OpenSprinkler › Forums › OpenSprinkler Unified Firmware › Incorrect historic Zimmerman calculation using Weather Underground PWS
Tagged: weather underground, Zimmerman Method
- This topic has 4 replies, 2 voices, and was last updated 8 months, 1 week ago by
Ray.
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September 22, 2025 at 8:58 am #83783
franzsteinParticipantI have checked the scales received from the weather service for the past days, if using Weather Underground PWS. Only the scale received for Yesterday corresponds to the calculation procedure defined by Zimmerman. Please look at the details below:
Weather Service Request
weather.opensprinkler.com/weather1.py?loc=49.47432,10.94365&wto=”h”:100,”t”:100,”r”:100,”bh”:65,”bt”:70,”br”:0,”provider”:”WU”,”pws”:”IFRTH239″,”key”:”my_api_key”
results in:
&scale=4&tz=56&sunrise=423&sunset=1156&eip=1469121255&rawData={“wp”:”WU”,”h”:83.53,”p”:0.34,”t”:67.7}&errCode=0&scales=[4,40,49,53,48,46]&ttl=81451159
The Weather Underground Weather History for IFRTH239 lists:Date Temperature Average Humidity Average Precipitation Scale received -> calculated
September 21 19.8 °C 84 % 8,64 mm 4 -> 4 %
September 20 20,2 °C 82 % 0.00 mm 40 -> 77 %
September 19 18.4 °C 78 % 0.00 mm 49 -> 68 %
September 18 18.3 °C 80 % 0.00 mm 53 -> 66 %
September 17 14.3 °C 88 % 0.00 mm 48 -> 29 %
September 16 14.8 °C 80 % 0.00 mm 46 -> 40 %The scales received for the days before yesterday seemed to be far too low calculated.
I have done a quick check for other PWS weather locations, and it looks like it is a general issue. I’m not sure anymore, but I have seen the wrong calculation for the first time having precipitation reported. I may be wrong in my findings, but please have a look at this issue.September 22, 2025 at 9:04 am #83784
RayKeymasterPlease note that the
scalesarray contains the multi-day average, which is a cumulative average. For example, the second number (40) is NOT Sep 20’s number, rather, it is the average of Sep 20’s and Sep 21’s (so(77+4)/2= 40%). It is for programs that run every 2 days (or 3, 4, 5 days etc.) so that they should be using the average watering scale that accounts for multiple days of watering data.September 22, 2025 at 9:19 am #83785
franzsteinParticipantOk. Thanks for the explanation.
September 23, 2025 at 11:54 am #83789
franzsteinParticipantOne more question:
After the heavy rain on Sep 22, the request
weather.opensprinkler.com/weather1.py?loc=49.47432,10.94365&wto=”h”:100,”t”:100,”r”:100,”bh”:65,”bt”:70,”br”:0,”provider”:”WU”,”pws”:”IFRTH239″,”key”:”my_api-key”
results on Sep 23 in
&scale=0&tz=56&sunrise=425&sunset=1154&eip=1339803529&rawData={“wp”:”WU”,”h”:99,”p”:1.48,”t”:51.4}&errCode=0&scales=[0,0,0,0,0,0]&ttl=65634576
Are these multi-day average values correct?
September 23, 2025 at 11:55 am #83791
RayKeymasterThe values are correct. A large amount of rainfall on a day can offset the watering scales over multiple days, making them 0.
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OpenSprinkler › Forums › OpenSprinkler Unified Firmware › Incorrect historic Zimmerman calculation using Weather Underground PWS