[Feature] Wind Sensor Delay Program Start

[gednz]

Hi.

It is my understanding that the current rain and soil sensor input modes only allow the cancellation of a program if the sensor is activated at the program start time.

May I suggest a feature to delay the program start (instead of cancel) until the sensor clears or until a timeout expires. this would allow a wind sensor to be used to delay the start until the wind dies down.

Perhaps a custom sensor type that allows you to set the name of the sensor would help facilitate this.

Anyway, great work on this project.

Regards
Ged

[rayshobby]

Hi, thanks for the suggestion! Using a wind sensor to delay watering is a great idea for water conservation. However, introducing a "delay" rather than a simple "cancel" creates some complex scheduling challenges, and we need to flesh out the precise logic and implementation details so the code knows exactly how to handle edge cases.

Could you help clarify how you envision this working? Specifically, we need to solve for two main areas: Hardware and Scheduling Logic.

1. Hardware & Sensor Types
   I don't use a Wind sensor so I don't know what types are common or available out there. Depending on the type, the firmware integration would be quite different. I did some search and found a few possible types:

   • Binary Switch (e.g., Hunter Wind-Clik): These act just like standard rain sensors. They are easy to integrate, but the wind threshold is set physically on the device, meaning it is less flexible in the software.

   • Pulse / Reed Switch (Anemometers): These click as the wind blows, functioning similarly to a flow sensor. We could potentially modify the firmware to support this, allowing us to read actual wind speeds and set software-defined thresholds.

   • Analog / Digital Output: If the sensor outputs a variable voltage or encoded digital signal, the current firmware does not support reading these values.

2. Scheduling & Queue Logic
   You mentioned delaying the start until a timeout expires. OpenSprinkler currently supports a "pause" feature, which could be utilized here. But we need to define the exact behavior:

   • Mid-Program Wind: Does the sensor activation only apply at the start of a program? If the wind picks up while sprinklers are actively running, should the controller immediately issue a pause for a pre-defined delay time, or should it ignore it since the program has already started?

   • Prolonged Wind & Queue Limits: What happens if the wind blows continuously or periodically for a long time? If the controller keeps extending the delay, all programs get pushed further back. Eventually, new programs will be ignored because the queue will fill up and there won't be enough space to hold them. How should the controller handle schedules colliding or overlapping? Should it ignore the delay after a one-time delay, or just keep delaying as long as the sensor is activated?

In short, to build this feature, we need highly predictable rules for exactly what happens in each scenario. Let me know your thoughts. Thanks!

[gw-farmsense]

Hi

Thanks for reply

1. Hardware & Sensor Types
   I was thinking a Binary switch with the ability to configure normally open or closed as currently implemented on rain and soil.

2. Scheduling & Queue Logic
   Ideally the goal is to achieve as much of an irrigation cycle within the time window but pause if the wind is too strong. The window is defined as beginning at start time and ending at start time + timeout. A 6hr timeout would be adequate for my application.

Triggering the existing Pause Feature during high wind could definitely work.
If adapting this I would suggest differentiating between zones (or programs) that are affected by wind and those that are not. For example dripper system zones would be unaffected by wind.

Regards
Ged