nest api target temperature for both thermostat modes - target

Question

Is it possible to fetch target temperature for both thermostat mode (cool, heat) in one call ? For now I have a feeling that I can get target temperature for current thermostat mode and then change thermostat mode to second one and get target temperature for second thermostat mode.
Also the same question for changing target temps. Is it possible to change both target temperature for heat and cool mode in one request ?

Answer 1

Assuming your system can cool and heat, the thermostat has 3 modes: heat, cool, heat-cool.
If you are in heat mode or cool mode you can set target_temperature. If you are in heat-cool mode you can set target_temperature_low_c & target_temperature_high_c.
You can retrieve all target temperatures in one thermostat call:
https://developer-api.nest.com/devices/thermostats/$THERMOSTAT_ID?auth=$AUTH
You can set heat-cool temperatures in one call, but you will need to be in heat-cool mode:
{"target_temperature_low_c": 19, "target_temperature_high_c": 21}
You can set heat or cool temperature in one call, but you will need to be in heat or cool mode:
{"target_temperature_c": 20}
You will need to make 2 calls to set the mode and set the temperature(s) if you are not already in an appropriate mode.

Answer 2

It is possible to get all of the thermostat data, even for multiple thermostats in a single API call. I just posted an opensource application written in python that does it on BitBucket at:
https://bitbucket.org/dwalton64_/window-watcher
The application looks at weather data from weather underground, air quality data from airnow and data from Nest to determine if the user should open or close the windows. I make the API call to Nest, getting all of the data in a single call, and then parse the data in a structure. The application then uses the thermostat hvac mode and the target temperature to see if the user should open the windows.
Here is some Python code I pulled out of my application:
nestUserUrl = "https://developer-api.nest.com/?auth=" + auth_token
nest_user_file = urllib2.urlopen(self.nestUserUrl)
nest_user_json = json.loads(nest_user_file.read())
# copy thermostat data out of the json from Nest
thermostat_data = []
for tstat_id in nest_user_json['devices']['thermostats']:
thermostat_data.append(nest_user_json['devices']['thermostats'][tstat_id])
# create thermostat objects containing the thermostat data we want to access
thermostats = []
for tstat in thermostat_data:
thermostats.append(
NestThermostat(tstat['ambient_temperature_f'], tstat['device_id'],
tstat['hvac_mode'],
tstat['is_online'], tstat['last_connection'],
tstat['name'],
tstat['software_version'], tstat['structure_id'],
tstat['target_temperature_f'],
tstat['target_temperature_high_f'],
tstat['target_temperature_low_f']))
class NestThermostat():
def __init__(self, ambient_temperature_f, device_id, hvac_mode, is_online,
last_connection, name, software_version, structure_id,
target_temperature_f, target_temperature_high_f, target_temperature_low_f):
self.ambient_temperature_f = ambient_temperature_f
self.device_id = device_id
self.hvac_mode = hvac_mode
self.is_online = is_online
self.last_connection = last_connection
self.name = name
self.software_version = software_version
self.structure_id = structure_id
self.target_temperature_f = target_temperature_f
self.target_temperature_high_f = target_temperature_high_f
self.target_temperature_low_f = target_temperature_low_f
def print_current_temp_f(self):
print("Thermostat " + self.name + " measures a current temperature of " + str(
self.ambient_temperature_f) + " degrees F")
def print_target_temp_f(self):
print("Thermostat " + self.name + " is set to " + str(self.target_temperature_f) + " degrees F")
Once I have the data in the thermostat objects, I can use both the hvac mode and the target temperatures:
email = ""
for thermostat in thermostats:
email += "For the thermostat " + thermostat.name + ":\n"
if thermostat.hvac_mode == 'cool':
if myWeather.temp_f < thermostat.target_temperature_f:
open_windows = True
email += " - It is cool outside (" + str(myWeather.temp_f) + " Deg F). \n"
else:
email += " - It is too hot outside to have the windows open. \n"
email += " - Thermostat is set at " + str(thermostat.target_temperature_f) + \
" Deg F\n"
if thermostat.hvac_mode == 'heat-cool':
if thermostat.target_temperature_high_f > myWeather.temp_f > thermostat.target_temperature_low_f:
open_windows = True
email += " - Thermostat is set to heat-cool and it's comfortable out (" + \
str(myWeather.temp_f) + " Deg F). \n"
elif myWeather.temp_f >= thermostat.target_temperature_high_f:
email += " - The thermostat is set to heat-cool and it is hot outside (" + \
str(myWeather.temp_f) + " Deg F). \n"
else:
email += " - The thermostat is set to heat-cool & it is cold outside (" + \
str(myWeather.temp_f) + " Deg F). \n"
email += " - The thermostat is set to cool at " + \
str(thermostat.target_temperature_high_f) + " Deg F\n"
email += " - The thermostat is set to heat at " + \
str(thermostat.target_temperature_low_f) + " Deg F\n"
if thermostat.hvac_mode == 'heat':
if myWeather.temp_f > thermostat.target_temperature_f:
open_windows = True
email += " - The thermostat is set to heat and it is warm outside (" + \
str(myWeather.temp_f) + " Deg F). \n"
else:
email += " - The thermostat is set to heat and it is cool outside (" + \
str(myWeather.temp_f) + " Deg F). \n"
email += " - Thermostat is set at " + str(thermostat.target_temperature_f) + \
" Deg F\n"
email += "\n"
Note that the target temperature for heat and cool mode is the same value: target_temperature_f.