Aircons that can integrate well with Hubitat

Hello,

My apologies if this has already been asked (couldn't find anything).

Just wondering if someone can recommend me an air conditioner that can integrate well with the Hubitat.

There are some "smart" aircons like LG WH09SK-18 which have their own apps and controls which I'm hoping can be integrated with Hubitat.

Has anyone done similar? Any recommendations? Is the "fake remote" infrared controller still the only way to go?

Thanks in advance?

Welcome to Hubitat!

I don't know if there is a direct integration for that air conditioner. However, there are several people using Hubitat's Sensibo community integration to control mini-splits and window units.

It should work with anything supported by Sensibo.

Any a/c that connects to WiFi and is controlled with its own app could theoretically be integrated, but the manufacturer would need to publish an open API and I’m not sure how likely that is for most a/c brands.

@aaiyar’a suggestion re: Sensibo should work, but my personal experience with Sensibo is that it randomly disconnects from WiFi and won’t control my a/c’s, plus it works through the cloud and one of the reasons I switched from ST to hubitat was to get away from cloud dependence.

I’ve been using the Remotec zxt-120 with some success. Hubitat sees it as a z-wave thermostat and it can send IR commands to your a/c. Unfortunately there’s no built-in driver and attempts to port the ST device handler haven’t been very successful for those of us that have tried. But I’m able to turn my a/c’s on and off, so I’ve got a functional workaround. And @aaiyar generously offered to send one of the devices to @mike.maxwell for him to create a built-in driver, which Mike said he will hopefully get around to eventually.

The IR blaster devices made by Broadlink are probably another option, and I believe there’s an integration with hubitat that someone developed for the community, though I haven’t looked into that in much detail.

My DuctlessAire mini-split has a USB socket for a Wifi adapter they sell, but while looking for a better price I noticed that the part number matched a Pioneer-branded version which appears to be compatible, and the app is generic and doesn't mention any consumer brand at all.

I wonder how many different brands are using the same protocol, or possibly even the same app. Is anybody else using this NetHome Plus app to control their wifi A/C?

Maybe I'll poke around with tcpdump at some point and see if simply replaying packets is sufficient to make it do useful stuff.

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Midea is a large player in the Asian mini-split market, and manufactures "white box" units for Pioneer and other smaller brands.

There is a wired building automation control (called BAC?) that is used to control mini-splits in hotels, office buildings, etc. (Did I mention that I HATE the blind-send of an IR transmitter in HA?) There is no reasonably-prices controller for home use, but I would think that this is something that an ESP32 could do if someone wired it to the controller bus and figured out the protocol.....

Looks like a port of this would be what's necessary for my AC, and apparently many others:


or this:

Figured out the connection to Midea from the pairing screen that Google Home brought up.

A couple more links that showed up and might be relevant:


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Anyone able to integrate their mini split using NetHome Plus yet?

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This may work for you: Midea Mini Split Wifi Support - #11 by tomw