The Siemens RDS binding provides the infrastructure for connecting openHAB to the Siemens Climatix IC cloud server and integrate connected [Siemens RDS Smart thermostats](https://new.siemens.com/global/en/products/buildings/hvac/room-thermostats/smart-thermostat.html) onto the openHAB bus.
![Siemens RDS](doc/rds110-family.jpg)
## Supported Things
The binding supports two types of Thing as follows..
You have to manually create a single (Bridge) Thing for the Climatix IC Account, and enter the required Configuration Parameters (see Thing Configuration for Climatix IC Account below).
If the Configuration Parameters are all valid, then the Climatix IC Account Thing will automatically attempt to connect and sign on to the Siemens Climatix IC cloud server.
If the sign on succeeds, the Thing will indicate its status as Online, otherwise it will show an error status.
Once the Thing of the type Climatix IC Account has been created and successfully signed on to the cloud server, it will automatically interrogate the server to discover all the respective RDS Smart Thermostat Things associated with that account.
If in future you add new RDS Smart Thermostat devices to your Siemens account (e.g. via the Siemens App) then these new devices will also appear in the Inbox.
## Thing Configuration for "Climatix IC Account"
The Climatix IC Account connects to the Siemens Climatix IC cloud server (bridge) to communicate with any respective RDS Smart Thermostats associated with that account.
It signs on to the cloud server using the supplied user's credentials, and it polls the server at regular intervals to read and write the data for each Smart Thermostat that is configured in that account.
Before it can connect to the server, the following Configuration Parameters must be entered.
| userEmail | The e-mail address of the user account on the cloud server; as entered in the Siemens App when first registering a thermostat. |
| userPassword | The password of the user account on the cloud server; as entered in the Siemens App. |
| pollingInterval | Time interval in seconds between polling requests to the cloud server; the value must be between 8..60 seconds; the Default value (recommended) is 60 seconds. |
| apiKey | The key code needed to access the application program interface on the Siemens Climatix IC cloud server; you can request a key code from Siemens customer support <sup>1)</sup>. |
<sup>1)</sup> The Siemens Climatix IC cloud server exists primarily for supporting Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) customers who use the Climatix range of HVACR control products.
However the Climatix IC cloud server is also used for supporting private customers using the RDS range of residential smart thermostats.
But Siemens customer support people are often unaware of the latter fact, so when you ask them for the API key for the RDS smart thermostat range, their first reaction might often be to say you are talking nonsense!
Do not accept that answer!
You need to insist that you are requesting the Climatix IC cloud server API key _**for the RDS smart thermostat range**_– it is a <u>different</u> key than those for OEM commercial customers.
Note: You must create ONLY ONE Thing of the type Climatix IC Account; duplicate Climatix IC Account Things risk causing communication errors with the cloud server.
## Thing Configuration for "RDS Smart Thermostat"
Each RDS Smart Thermostat Thing is identified in the Climatix IC Account by means of a unique Plant Id code.
To manually configure an RDS Smart Thermostat Thing requires knowledge of the "Plant Id" which is a unique code used to identify a specific thermostat device in the Siemens Climatix IC cloud server account.