Why doesn't adding settings to apps.yaml update the related HA entities?

[trullock]

I'm trying to set up my Eddi, and I added the following lines to my yaml (along with other existing settings):

  iboost_gas_scale: 1.13 # boiler is 89% efficent
  iboost_gas: true
  iboost_gas_export: true

But after rebooting, the equivalent entities in HA still have their default values.

These settings have not previously been set in the yaml or touched in HA.

Is this expected?
I'd expect updating a config setting to reset/update the HA entities.

Either way, which is the current live value being used?

There's nothing relevant in the PredBat, HA or PredBad Addon logs

Thanks

[gcoan]

The reason you are seeing this behaviour is that you have set entries in apps.yaml that are not valid Predbat apps.yaml config entries.

There is only one iBoost entry that goes in apps.yaml - see the documentation https://springfall2008.github.io/batpred/apps-yaml/#iboost-energy

The rest are Home Assistant controls that you should be setting directly in Home Assistant. https://springfall2008.github.io/batpred/customisation/#iboost-model-options

[trullock]

Ah, ok. Makes sense

I cant see an issue for yaml validation, is that planned? Should I make an issue?

[gcoan]

The apps.yaml is already validated that entries point to valid sensors, are of the right data type, etc. This (I think) only gets done for the entries that Predbat is looking for so if you add extra entries that Predbat doesn't recognise then they are silently ignored.

It would be a useful validation for Predbat to check that there aren't entries in the config that it doesn't recognise as I quite often see such errors, especially from people who have used generative AI such as ChatGPT to "help" them with their predbat configuration. AI doesn't understand the difference between apps.yaml config and Home Assistant entities and often puts things in apps.yaml that don't belong there.

Of course reading the documentation where it explains what the different apps.yaml entries are is another approach ....

[trullock]

OK, I'll raise an issue for that.

I didn't use AI.
You must appreciate that its incredibly unexpected that an arbitrary subset of settings cannot be defined in the config, and must be done through Home Assistant. Once you know this fact, yes, the documentation is broadly "correct", but there is a huge gulf between being technically correct and being understandable by a beginner.

The apps.yaml doc doesn't mention most of the iboost settings at all. I don't know if this is a mistake or deliberate. There are plenty of other less-than-perfectly written bits of the docs, so who knows, so you try things.

So you read the customisation docs, which states at the top:

All of these settings are entities that can be configured directly in Home Assistant (unlike the 'apps.yaml' configuration items that have to be edited with a file editor).

Even if one knows what we now both do, the grammar here is misleading. Thats why RFC 2119 exists, right?

Predbat doesn't complain that I've written unsupported, but convention-following config entries, so why do I expect theres a problem? So I post here.

Whatever broader reasoning there may be that some customisations are to be performed through Home Assistant, surely its doubly-unexpected that settings like iboost_gas_scale are HA only. My boiler efficiency isn't changing, surely this is just a "hard-coded" config entry...

I'm very willing to help contribute and make improvements, but sarcasm doesn't help, it just poisons the community and makes getting started even harder for both me, and those that follow.

Thanks for your time

[gcoan]

We're all just volunteers trying to support the community. All contributions to the documentation are welcome, please do create a PR to update the documentation if you find things that are not clear.

The apps.yaml doc doesn't mention most of the iboost settings at all. I don't know if this is a mistake or deliberate. There are plenty of other less-than-perfectly written bits of the docs, so who knows, so you try things.

This is deliberate. The apps.yaml documentation describes the basic configuration of Predbat and what entries can be made in apps.yaml. It deliberately does not include the iboost configuration items in Home Assistant nor the majority of other Home Assistant controls as that would result in duplication and then two things to maintain as Predbat grows and changes. There are occasional cross references to the Home Assistant Customisation options where it makes sense for context, but that's it.

Whatever broader reasoning there may be that some customisations are to be performed through Home Assistant, surely its doubly-unexpected that settings like iboost_gas_scale are HA only. My boiler efficiency isn't changing, surely this is just a "hard-coded" config entry...

And yes, some of the choices about what is a HA control entity and what is a configuration in apps.yaml are in hindsight perhaps not optimal, but things are what they are and migrating options from apps.yaml to Home Assistant or vice versa risks breaking existing installs.