Thermostat programming - Rapid changes - Timing

[TexasBill]

I have three thermostats.

They are linked to Control 4. I have programming that sets them into vacation mode when the alarm is set to AWAY. When I return they go back to their normal programming.

 

I have the outside temperature and the inside temperature used to program if they are in automatic or heat or cool mode. 
Rather long set of programming but it is triggered when the outside temperature changes, and the season of the  year.

 

The difficulty is that when it is a particular season and the system is going to change it from automatic to heat and the temperature outside is 62 degrees it switches all the programming for the thermostats. My issue is this - 

 

If it is 63 then 62 then 61 then 63 then 62 - in other words actively switching between temperatures it really does a lot of changing on the thermostats.  I would like to do something a little more elegant.

 

The code says -  IF the outside temperature changes then do this - 

and a lengthy bit of code follows - If the alarm variable is set to 2 or less then change the programming on the thermostats.

 

I was going to use scheduler conditional and say if it is 8 am or 9 am or 10 am (in other words only allow changes every hour) but then I think that this would mean that it would only change the termperatures if the change occurred on the hour - NOT what I want - 

 

I REALLY don't want to set a variable with the outside temp and then test it every hour to see if it has changed. BUT - that is the only way that I see to accomodate this issue.  Anyone else have a brilliant plan on how to make this happen a little less often?

 

The flagellation of the heat pumps is my major worry - the network mess is not that big a deal - but turning on the heat and then turning it off and then right back on again without a wait in between is simply not something that I like.

 

Open to suggestions.

 

Bill

 

[Cyknight]

Sure, use a timer.

 

Timer "TSTAT Buffer" 60 minutes (or whatever you want) - not repeating

 

WHEN {whatever that trigger is}

IF timer "TSTAT Buffer" IS NOT running

-START timer "TSTAT Buffer"

-{All that funky programming you want it to do}

 

Or, if all that programming is working great right now, copy it into a Macro (or if it's in a Macro already)

 

WHEN {whatever}

IF "TSTAT Buffer" IS NOT running

-START timer "TSTAT Buffer"

-Execute {MACRO}