Premise Logic diagram: How can I tell if it's "night time"

[mhilbush]

In a logic diagram, is there a way to tell if it's "night time". I found a rather complicated way to do it using several function blocks (Time, Sunset, Sunrise, LT, GT, and Or), but I'm hoping there's an easier way that I've overlooked.



If I end up using the above function blocks, I've noticed something wrong with the Sunset and Sunrise function blocks. In the Baltimore MD area, on 12/18/2010 sunrise and sunset are supposed to be 7:21 AM and 4:45 PM, respectively. However, the times in the Sunrise and Sunset function blocks are 8:43:57 AM and 5:49:26 PM, respectively. If it was off by exactly an hour, I might suspect a DST problem, but that doesn't appear to be the case.

Any help on either of these points would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Mark

 

[georgejm]

There is a module that someone (and I apologize for not remembering who) developed that extends the Home object to include the following properties:

IsDark
IsLight
IsSomewhatdark
Default Brightness

I use is and it works great!

 

[etc6849]

Your logic diagram is pretty similar to how I turn off my porch light. I had noticed that the timing was off a little too on the sunrise/sunset.

John, thanks for the module. Nice to see John in VA is still around... I've used a lot of stuff that he's posted!

 

[mhilbush]

Thanks. This was very helpful.

One thing I noticed on the HouseLightLogic diagram... On the top OR block (the one that feeds IsDark), the output of the B side of the OR is wired to IsDark. This appears to be wrong -- shouldn't Result be wired to IsDark?

Thanks,
Mark

 

[mhilbush]

One other thing. To get more accurate sunrise/sunset times, go to the Location property of the Schedule and enter your latitude and longitude. Mine was set somewhere far away from me. Now it is within a couple minutes of the actual sunrise/sunset times for my area.

Mark

 

[123]

..To get more accurate sunrise/sunset times...

That's quite the understatement! According to Premise Help, the default setting is for Iowa so, unless you live in the vicinity, it'll be far from accurate.

Sunrise and Sunset Times:

Sunset and sunrise times are calculated from the time zone that is set within the Premise Server computer's date/time properties. They are set by the longitude and latitude of your current location. When the Schedule is selected in the Explorer window, click the Location field in the Property Browser to set the geographical location of the Premise Server. You must enter latitude and longitude coordinates to determine geographical properties such as sunrise and sunset. These values, by default, are referenced to the Premise Systems corporate offices in Ames, Iowa. Until you adjust the longitude and latitude values for your location, the schedule will show your local time that the sunrise and sunset on the Premise Systems corporate offices. Your local longitude and latitude can be found on the Internet or by installing the LocationInfo Module from the Addins.

FYI, more fun with Logic Diagrams.

 

[etc6849]

Good info! My understanding is that the zip code you provide under the scheduler should estimate the longitude and latitude based on zip code.

I just checked and I still had my zipcode set to my old address which is 900 miles away... Doh! I put in the right zip code and it calculated the longitude/latitude pretty accurately (matches google maps).