Informational - Delay in heater set point updating in HA

[zagnuts]

I've noticed that when the heater set point is updated, it takes a while for that change to flow back through to HA. This is if the set point is changed via the touch screen or app ('real' IG), or if it is changed via the ESP32 ('pretend' IG). For example when sending out the command to change the heater to 20 degrees we see:

02 00 50 FF FF 80 00 38 0F 17 F4 01 08 FD 03 
I (10:51:55.269) MQTT_COMMANDS: Pool setpoint command: 20°C
I (10:51:55.273) MQTT_COMMANDS: Setting pool setpoint to 20°C
I (10:51:55.278) BUS: TX: 02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 19 0F 98 01 14 14 29 03 (15 bytes)
I (10:51:55.301) BUS: TX complete: 15 bytes written and transmitted
I (10:51:55.313) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 19 0F 98 01 14 14 29 03 
I (10:51:55.314) MSG_DECODER: [Internet Gateway -> Broadcast] Temperature set command - Pool setpoint -> 20°C
02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 19 0F 98 01 14 14 29 03 
I (10:51:55.643) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 70 FF FF 80 00 17 0E 15 18 14 2C 03 
I (10:51:55.644) MSG_DECODER: [Genus Heater -> Broadcast] Genus Heater setpoints - heater1=24°C, heater2=20°C
02 00 70 FF FF 80 00 17 0E 15 18 14 2C 03 

....and the setpoint changes virtually immediately in on heater, touch screen and online, but the sensor in HA is updated to 20 degrees a few minutes later. The length of time can vary - it might take a minute, but in testing I've seen delays of over 30 minutes before it updates. I assume it's waiting for a broadcast. Will see if there's a way to send out a request to force an update - handy to then add to an automation so when the set temp is changed in a thermostat, a request to refresh the data is broadcast (I did a similar thing when using the API).

[skymuster]

I see a similar behaviour with the heater on/off toggle. If I send the "Heater On" command via Home Assistant by toggling on the sensor (or by sending the following command into the terminal:

02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 3A 0F B9 E6 00 00 E6 03

I see the heater switch turn on on the touch screen (and online in the app) however in Home Assistant the heater toggle stays off. If I then press the heater on/off button again in Home Assistant it send another "Heater On" command as it still thinks the heater is off (as the toggle switch is still showing as "off") even though the heater is actually now on!

Here is the log trace from a "heater on" command issued from Home Assistant:

I (90854895) MQTT_COMMANDS: Heater 0 command: ON
I (90854895) MQTT_COMMANDS: Sending heater ON command
I (90854895) BUS: TX: 02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 3A 0F B9 E6 00 01 E7 03 (15 bytes)
I (90854915) BUS: TX complete: 15 bytes written and transmitted
I (90854935) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 3A 0F B9 E6 00 01 E7 03
I (90854935) MSG_DECODER: [Internet Gateway -> Broadcast] Gateway heater control command - Heater -> On
02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 3A 0F B9 E6 00 01 E7 03

I (90855445) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 72 FF FF 80 00 12 10 14 00 01 00 00 01 03
W (90855445) MSG_DECODER: Unhandled [Unknown 0x0072 -> Broadcast] CMD=0x12 (Status/Other) LEN=16 payload=[00 01 00 00]
02 00 72 FF FF 80 00 12 10 14 00 01 00 00 01 03

I (90856375) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 72 FF FF 80 00 17 0E 17 25 0B 30 03
W (90856375) MSG_DECODER: Unhandled [Unknown 0x0072 -> Broadcast] CMD=0x17 (Temperature Setting) LEN=14 payload=[25 0B]
02 00 72 FF FF 80 00 17 0E 17 25 0B 30 03

Note: When I look at in the log when other toggle commands are issued (e.g. turning on the pool lights) I see the command from the Internet Gateway (the ESP32) plus immediately another broadcast message from the Touch Screen informing everyone that the pool lights are now on. I don't see such similar broadcast from the Touch Screen when the heater commands are issued.

@zagnuts regarding the heater set point sensor specifically, I get the same behaviour as you. However I've also pasted below some extra commands that I see directly afterwards that don't appear to be currently handled. These are for device 0x72 which I think must be my heater. So my hypothesis here is that maybe whever the heater-related settings are changed it's not the Touch Screen that sends out a broadcast to everyone informing them of the change, but rather the heater itself does this. However the heater is not being handled correctly by Home Assistant so the sensors aren't being updated correctly to reflect the change in state. I could be wildy off here though as I'm not as intimately familar with the inner workings of this as you guys!

I (89954475) MQTT_COMMANDS: Pool setpoint command: 11°C
I (89954475) MQTT_COMMANDS: Setting pool setpoint to 11°C
I (89954475) BUS: TX: 02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 19 0F 98 01 0B 0B 17 03 (15 bytes)
I (89954495) BUS: TX complete: 15 bytes written and transmitted
I (89954515) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 19 0F 98 01 0B 0B 17 03
I (89954515) MSG_DECODER: [Internet Gateway -> Broadcast] Temperature set command - Pool setpoint -> 11°C
02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 19 0F 98 01 0B 0B 17 03

I (89959855) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 72 FF FF 80 00 12 10 14 00 01 00 00 01 03
W (89959855) MSG_DECODER: Unhandled [Unknown 0x0072 -> Broadcast] CMD=0x12 (Status/Other) LEN=16 payload=[00 01 00 00]
02 00 72 FF FF 80 00 12 10 14 00 01 00 00 01 03

I (89960425) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 72 FF FF 80 00 16 0D 15 0F 0F 03
I (89960425) MSG_DECODER: [Unknown 0x0072 -> Broadcast] Current temperature - 15°C
02 00 72 FF FF 80 00 16 0D 15 0F 0F 03

I (89961015) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 72 FF FF 80 00 17 0E 17 25 0B 30 03
W (89961015) MSG_DECODER: Unhandled [Unknown 0x0072 -> Broadcast] CMD=0x17 (Temperature Setting) LEN=14 payload=[25 0B]
02 00 72 FF FF 80 00 17 0E 17 25 0B 30 03

[zagnuts]

@skymuster firstly, huge thanks for working out how to have messages being sent out actually get heard! Big win there for me. :-)

Secondly, yep. This is what I see when setting my gas heater to 22 (it reports two settings, the first is for the non existent spa, the second is for the actual gas heater setpoint for the pool). In my case the heater is 70, and yours does appear to be 72. The other info being broadcast after it in my capture is a bit of a mystery and may or may not be related, but something similar seems to happen after every change which seems to me to be more than a coincidence.

I (01:02:08.221) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 19 0F 98 01 16 16 2D 03 
I (01:02:08.223) MSG_DECODER: [Internet Gateway -> Broadcast] Temperature set command - Pool setpoint -> 22°C
02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 19 0F 98 01 16 16 2D 03 
I (01:02:08.561) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 70 FF FF 80 00 17 0E 15 18 16 2E 03 
I (01:02:08.563) MSG_DECODER: [Genus Heater -> Broadcast] Genus Heater setpoints - heater1=24°C, heater2=22°C
02 00 70 FF FF 80 00 17 0E 15 18 16 2E 03 
I (01:02:09.591) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 50 FF FF 80 00 38 0F 17 90 01 01 92 03 
W (01:02:09.593) MSG_DECODER: [Touch Screen -> Broadcast] Unhandled register - Reg=0x90, Slot=0x01, Payload[3]: 90 01 01
02 00 50 FF FF 80 00 38 0F 17 90 01 01 92 03 
I (01:02:09.652) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 84 FF FF 80 00 39 0E 4B B0 01 B1 03 

My guess is that we're not capturing/translating the device status info after a change (possibly that mystery info), so that's why it's not being updated immediately in HA but is being updated on the touch screen. The status is updated later down the track when a separate broadcast is sent out that is being translated. So in short, it's still a work in progress!

The other challenge is there are two types of devices hooked up to the Viron. Ones that are connected into the network via serial cable, and so can send and receive messages and be controlled, and ones that the Viron just turns the power on or off to. My 'Genus' gas heater is supported by Astral and talks to the Viron. So the Viron is able to tell the heater to turn on or off, the heater tells the Viron what the current water temperature is, and the Viron can change the set point on the heater itself so I suspect might even let the heater manage when to turn on or off based on the set point saved on the heater itself.

My electric heater however is - as far as the Viron is concerned - a dumb thing. Setting my electric heater to 22 I see:

I (00:33:23.211) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 3A 0F B9 EA 00 16 00 03 
W (00:33:23.213) MSG_DECODER: [Internet Gateway -> Broadcast] Gateway register write command - Unknown Reg=0xEA, Slot=0x00, State=0x16
02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 3A 0F B9 EA 00 16 00 03 
I (00:33:23.341) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 50 FF FF 80 00 38 0F 17 EA 00 16 00 03 
W (00:33:23.343) MSG_DECODER: [Touch Screen -> Broadcast] Unhandled register - Reg=0xEA, Slot=0x00, Payload[3]: EA 00 16
02 00 50 FF FF 80 00 38 0F 17 EA 00 16 00 03 
I (00:33:24.321) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 39 0E B7 40 03 43 03 
I (00:33:24.323) MSG_DECODER: [Internet Gateway -> Broadcast] Register read request - 0x40/0x03
02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 39 0E B7 40 03 43 03 
I (00:33:24.451) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 50 FF FF 80 00 38 0F 17 40 03 00 43 03 
W (00:33:24.453) MSG_DECODER: [Touch Screen -> Broadcast] Unhandled register - Reg=0x40, Slot=0x03, Payload[3]: 40 03 00
02 00 50 FF FF 80 00 38 0F 17 40 03 00 43 03 

so it's not talking at all to the heater - this is it being turned on:

I (00:52:54.131) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 50 FF FF 80 00 38 0F 17 E9 00 01 EA 03 
I (00:52:54.133) MSG_DECODER: [Touch Screen -> Broadcast] Heater 2 state (tentative) - On (0x01)
02 00 50 FF FF 80 00 38 0F 17 E9 00 01 EA 03 
I (00:52:54.651) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 62 FF FF 80 00 38 10 2A DE 00 00 00 DE 03 
W (00:52:54.653) MSG_DECODER: [Connect 8/10 -> Broadcast] Unhandled register - Reg=0xDE, Slot=0x00, Payload[4]: DE 00 00 00
02 00 62 FF FF 80 00 38 10 2A DE 00 00 00 DE 03 
I (00:52:54.722) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 62 FF FF 80 00 38 0F 29 DF 00 01 E0 03 
W (00:52:54.723) MSG_DECODER: [Connect 8/10 -> Broadcast] Unhandled register - Reg=0xDF, Slot=0x00, Payload[3]: DF 00 01
02 00 62 FF FF 80 00 38 0F 29 DF 00 01 E0 03 
I (00:52:55.231) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 39 0E B7 26 02 28 03 
I (00:52:55.233) MSG_DECODER: [Internet Gateway -> Broadcast] Register read request - 0x26/0x02

Technically my electric heater is smart and could be controlled directly (it actually supports Tuya), but instead the heater is separately directly cabled into power and has another power cable running from one of the managed power sockets that the Viron can turn on or off which in turn triggers a relay that turns the heater on or off. So all it knows is device is on or off, and the Viron controller uses the set point to manage that. If I go into Tuya and look at the heater settings it is out of whack - turning it on from Tuya turns the heater off, and vice versa. I suspect that the 'smarts' of the heater may even have been disabled so the heater set point is ignored. But that's a future me problem. ;-)

[zagnuts]

I have a work-around. In short, I have created a script in HA to have the gateway send out a command to ask the heater to immediately send out the current set point rather than having to wait a semi-random length of time for the gas heater to broadcast that info. I have the automation set to run every minute during waking hours.

1. Need to put something like this in configuration.yaml:

shell_command:
  pool_update_gas_setpoint: 'echo "02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 39 0E B7 E7 00 E7 03" | nc -w1 192.168.0.187 7373'

[Note that needed to use the fixed ip address of the gateway (setup a dhcp reservation for it) and change "-w 1" to "-w1". Again, the command will vary on environment, plus you may or may not need to hard code the ip address]

2. Then create an automation - currently set to run every minute - could get it to be triggered by an mqtt message etc and probably don't want/need it to run late at night etc....

alias: Update gas setpoint
description: ""
triggers:
  - trigger: time_pattern
    minutes: /1
conditions:
  - condition: and
    conditions:
      - condition: time
        after: "08:00:00"
        before: "22:00:00"
actions:
  - action: shell_command.pool_update_gas_setpoint
    metadata: {}
    data: {}
mode: single

I would also suggest adding the script into the exclusion list in configuration.yaml to prevent it from filling up the logs

recorder:
exclude:
entities:
- automation.test_update_gas_setpoint

---

The long stuff - just kept notes as was troubleshooting (feel free to ignore):

OK - baby steps. It appears to be getting the set point temp from this

I (02:58:02.317) MSG_DECODER: [Genus Heater -> Broadcast] Pool temperature setpoint - 20°C
02 00 70 FF FF 80 00 38 0F 37 E7 00 14 FB 03 

rather than this

I (02:37:41.086) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 70 FF FF 80 00 17 0E 15 18 14 2C 03 
I (02:37:41.087) MSG_DECODER: [Genus Heater -> Broadcast] Genus Heater setpoints - heater1=24°C, heater2=20°C

Which is what is initially broadcast when changing the set point temp. So, when I changed the set temp on my gas heater I saw:

I (02:36:59.276) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 19 0F 98 01 14 14 29 03 
I (02:36:59.277) MSG_DECODER: [Internet Gateway -> Broadcast] Temperature set command - Pool setpoint -> 20°C
02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 19 0F 98 01 14 14 29 03 
I (02:36:59.605) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 70 FF FF 80 00 17 0E 15 18 14 2C 03 
I (02:36:59.607) MSG_DECODER: [Genus Heater -> Broadcast] Genus Heater setpoints - heater1=24°C, heater2=20°C

After which I continue to see a number of messages over time showing the setpoints e.g.

02 00 70 FF FF 80 00 16 0D 13 10 10 03 
I (02:38:39.776) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 70 FF FF 80 00 17 0E 15 18 14 2C 03 
I (02:38:39.777) MSG_DECODER: [Genus Heater -> Broadcast] Genus Heater setpoints - heater1=24°C, heater2=20°C

but the setpoint temperature reported by the gateway does not change until what appears to be a larger query that appears at a random time later

02 00 84 00 A0 80 00 18 0D CB 00 00 03 
I (02:57:40.676) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 39 0E B7 39 01 3A 03 
I (02:57:40.677) MSG_DECODER: [Internet Gateway -> Broadcast] Register read request - 0x39/0x01
02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 39 0E B7 39 01 3A 03 
I (02:57:43.966) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 39 0E B7 39 01 3A 03 
I (02:57:43.967) MSG_DECODER: [Internet Gateway -> Broadcast] Register read request - 0x39/0x01
02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 39 0E B7 39 01 3A 03 
I (02:57:47.866) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 39 0E B7 2E 01 2F 03 
I (02:57:47.867) MSG_DECODER: [Internet Gateway -> Broadcast] Register read request - 0x2E/0x01
02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 39 0E B7 2E 01 2F 03 
I (02:57:50.866) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 39 0E B7 2E 01 2F 03 
I (02:57:50.867) MSG_DECODER: [Internet Gateway -> Broadcast] Register read request - 0x2E/0x01
02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 39 0E B7 2E 01 2F 03 
I (02:57:54.776) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 39 0E B7 CA 00 CA 03 
I (02:57:54.777) MSG_DECODER: [Internet Gateway -> Broadcast] Register read request - 0xCA/0x00
02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 39 0E B7 CA 00 CA 03 
I (02:57:55.666) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 0A 0E 88 05 00 05 03 
I (02:57:55.667) MSG_DECODER: [Internet Gateway -> Broadcast] Firmware version - 5.0
02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 0A 0E 88 05 00 05 03 
I (02:57:56.026) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 12 0F 91 05 00 05 0A 03 
I (02:57:56.027) MSG_DECODER: [Internet Gateway -> Broadcast] Internet Gateway status - firmware 5.0 (checksum 0x05 OK)
02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 12 0F 91 05 00 05 0A 03 
I (02:57:58.066) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 39 0E B7 CA 00 CA 03 
I (02:57:58.067) MSG_DECODER: [Internet Gateway -> Broadcast] Register read request - 0xCA/0x00
02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 39 0E B7 CA 00 CA 03 
I (02:58:01.966) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 39 0E B7 E7 00 E7 03 
I (02:58:01.967) MSG_DECODER: [Internet Gateway -> Broadcast] Register read request - Temperature Setpoint 1
02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 39 0E B7 E7 00 E7 03 
I (02:58:02.316) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 70 FF FF 80 00 38 0F 37 E7 00 14 FB 03 
I (02:58:02.317) MSG_DECODER: [Genus Heater -> Broadcast] Pool temperature setpoint - 20°C
02 00 70 FF FF 80 00 38 0F 37 E7 00 14 FB 03 
I (02:58:02.866) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 39 0E B7 E8 00 E8 03 
I (02:58:02.867) MSG_DECODER: [Internet Gateway -> Broadcast] Register read request - Temperature Setpoint 2
02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 39 0E B7 E8 00 E8 03 
I (02:58:03.216) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 70 FF FF 80 00 38 0F 37 E8 00 18 00 03 
I (02:58:03.217) MSG_DECODER: [Genus Heater -> Broadcast] Spa temperature setpoint - 24°C
02 00 70 FF FF 80 00 38 0F 37 E8 00 18 00 03 
I (02:58:03.766) MSG_DECODER: RX MSG: 02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 39 0E B7 26 02 28 03 
I (02:58:03.767) MSG_DECODER: [Internet Gateway -> Broadcast] Register read request - 0x26/0x02
02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 39 0E B7 26 02 28 03 

So logged and searched for "Pool temperature setpoint" for about 90 mins. It updated the set point randomly every 2 to 30 mins or so.
04:16:39.022
04:21:23.152 - (roughly) five minutes later. Then...
04:34:25.282 - 7 mins
04:36:05.542 - 2 mins
04:42:24.512 - 6 mins
04:45:02.951 - 3 mins
04:47:19.762 -2 mins
05:14:11.342 - 27 mins
05:19:18.851 - 5 mins
05:21:19.351 - 3 mins
05:30:55.261 - 9 mins
05:34:09.071 - 3 mins
05:37:40.391 - 4 mins
05:49:45.181 - 12 mins
05:53:33.711 - 4 mins
06:01:47.567 - 8 mins

So end result is we either need to retrieve the set point from the initial string which in my case shows the set points for both the spa and the pool, or be able to force the heater to respond with the current pool set point info......

So let's try sending the command: 02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 39 0E B7 E7 00 E7 03.....
Bingo. Works every time! Time to setup HA.

[marklynch]

Thanks both for investigating and apologies for lack of any updates.

Will aim to get some of this moving again this week on my side.

[marklynch]

Hi quick question, are you seeing a lot of large or corrupt packets in the logs when you do this?

I'm thinking that these respond instantly for me, but if the packets were getting mangled then it may only be updating when it resends everything 60 seconds later.

[zagnuts]

No problem - we all have other things on our plates! Response is pretty much instant for me as well. Maybe a handful of bad packets, but seems to be pretty rare.

[marklynch]

@zagnuts - I've done a bit of work on this today - related to supporting 2 heaters - would be great if you can try out the v1.6.0-rc1 build and see if you are still seeing this issue. https://github.com/marklynch/pool-controller-code/releases/tag/v1.6.0-rc1 (use the pool-controller-update-v1.6.0-rc1.bin)

[zagnuts]

I saw the flood of updates, you have indeed been busy @marklynch! I'll update the firmware and let you know how it goes. :-)

[skymuster]

Just a small update. @zagnuts thanks so much for your workaround for updating the set point in Home Assistant. I followed your directions and got this to work on mine too for both pool and spa setpoints. I ended up creating 2 shell commands in configuration.yaml:

shell_command:
  pool_update_pool_setpoint: 'echo "02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 39 0E B7 E7 00 E7 03" | nc -w1 {IP address} 7373'
  pool_update_spa_setpoint: 'echo "02 00 F0 FF FF 80 00 39 0E B7 E8 00 E8 03" | nc -w1 {IP address} 7373'

then in Home Assistant I created 2 automations that triggers on the relevant MQTT messages (replace {ESP32_Serial_#} with the actual serial number of your ESP32 which is on the top-left of the MQTT device page in Home Assistant.

Automation 1:

alias: Pool Setpoint Changed - Update Pool Setpoint
description: Runs shell command whenever the pool heater pool setpoint changes
triggers:
  - topic: pool/pool_{ESP32_Serial_#}/heater/0/pool_setpoint/set
    trigger: mqtt
conditions: []
actions:
  - delay:
      seconds: 2
  - action: shell_command.pool_update_pool_setpoint
mode: restart

Automation 2:

alias: Spa Setpoint Changed - Update Spa Setpoint
description: Runs shell command whenever the spa heater setpoint changes
triggers:
  - topic: pool/pool_{ESP32_Serial_#}/heater/0/spa_setpoint/set
    trigger: mqtt
conditions: []
actions:
  - delay:
      seconds: 2
  - action: shell_command.pool_update_spa_setpoint
mode: restart

The only drawback with this workaround is that the shell commands don't get through if you are running an active Putty session monitoring the logs as it only allows one terminal connection at a time to the pool controller!

[zagnuts]

Glad it helped, @skymuster - FWIW I also initially tried creating a generic shell command to avoid having to keep updating configuration.yaml and reloading HA after adding in a new command e.g.:

shell_command:
  pool_gateway_cmd: 'echo "{{ payload }}" | nc -w1 192.168.0.187 7373'

That I could then send any command directly e.g.:

actions:
  - action: shell_command.pool_gateway_cmd
    data:
      # Send the Heat Pump OFF command
      payload: "02 00 50 FF FF blah"

as well as things like:

switch:
  - platform: template
    switches:
      pool_heatpump:
        friendly_name: "Pool Heat Pump"
        icon_template: >-
          {% if is_state('switch.pool_heatpump', 'on') %}
            mdi:heat-wave
          {% else %}
            mdi:hvac-off
          {% endif %}
        
        turn_on:
          action: shell_command.pool_gateway_cmd
          data:
            payload: "02 00 50 FF FF blah" 
            
        turn_off:
          action: shell_command.pool_gateway_cmd
          data:
            payload: "02 00 50 FF FF blah"

but although the theory was sound for whatever reason HA didn't like it and I lost the motivation to troubleshoot (probably an issue with the quotes or maybe it would work without the -w1) as I only really wanted to send a couple of commands anyhow. I will probably revisit if I want to do other things like change the light colours.