Luup Variables

The "Variables" for a device tell you it's current state, such as if it's on or off, what temperature it has, and so on. Variables are given a name and a service ID, which is defined by the UPnP forum. You can use this service ID/variable name pair to get the state of a device in the Luup engine by using the function luup.variable_get, as documented in Luup_Lua_extensions. You can also see the current value of a device's variables by going into Vera's setup page, click 'Devices', click + next to the device, then click 'Advanced'. The name of every variable for the device is shown along with the current value, and if you move your mouse over the variable name, you will the corresponding service ID in a popup window.

On/Off Switch

Device category

Device Category 3, UPnP device id: urn:schemas-upnp-org:device:BinaryLight:1

Variables

Service	Variable	Description
urn:upnp-org:serviceId:SwitchPower1	Status	If the device is on, the value is 1, otherwise it's 0.

Examples

• Getting whether the Switch/Light is on or off

    local switchOnOff = luup.variable_get("urn:upnp-org:serviceId:SwitchPower1", "Status", 37)
    if (switchOnOff == "1") then
      -- Switch is on
      ...
    end -- if

• Request that the Switch be turned on. This will, eventually, set the variable after the device has responded to the request

    luup.call_action("urn:upnp-org:serviceId:SwitchPower1", "SetTarget", {newTargetValue = "1"}, 37)

Dimmable Light

Device category

Device category 2, UPnP device id: urn:schemas-upnp-org:device:DimmableLight:1

Variables

Dimmable lights contain the same variable of an On/Off Switch to indicate the current on/off value, and, if it's on, LoadLevelStatus indicates the dim level.

Service	Variable	Description
urn:upnp-org:serviceId:Dimming1	LoadLevelStatus	If the device is off (see On/Off switch) this value indicates the last known dim level, if it's on, this value is the actual dim level. The value is a number from 0-100 indicating a percentage of brightness.

Examples

• Getting the current light/load level

    local lightLevel = luup.variable_get("urn:upnp-org:serviceId:Dimming1", "LoadLevelStatus", 37)

• Request that the Dimmer be set to 50% light/load level. This will, eventually, set the variable after the device has responded to the request

    luup.call_action("urn:upnp-org:serviceId:Dimming1", "SetLoadLevelTarget", {newLoadlevelTarget = "50"}, 19)

Thermostat

Device category

Device category 5, UPnP device id: urn:schemas-upnp-org:device:HVAC_ZoneThermostat:1

Variables

Service	Variable	Description
urn:upnp-org:serviceId:HVAC_UserOperatingMode1	ModeStatus	This indicates the current operating mode and will be one of the following basic values: Off HeatOn CoolOn AutoChangeOver In addition to the basic modes, some thermostats may also support the following modes: InDeadBand AuxHeatOn EconomyHeatOn EmergencyHeatOn AuxCoolOn EconomyCoolOn BuildingProtection EnergySavingsHeating EnergySavingsCooling
urn:upnp-org:serviceId:TemperatureSetpoint1_Heat	CurrentSetpoint	This indicates the current heat set point.
urn:upnp-org:serviceId:TemperatureSetpoint1_Cool	CurrentSetpoint	This indicatea the current cool set point.
urn:upnp-org:serviceId:TemperatureSensor1	CurrentTemperature	This indicates the current ambient temperature.

Examples

• Getting the current temperature

    local outsideTemp = luup.variable_get("urn:upnp-org:serviceId:TemperatureSensor1", "CurrentTemperature", 5)

Other Devices or Services

You can find other variables by looking at code. For example, looking at the code for the LUUP Weather plugin, we can see where the "serviceID" for Current Conditions is urn:micasaverde-com:serviceId:Weather1 (taken from the XML file):

  -- Store the current Condition (eg. "rain")
  luup.variable_set("urn:upnp-micasaverde-com:serviceId:Weather1", "ConditionGroup",
                    condition, PARENT_DEVICE)

From this we can get the Current Weather ConditionGroup using
Service: urn:upnp-micasaverde-com:serviceId:Weather1 Variable name: ConditionGroup

All we have to add is the device ID that Vera creates. In my case #37