With a Temp Sensor (or ecobee sensor) and Smart Vent added to a room, you're ready to set a temperature limit to begin automating the vents.
If you're expecting the vents to automate but it's not behaving as expected, the first thing to check is that the devices are still online and reporting. The sensor will have a "last reported" message in each room view beneath the device. You can also try to send the vent an open/close command to see whether it responds, which will help ensure it's online.
Assuming everything is online and reporting healthily, our system will determine when to automate your vents based on a few criteria:
1. The room needs to be in an occupied state.
This is the default for all rooms once they're created, and this will only ever change if you set the room to unoccupied using the room scheduler. Click here for more information on using the room scheduler. If a room becomes unoccupied it will close the vents and ignore all temperature automation until it becomes occupied again.
2. The AC or Heat should be actively running.
Just having the thermostat set to "heat" or "AC" won't change things, since the system could be off or in fan mode. This is because our system reads each vent's temperature and compares it to your room's Temp Sensor reading. If the vent and the room sensor are around the same temperature, the automation will not work, and remain dormant.
For this reason, you'll want to make sure the vent is installed in the duct so that it will increase/decrease temperature when your HVAC pushes heated or cooled air.
3. The room temperature should be at least one degree lower or higher than your temperature limit.
If the AC is running (your vent is colder than the room temperature) and the room temperature is below your limit, the vents will close. If the room temperature rises above your limit, the vents will open back up.
Conversely if the heat is running (your vent is warmer than the room temperature) and the room temperature is above your limit, the vents will close. If the room temperature drops below the limit, the vents will open back up.
If all these criteria have been met and you aren't seeing the vents automate as expected, please be sure to write us at contact@keenhome.io and we'll be happy to investigate further!