[APP][Pro] Flow Utilities

thanks allows me to control some flows better

App update: (Live: 1.7.2 )

  • New Add Boolean & Number flow tag action cards
  • FIX Flow card typos
  • CHORE Update readme files
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App update: (Test: 1.8.0 )

  • New Add currency conversion flow tag action cards (Advanced flows)
  • New Add dashboard widget for display of variable values
  • Opt Extend number flow tag action card with optional decimals
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Since Homey now released dashboard to public beta, I have added a small widget to Flow Utilities to show the values of the current state from Flow Utils variables.

You can add per variable a widget, select in the settings which value you would like to see on your dashboard and done.
Tip; make use of the widget titel to show variable name or what ever you prefer.

A special thanks to @martijnpoppen for helping out width the widget.

IMG_1276 IMG_1277

This is now available as test in the latest test version of the app.

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Really nice work @RobbertV !

Version 1.8.0 is now live.

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Hello. I’m brand new to Homey and i tried to do some calculations. This app seems perfect for this but i have some problem understanding it. I use the card “Calculate…” but i don’t really understand what i’m supposed to do with the variable fields. If i type a text and press ENTER, the field stay empty. If i click on the search field inside the variable field of the card, i was thinking that i would have a list of my variables but nothing happens. What am i missing?

Hi Patrick,

Welcome to the Homey community and good to hear that you are using the Flow Utilities app.

See the first tip in the 1 post of this topic this will explain on the variable what you need to configure to use it in your flows.

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OK, i see. Thank you for the quick reply. I will make some tests with this app. Have a great day :smiley:

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Hello @RobbertV, I like using your app for reporting on energy usage. I have a question though regarding the ‘difference calculation’ that Flow Utitities performs.

In my case I am comparing energy usage (kWh). The reported difference is always in max. two digits, while the source value is in three digits. How can I let Flow Utilities calculate/display the difference in three digits?


Hi @SunBeech, thanks for using Flow Utilities and good to hear you like it.

For the outcome of the comparison outcome we deliberately set it to 2 decimals. Since this is for most use cases the standard in writing notation.
By removing this limit it will bring unwanted behavior with other users already using this currently. Maybe make it optional setting could help, but also gives possible confusions.

So for now this is not supported. I will have a think on how to adjust.

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Hi, question, what do you guys use to trigger the flows for the washing machine and dryer? In other words, how do you define the duration of one cycle?

I have been trying to define a trigger based on power usage (above or below a certain amount of Watts), but that doesn’t seem to work properly.

I use power consumption. If the consumption gets above a threshold for a certain amount of time, I consider that the start of a cycle. And when it gets below a threshold for a certain amount of time I consider that the end of a cycle. It took me a lot of observing/monitoring washing/drying cycles to get it right.

For my washing machine these are the start/stop triggers. The value checked is the consumption in W. I use the Device Capabilities app to test for the condition over time:

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Setting a minimum and maximum wattage is also what I use. I did some testing with different washing programs in the beginning to determine the minimum (default power usage when on, but no program running) and the maximum (wattage used on start of program).

Since my washer also has some idle time I added the app CountDown | Homey to see if it’s really idling or ready. This is also something you need to tweak first few sessions.

Washer

See here my flow (sorry it’s in :netherlands:):

Dryer

My dryer is bit easier:

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@Jelmer_Knuivers There is an old topic that has worked for me.
https://community.homey.app/t/get-a-notification-when-the-washingmachine-is-ready/9372

Thank you all for replying! Really helpful. I ended up using the Device Capabilities app as SunBeech suggested.

It took me a while to determine the appropriate thresholds for my devices, because they all have periods within a cycle in which they have very limited power usage. So, for those seeking a reference for those thresholds, I now have the same thresholds to start and end a cycle of: 1.5 W for my washing machine, 2 W for my dryer and also 2 W for my dishwasher.

This already gives correct results most of the time, although I might still build in a mechanism to check if a cycle has ended before resetting the beginning of a cycle.

Lastly, I saw everyone using notifications, which is great, but because I would like to make sense of why a cycle uses more energy than the other, I also append the results to Google Sheets. Works great!

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As an alternative for recording session results, or - more general - any flow action/result, you may want to consider a logging app, like the Simple (Sys) Log app.

I use that in almost every flow to record events and results during the execution of flows. E.g. for the results of a washing machine cycle (in addition to a time line notification):

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:police_car_light: App update: (Test: 2.0.0 )

  • BREAK Remove zone action & trigger cards

Important; From version 2.0.0 the support of the Zone action and trigger cards will be removed from the app and no longer available.
This functionality was longer unavailable to add to new flows, but was still functional on existing flows. With this update that support will drop and could break flows.

Plan for release is 1st of July 2025 (+/- 1,5 month).

I cannot ad an variabele to this specific function. Is this a bug or something?

Thanks in advance!

Did you create the variable first in the app configuration?