactly what you are trying to do.

Derivative

[daufinsyd]

Hi @petro

Indeed, that’s the object I’m using for sensor.derivee_temperature_sud

It is the derivative from the outdoor temperature (sensor.0x00124b0025031c97_4_temperature_2). I created it using the UI but I can’t find it in the yaml files in /config.

The line (spliced in two in my code above)

predicted_temp_ext = temp_ext + float(states(''sensor.derivee_temperature_sud''), 0) * 30 / 1000

Predict the outdoor temperature in 30minutes (the derivative is in m°C/Minute hence the division by 1000 to get it in °C/Minute

[daufinsyd]

I added this line:

{% set v = states.sensor.time.state %}

So that the automation is evaluated each minute, which is the case:

triggered by event: <Event state_changed[L]: entity_id=sensor.time, old_state=<state sensor.time=14:19; icon=mdi:clock, friendly_name=Time @ 2022-05-02T14:19:00.017892+02:00>, new_state=<state sensor.time=14:20; icon=mdi:clock, friendly_name=Time @ 2022-05-0
2T14:20:00.005513+02:00>>

However it is still not working

2022-05-02 14:23:00 DEBUG (MainThread) [homeassistant.helpers.event] Template group [TrackTemplate(template=Template("{## Store temperatures in var ##}
{% set temp_int = float(states('sensor.0x00124b0025033e5e_3_temperature'), 0) %}
{% set temp_ext = float(states('sensor.0x00124b0025031c97_4_temperature_2'), 0) %}

{## calculate the difference between the two ##}
{% set temp_diff =  temp_ext - temp_int %}

{## predict the temperature in 30 minutes given the current temperature and the derivative ##}
{% set derivate = float(states('sensor.derivee_temperature_sud'), 0) * 30 / 1000 %}
{% set predicted_temp_ext = temp_ext + derivate %}

{## optional: use absolute values  ##}
{% set abs_temp_diff = int(temp_diff - derivate) | abs %}
{% set abs_derivate = derivate | abs %}

{% set v = states.sensor.time.state %}

{{ predicted_temp_ext >= temp_int }}"), variables=None, rate_limit=None)] listens for {'all': False, 'entities': {'sensor.derivee_temperature_sud', 'sensor.time', 'sensor.0x00124b0025031c97_4_temperature_2', 'sensor.0x00124b0025033e5e_3_temperature'}, 'domains': set(), 'time': False}, re-render
 blocker by super template: False

I tried to change the condition to predicted_temp_ext >= temp_int or predicted_temp_ext > temp_int

Does template trigger even work ?

[daufinsyd]

The triggering system is definitely not working

I replaced the condition with {{ true }}

{{ true }}"), variables={'this': {'entity_id': 'automation.ouverture_des_fenetres', 'state': 'on', 'attributes': {'last_triggered': datetime.datetime(2022, 5, 2, 8, 54, 0, 23078, tzinfo=datetime.timezone.utc), 'mode': 'single', 'current': 0, 'id': '1651479244973', 'friendly_name': 'Ouverture des fe
nêtres'}, 'last_changed': '2022-05-02T12:29:47.462708+00:00', 'last_updated': '2022-05-02T12:29:47.462708+00:00', 'context': {'id': '37208cb411f883a9ad4e6c4397f570eb', 'parent_id': None, 'user_id': None}}}, rate_limit=None)] listens for {'all': False, 'entities': {'sensor.derivee_temperature_sud',
'sensor.time', 'sensor.0x00124b0025031c97_4_temperature_2', 'sensor.0x00124b0025033e5e_3_temperature'}, 'domains': set(), 'time': False}, re-render blocker by super template: False

still nothing

[petro]

Template triggers only trigger when the template resolves false, then later resolves true.

[daufinsyd]

I tried with

{{ now().minute % 2 == 0 }}

which indeed works. So as far as I understand, saving the automation reset it states to NOT false ?
So manually return false then true won’t work.

[daufinsyd]

Ok it actually now works.

In order for the template to be triggered, it first need to change to false then true without being edited / saved, otherwise it will never trigger.

I find the whole really painful to debug, I hoped it would be easier and that there was more sugar coat.