Hi, I would like to use an esp8266 to automate tasks at home, but my problem is that I don't quite understand the time format, according to what I can see on the library's wiki, the function timeClient.getFormattedTime(); returns the time in hh:mm:ss format, whereas the getEpochTime(); returns the seconds since January 1, 1970, but what I want to do is, for example, a relay turns on at 9:00 and turns off at 11:00
have a look a this which gets the epoch time and prints local time
/*
Rui Santos
Complete project details at https://RandomNerdTutorials.com/epoch-unix-time-esp32-arduino/
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
of this software and associated documentation files.
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
copies or substantial portions of the Software.
*/
#include <WiFi.h>
#include "time.h"
// Replace with your network credentials
const char* ssid = " xxxxx";
const char* password = "xxxxxxxxxx";
// NTP server to request epoch time
const char* ntpServer = "pool.ntp.org";
// Variable to save current epoch time
unsigned long epochTime;
// Function that gets current epoch time
unsigned long getTime() {
time_t now;
struct tm timeinfo;
if (!getLocalTime(&timeinfo)) {
//Serial.println("Failed to obtain time");
return(0);
}
time(&now);
return now;
}
// Initialize WiFi
void initWiFi() {
WiFi.mode(WIFI_STA);
WiFi.begin(ssid, password);
Serial.print("Connecting to WiFi ..");
while (WiFi.status() != WL_CONNECTED) {
Serial.print('.');
delay(1000);
}
Serial.println(WiFi.localIP());
}
void setup() {
Serial.begin(115200);
initWiFi();
configTime(0, 0, ntpServer);
}
void loop() {
epochTime = getTime();
Serial.print("Epoch Time: ");
Serial.println(epochTime);
time_t curtime;
struct tm *loc_time;
//Getting current time of system
curtime = time (NULL);
// Converting current time to local time
loc_time = localtime (&curtime);
char text[100]={0};
// Displaying date and time in standard format
snprintf(text, 100, "%s", asctime (loc_time));
Serial.print("time ");
Serial.println(text);
delay(1000);
}
serial monitor displays
Epoch Time: 1672653175
time Mon Jan 2 09:52:55 2023
Epoch Time: 1672653176
time Mon Jan 2 09:52:56 2023
int hour = (EpochTime % SecondsPerDay) / SecondsPerHour;
if (hour >= 9 && hour < 11)
digitalWrite(RelayPin, RelayOn);
else
digitalWrite(RelayPin, RelayOff);
ok, looks promising, i'll try it and comment
Well, I've tried it and in the terminal, for some reason it prints the last characters of the Wi-Fi password, I know, it's very LOL
#include <NTPClient.h>
#include <ESP8266WiFi.h>
#include <WiFiUdp.h>
const char *ssid = "*****";
const char *password = "*****";
int time_h;
int time_m;
int time_s;
WiFiUDP ntpUDP;
NTPClient timeClient(ntpUDP);
void setup(){
Serial.begin(115200);
WiFi.begin(ssid, password);
while ( WiFi.status() != WL_CONNECTED ) {
delay ( 500 );
Serial.print ( "." );
}
timeClient.begin();
}
void loop() {
timeClient.update();
//Serial.println(timeClient.getFormattedTime());
delay(1000);
time_h = ((timeClient.getEpochTime() % 86400) / 3600);
//time_m = (getEpochTime() % 86400) / 60;
//time_s = (getEpochTime() % 86400) / 1;
Serial.println("time_h: " + time_h);
//Serial.println("time_m: " + time_m);
//Serial.println("time_s: " + time_s);
}
/*
int hour = (EpochTime % SecondsPerDay) / SecondsPerHour;
if (hour >= 9 && hour < 11)
digitalWrite(RelayPin, RelayOn);
else
digitalWrite(RelayPin, RelayOff);
*/
The '+' trick only works on String objects. Try:
Serial.print("time_h: ")
Serial.println(time_h);
perfect, I've corrected it and it seems to work, I'm going to leave it for 24 hours and tomorrow I'll comment if everything worked well, this is the code for now:
#include <NTPClient.h>
#include <ESP8266WiFi.h>
#include <WiFiUdp.h>
const char *ssid = "*****";
const char *password = "*****";
long time_x;
int time_h;
int time_m;
int time_s;
WiFiUDP ntpUDP;
NTPClient timeClient(ntpUDP);
void setup(){
Serial.begin(115200);
WiFi.begin(ssid, password);
while ( WiFi.status() != WL_CONNECTED ) {
delay ( 500 );
Serial.print ( "." );
}
timeClient.begin();
pinMode(16, OUTPUT);
}
void loop() {
timeClient.update();
time_x = timeClient.getEpochTime();
time_h = ((time_x % 86400) / 3600) +1;
time_m = ((time_x % 3600) / 60);
time_s = (time_x % 60);
Serial.println("time_h: " + String(time_h));
Serial.println("time_m: " + String(time_m));
Serial.println("time_s: " + String(time_s));
if (time_h >= 9 && time_h < 21) digitalWrite(16, true); else digitalWrite(16, false);
delay(1000);
}
For those who read this in the future, I am using a WeMos D1 mini clone, which activates and deactivates a relay, LED, etc. at certain times. In case someone wants to use it in their project, here I leave the documentation, etc.
Libraries to use:
1.- ESP8266WIFI.h ==> integrated into the official espressif library from this url:
http://arduino.esp8266.com/stable/package_esp8266com_index.json
2.- NTPClient.h ==> installed from the library manager without the need for a url
3.- WiFiUdp.h ==> integrated into the espressif library of esp8266
why have you ignored the post of @horace ?
on a ESP8266 you don't need an external library to get SNTP. That's already in the core of the ESP8266.
See also
https://werner.rothschopf.net/202011_arduino_esp8266_ntp_en.htm
1 Like
Hello, @noiasca, I have not ignored it, it's just that I have found more information and current codes for that library, it also allows me to have compatibility with ethernet boards for other arduinos
It works perfectly, I have migrated it to an esp32 and great, thanks to all 
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