Trigger On SUN.SUN

Configuration
,
1

Hi all,

I have had an automation working for the last year without problem. I have changed JUST the trigger and not the conditions or action, and it is now not working.

The new trigger is;

trigger:
    platform: numeric_state
    entity_id: sun.sun
    value_template: '{{ state.attributes.elevation + ((state.attributes.azimuth - 285)/ 3) }}'
    above: 0

The figures that have just passed for me are;

sun.sun
elevation: 60.05
azimuth: 108.93

According to my maths HA should calculate 1.376 and trigger the action but it doesn’t.

Can anyone please help me with what is probably a basic mistake?

Thanks in advance
John.

2

Well my first question is: Why is azimuth used in your calculation at all? Azimuth does not determine the elevation in relation to the horizon…

Anyways, I don’t see anything wrong with your trigger. Your math checks out. The format looks good. The syntax is correct. Can you please post the remainder of your automation?

3

Have you tried your template in developer tools?

4

Thanks for the reply.

This automation is all about closing a blind when the sun shines through a particular window in my house.

In the old version, I used elevation, as the sun comes over the house, but this is not consistent through the year. I also tried azimuth, as the sun comes around the house, but again this is not consistent.

I then discovered the world of sun shade calculations on-line, and it turns out that you need to take into account azimuth AND elevation, and the little calculation I have included is the right solution for working out when the blind should close each day. The problem is I cannot get it to work.

5

Old version (it works)

- id: OldO
  alias: Close Kitchen Blind with PM sun and 25 degrees
  initial_state: True
  trigger:
    platform: numeric_state
    entity_id: sun.sun
    value_template: '{{ state.attributes.azimuth }}'
    above: 227
  condition:
    condition: and
    conditions:
      - condition: time
        after: '14:00:00'
        before: '18:00:00'
      - condition: numeric_state
        entity_id: sensor.yr_temperature
        above: 24.0
      - condition: numeric_state
        entity_id: sensor.yr_cloudiness
        below: 35        
  action:
    - service: cover.set_cover_position
      data_template:
        entity_id:
          - cover.kitchen_patio_blind_level
        position: 30

New Version (doesn’t work). In my testing today you can see I have deleted the time condition as I was doing this in the morning, and I also changed the cloud cover condition to 99 as it was sat at about 40%. The temp was 37 degrees so that condition was ok.

- id: OldO
  alias: Close Kitchen Blind with PM sun and 25 degrees
  initial_state: False
  trigger:
    platform: numeric_state
    entity_id: sun.sun
    value_template: '{{ state.attributes.elevation + ((state.attributes.azimuth - 285)/ 3)}}'
    above: 0
  condition:
    condition: and
    conditions:
      - condition: numeric_state
        entity_id: sensor.yr_temperature
        above: 24.0
      - condition: numeric_state
        entity_id: sensor.yr_cloudiness
        below: 99        
  action:
    - service: cover.set_cover_position
      data_template:
        entity_id:
          - cover.kitchen_patio_blind_level
        position: 30
6

Ah ok. Well, i’m not sure why it doesn’t update. Maybe try a simple old value_template instead of a numeric_state template:

- id: OldO
  alias: Close Kitchen Blind with PM sun and 25 degrees
  initial_state: False
  trigger:
    platform: template
    value_template: '{{ ( states.sun.sun.attributes.elevation + (states.sun.sun.attributes.azimuth - 285) / 3 ) > 0 }}'
7

Perhaps the / causes this. Try rounding it, or making an int:

value_template: '{{ state.attributes.elevation + (((state.attributes.azimuth - 285)/ 3)|int) }}'

And again, try the template editor:

http://your-ip:8123/dev-template

8

I’m an idiot, a fool and a twit…

It works.

I have had a long standing habit of changing initial state from True to False when messing about with automations. As i have not changed much in the house in the last 6 months I have become out of practice and less disciplined in my testing. This means I set the state to Falso, made changes, made some more changes all with the automation OFF.

I feel like an idiot, but just as a courtesy to @petro and @nickrout I had to be honest and own up.

Thank you both for your help!

3 Likes
9

Hey
Well done :slight_smile:
I have a request, can you explain more how you set the pattern for automation. My window on the wall is at 240 degrees SW and I do not know how to use this information for calculations.

10

Hi.

I never quite got this to work, and stopped playing with it last summer, although I will start again this year. I started looking at solar websites and also sites that talk about the path of the sun throughout the year, but I never managed to sort out the maths to apply this to my house. I am sure somewhere there is an equation to work out when the sun will shine through a particular window, but I have not found it yet.

Sorry.