Using HTTP virtual input value

[Gast]

Hello all,

Please bear with me as I am quite new to all this.
I would like to use a numeric value which I derived from a http virtual input. I can display this value but if I want to, for example multiply this value, this does not work. how do I make this work?

[Christian Fenzl]

You always need to save to the Miniserver if you add or change blocks.

[Gast]

Haha, perfect, this indeed solved my problem.Thanks!
I do have an additional question, is there any way I can make a cumulative sum someway. This data is from my ev charger, and gives me the amount of Wh of the last charge.
So it will reset and restart on every new charge. But I would like to add all those separates charges values into 1 to display the total charge I have done over different timespans.

[Tico]

Try the Utility Meter block (under Counter/Meter in Add Function Block).

[Gast]

I did give that one a try, but I guess I did something wrong. I'll try again and play around a bit more and report back. Thanks.

[Gast]

So I did play around a bit more with the utility meter. At first it seemed to work, during charging it added up nicely. But then later after I quit charging, it gave me some strange values, and jumped to a total meter output of 132 kWh. So I was wondering what I'm doing wrong. In the attachment you can see what I did. Just to explain a little, I retrieve the data in Wh, so I convert it to kWh, and then go to the "E" entry, the Analogue input for energy. In the utility meter I added an offset from what I know I charged previously. So the value of about 55 kWh at the output is correct again after I reset it.

[Tico]

I think the following might be occuring -
In the picture, I have placed an Analogue Memory on the Utility Meter AQ exit. When the Analogue Memory is triggered (via a Virtual Input push button - 'Update Offset'), the value is transferred to the Memory Flag.

The Memory Flag is then connected to Input O (Offset) on the Utility Meter. Whenever the Offset is updated (using either the Virtual Input push button or 'Save in Miniserver'), the Utility Meter value AQ1 is added to the Offset value.

ie. 138 + 22 = 160 (always 1 less than AQ)

This means whenever you use 'Save in Miniserver' the Utility Meter AQ output increments by whatever is on AQ1 (Today's usage).

There doesn't appear to be an easy work-around for the Offset feature that I can see.



The Utility Meter works well when fed a true 'Absolute' value of energy use that increments continuously.
In the example above, an Analogue Memory is updated at midnight each night. This is added to the Energy Input before the Utility Meter. The proviso is that the Energy Input value must be zero-ised before midnight. Otherwise it will be added to the energy use for the next day.

Without knowing the exact setup of your equipment, zero-ising the Energy Input could take a variety of methods.

[Gast]

Thanks for thinking with me, as a very beginner it is quite hard.From some more testing the previous days I think I understand what happened and why I have to use the "absolute value". For some more clarification, in the picture you can see the data which I have acces to. What I basically initially want is to see the data from my last charge, and the sum of all charges. Which I then can use for other things as well. The session energy value always resets to 0 when I start a new charges I don't know how to remember and add up these values. But as you can see it also gives me some other data. So by looking around I also stumbled upon a function block called "Pulse by" which, if I understand correctly pulses if a certain search term in a text is true. So this made me wonder whether I could use the setup you described but instead of the "pulse at" use the "pulse by" and use this to pulse if the "vehicle connected" value changes from false to true. As this is when the session energy value resets to 0 again. What I am not sure about is what the value at AQ will do, will it immediately reset to zero as well, or will it remember the last value until the input("session energy) reads 0.1 wh for example? Because if it does remember the last value, I could set the polling time at eg 1 sec, the car takes a few seconds to start charging, so by the time the input starts increasing the analog memory should have been triggered and saved and updated the offset value.

[Tico]

With Loxone programming, trial and error is a necessary evolution. Note that the Miniserver can’t natively ingest text fields from a HTTP Virtual Input. Instead, the Miniserver will return the ASCII value for the first character in the Command Recognition -

ie. true/false, True/False
t = 116, capital T = 84
f = 102, capital F = 70

‘Pulse by’ won’t work unless you use the ASCII values that appear at the Virtual Input. An alternative is to try the Status Block (in the General tab).

Connect your Virtual Input to any given Status block input (AI1 to AI4) and then use the comparator ‘==’ with the desired value (116 or 102). You can then use additional constraints -

If AI1 == 116 and AI2 equals X, then output value Y.

If any of those arguments don’t exist, then check the next line for the next set of arguments etc.

If you have a dedicated external server that is sending text to the Miniserver (ie. a Loxberry), text can be ingested and evaluated.

I’ve found the Status block to be the most effective tool for numerous programming applications.

[Gast]

Thanks a lot Tico, for your patience and clear explanations. I hope it works as I want it to work now. I could only do some very short tests since it's dark and raining and very bad wifi outside, but at first sight it does look good. I used the combination of the status block and pulse by block. In the picture you can see what I did. I hope I can do some more thorough testing in the upcoming days.

[Jussi]

Greetings! My question relates at least somewhat to this thread. I am trying to log the cumulative price of electricity but cannot think a way how to do it in Loxone (or FHEM). The issue is that the price of electricity changes every hour. What I am able to do is to get the hourly prices (see here: https://www.loxforum.com/forum/softw...gen1-fhem-mqtt) but how to add these up towards a visualization of daily, monthly & yearly prices? Any guidance appreciated.

[Christian Fenzl]

If you simply want to log the current price, just activate statistic at the Virtual Input with the current price, with statistic interval "Every hour".

[Jussi]

Thanks Christian, I really might be missing something simple here but just cannot come to the solution. The issue is that I do not have 1 virtual input but 24 virtual inputs, one for every hour... I can log these individually, but they only change once a day and thus logging will not result in "one chart". All hours have different (and every day changing) prices, and these are then brought together with every hour changing consumption figures. If there were a way to sum up hours from midnight to midnight that would do, but perhaps its not.

Just to add that I have also the total consumption figure in kwh through my Youless meter, which can then be reset every hour. So getting the hourly consumption should be doable along the lines in this thread (but I do not completely follow how friends have done them).

[Christian Fenzl]

With the Loxone time „Hour“ you have the current hour of the day (eg 14).
You can cascade several state blocks (everyone has inputs I1-I4) with logic „if hour=0 -> I1“, „if hour=2 -> I2“.
As it has only four inputs, you have to cascade several state blocks, to get out the price off the current hour.

[Jussi]

Sorry Christian that I have to ask still a surely simple thing but what do you mean with the logic - where should I write the logic you mention?