Schedules are time-based Smart Circuit controls that disconnect and reconnect circuits at preset recurring times. For Schedules to function properly, remember:
- Manual control overrides Schedules.
- Contradictory Schedules will cause problems.
- Schedules should be offset to prevent simultaneous operation.
Manual Control Overrides Schedules
Manual control always overrides automatic functions like Schedules. This is a design feature so that a user always has control over their circuits. If a schedule says a circuit should be off, but a user manually enables the circuit in the app, Lumin will assume that the user wants the circuit on. The automatic scheduled behavior will be overridden for that instance of the Schedule. The next instance of the Schedule should operate as programmed if there is no further manual operation of the circuit.
Example
A Schedule may be created to turn off a water heater daily at 9:00 a.m. and then turn it back on at 11:00 p.m. At 1:00 p.m. on a Monday, a user wants hot water but notices that the Schedule has turned the water heater off. The user then manually enables the water heater. The circuit is now considered under manual control and the Schedule will not act upon it for the rest of that instance (i.e., the rest of Monday). The Schedule will resume normal operation on Tuesday, turning the circuit off at 9:00 a.m. and on again at 11:00 p.m.
Contradictory Schedules Will Cause Problems
Schedules will not work properly if they contradict each other. We recommend that only one Schedule is running on a circuit at any given time to avoid this.
Example
A Schedule called Water Heater 1 is configured to turn the water heater off at 11:00 a.m. and keep it off until 2:00 a.m. the next morning. A second Schedule called Water Heater 2 is configured to turn that same water heater off at 11:00 a.m. but turn it back on at 3:00 p.m. the same day. This causes the Schedules to be in conflict about whether the water heater should be on or off in the afternoon. The Water Heater 2 Schedule will not function properly.
Schedules Should Be Offset to Prevent Simultaneous Operation
When using Schedules to make sure two things do not run at the same time, we recommend that one Schedule turns off a circuit one minute before another Schedule turns on the second circuit. If both Schedules are set to occur at the same exact time, it can't be guaranteed that they won't operate simultaneously for a moment.
Example
A user wants to prevent a clothes dryer from running while charging an electric car. They have a Schedule that turns the dryer off at 7:59 p.m. and another Schedule that turns the car charger on at 8:00 p.m. This timing ensures that both devices won't run at the same time.