Agree - that's where this would be most useful to most users, similar to the integrated GE light switch/motion sensors, but w/more sensors. A good next step.
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Call Home Depot customer service 1-800-986-3460. Tell them you have a Gardinier 52” LED Brushed Nickel Ceiling Fan, model #43260. Ask for part J (zigbee receiver), and Part K (The Remote)
The fan itself isn't sold anymore but the receivers are easy to get. I just did this last week for a friend of mine.
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Good to know if I need another.
That sounds like what you ask for when you want to disappear. 
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@intecular If you can confirm this device will (not can, but will) integrate locally with Hubitat with just a Hubitat driver and no need for any other additional software (ie I don't need to use your app to program it, etc - all that can be done on Hubitat) and that you or Hubitat will definitely issue the driver concurrent with the product release I'm in for one.
This is a terrific idea, and I hope you will consider releasing a zigbee or zwave version. While others think this would be better as a switch, I like it as an outlet. 90% of the switches in my house are 2x, 3x or 4x switches, and so much of this device is in the cover plate. You would have to make so many versions...As long as the cover plate is only a single gang, it is much more useful as an outlet device.
Even more useful would be JUST a cover plate device, without the controlled outlet - that has your combination of sensors powered by an outlet, where I could use the data from the sensors in Hubitat to control other devices. I would buy several. You might even be able to make a single coverplate that can be used both with square type or GFCI type outlets, or decora switches.
There are a few cover plate nightlights on the market that somehow power themselves from some part of a standard outlet but those are all dumb devices. Hopefully you can do something similar with regards to powering your sensors and sell just your coverplate with integral sensors.
Great idea and thanks for stopping by! Looking forward to hearing response to the above.
Hello @calinatl ,
The device supports MQTT out-of-the-box so if the MQTT Broker and the Interface are installed on your Hubitat then it should work without any issues. I understand your question about using a Hubitat driver instead of MQTT. We haven't look into this yet, but if it is something that isn't too hard to build based on directly mapping our APIs then it shouldn't be a problem.
And thank you for the suggestions on a Zigbee version, we will look into building a Thread version as that's more like the next-gen Zigbee!
We designed it with the smart outlet because this maximizes the potential of an automation setup, controlling the appliances directly based on the sensor data from the cover plate. But your suggestion sounds interesting!
Let us know if you have any other questions!
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Thanks for the response. Appreciate it.
- Re MQTT - not really sure what that is; I know nothing about programming. I just want some assurance that if I buy this thing, I can use the data it collects in Hubitat to control other Hubitat connected devices without any programming knowledge. I need it to be as easy as adding any other zigbee or zwave device, or adding other drivers that I click on and install. Zigbee would be great as that would keep it off my wifi network and I'm guessing make it easier to integrate to HE.
For the use cases I can envision, the benefit of your device is a two fold:
- Occupancy, lux, temp, CO2 and other AQ detection (hopefully humidity?) without babysitting batteries or having cords around! That is huge.
- All of the above sensors in a single good looking device that fits into the decor on a coverplate, along with a nightlight. No need for what would typically be the clutter of at least three devices (multisensor with motion/lux/temp/humidity, AQ sensor for CO2 and VOC, and separate night light). I want the occupancy sensor out in the open and your plate is SO much cleaner than the typical mounted sensor, especially if I'm trying to avoid batteries and run a wire.
That said, any area where I am likely to want these sensors as part of a plate is out in the open such as a hall, and exactly where I would NEVER permanently plug anything into the wall outlet. Your product would get the sensor data into Hubitat, and except for the nightlight, I would use Hubitat for the resulting automation of appliances plugged in elsewhere.
In general, most things that integrate with Hubitat require no direct knowledge of computer programming. I don’t know how to code anything, for example yet I can still make use of the code written by many community developers.
But some integrations are easier to accomplish as a non-technical user than others.
Integrating both Hubitat and one of these devices with an MQTT broker (running on a raspberry pi for example), so that you can interact with the device through Hubitat’s platform, is certainly not the simplest task to attempt (compared to copy/pasting code for a Hubitat driver written for this device’s API, for example), but it can be done.
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FYI - Hubitat doesn’t have an MQTT broker, although there are several MQTT clients. But it is pretty easy to setup an MQTT broker on a RPi or some other always-on computer on the LAN
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@aaiyar and @marktheknife
Thank you. Having to involve a Raspberry Pi or some such thing is WAY beyond my skill set. This is what I was afraid of.
Even if the driver or app is not available one of the conventional ways, I can generally following cutting and pasting code other people have written into apps and drivers with a good set of instructions. But there is no way I'm adding a RaspPi. I bought Hubitat specifically so I don't have to mess with that type of stuff.
So, @intecular if you can provide written confirmation there will be a functional Hubitat app or driver available when this thing ships, I'm in. Otherwise, I am one of the people who won't be able to navigate the communication protocol barriers between the language this thing speaks and Hubitat.
You’re asking for disappointment when making a request like this, IMHO.
Buy a device for the features it definitely has now, not the ones it might have.
Edit: and FWIW, I get that any solution involving another always-on PC or a single-board computer like an RPi sounds scary, but it’s really not always that bad, and can open up access to a lot of interesting tools that run on a server.
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FWIW, there are free MQTT brokers that can be installed very easily on all platforms, including Windows. An example would be Mosquitto, which is available as binary packages for several flavors of Linux, OS X, and 32-bit & 64-bit Windows .....
There's always a first time for doing something. And there are plenty of people on the Hubitat community who will help you with getting Mosquitto running.
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I agree I am capable of increasing my skill set in this area. But I don't have any Windows machine in my house that stays in my house all the time, and I don't plan to get one. I prefer to keep everything on Hubitat - limits the variables. I'm already almost in over my head on a bunch of Hubitat stuff, I cannot imagine throwing another piece of hardware with an OS and software I have to load and connection Hardware I have to figure out.
Just not a set of skills I am currently going to spend any effort or time learning.
If it works with Hubitat out of the box I'll buy it. As noted, I can definitely see the use case.
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Unlike switches many (if not all) outlets are obstructed (i.e hidden behind furniture).
So, potentials for automation setup is very limited. Otherwise the idea is very nice.
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Agree - with one friendly amendment:
- Many outlets are hidden behind or near furniture. Those are the outlets into which items that may need to be automated are often plugged.
- Many outlets are out in the open on exposed walls, in pathways and halls, due to the code requirement that any wall section wider than 2' must have an outlet. Those are the outlets that are usually in the path of travel, and which are used sporadically - things do not stay permanently plugged into them
So the items needing automation are not plugged into the same outlets as where the smart coverplate is most useful...
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