Successfully Troubleshooting Automation YAML Configuration

General
1

I recently encountered an issue while configuring an automation in my smart home setup, and I wanted to share my experience in case it helps anyone else facing a similar problem. My goal was to create an automation that would charge my sonnen battery using excess power from my PV installation. While the basic version worked perfectly, I ran into trouble when trying to implement a more complex setup with conditional logic.

The Challenge

The problematic version of my automation involved a choose block to handle different scenarios based on the available excess power. The automation was supposed to send a charging command if there was excess power and notify me if there wasn’t. However, the automation became unavailable under the developer tools, and I couldn’t figure out why.

Here’s the problematic YAML snippet:
yaml
choose:

  • conditions:
    • condition: template
      value: “{{ sensor.battery_charge_pv_watt | float > 0 }}”
      sequence:
    • service: shell_command.shellcom_battery_charge_pv
      data:
      url: “http://myip/api/v2/setpoint/charge/{{ sensor.battery_charge_pv_watt | int }}”
      token: “My hidden token”
  • conditions:
    • condition: template
      value: “{{ sensor.battery_charge_pv_watt | float <= 0 }}”
      sequence:
    • service: persistent_notification.create
      data:
      title: Error
      message: “Unable to send command to charge battery: not enough excess PV power”

The Solution

After spending hours debugging, I realized that the issue was with how the choose block was structured. I had mistakenly placed the conditions directly under the choose block without wrapping them in a proper list format. Additionally, I wasn’t correctly referencing the sensor values in the template conditions.

Here’s the corrected YAML configuration:
yaml
choose:

  • conditions:
    • condition: template
      value_template: “{{ sensor.battery_charge_pv_watt.state | float > 0 }}”
      sequence:
    • service: shell_command.shellcom_battery_charge_pv
      data_template:
      url: “http://myip/api/v2/setpoint/charge/{{ sensor.battery_charge_pv_watt.state | int }}”
      token: “My hidden token”
  • conditions:
    • condition: template
      value_template: “{{ sensor.battery_charge_pv_watt.state | float <= 0 }}”
      sequence:
    • service: persistent_notification.create
      data:
      title: Error
      message: “Unable to send command to charge battery: not enough excess PV power”

Key Takeaways

  1. Proper YAML Structure: Ensure that your choose block is correctly structured with a list of conditions and sequences. Misindentation or incorrect nesting can cause the automation to fail silently.
  2. Template Syntax: Use value_template instead of value when working with templates in conditions. This ensures that the template is properly evaluated.
  3. Sensor References: Make sure you’re correctly referencing sensor states using .state when working with template conditions.
  4. Debugging Tools: Utilize the developer tools in your smart home platform to check for errors and ensure that your automations are valid.

By carefully reviewing my configuration and testing each part of the automation, I was able to resolve the issue and get my PV-powered battery charging system up and running smoothly. It was a valuable learning experience, and I hope sharing my journey can help others avoid similar pitfalls!

Happy automating! :rocket: