Daikin Cora Wifi Module

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280 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#2002004 25-Apr-2018 01:17

Are there any actual geeks on this site? An ESP8266 module and an IR LED gets you wifi connected heat pump controller that you can control from your phone and link to your home automation system. Total cost about $20.

Fred99

13684 posts

Uber Geek

#2002061 25-Apr-2018 09:05

irongarment: Are there any actual geeks on this site? An ESP8266 module and an IR LED gets you wifi connected heat pump controller that you can control from your phone and link to your home automation system. Total cost about $20.

Yes.

But the Daikin Wifi controller works with 2-way communication between the phone app and the heat pump itself, so you can see the current status of the pump, inside/outside temperatures, fan speed, temp settings etc etc.

Talkiet

4787 posts

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#2002100 25-Apr-2018 10:07

The Daikin WiFi modules are dodgy as F at best. Very very unreliable. They work, but intermittently. I have spoken to a couple of senior installers and a design tech from Daikin in Aussie and they basically all just apologised for it.

I have my Daikin connected with HomeAssistant for automation, and the messaging is basically one way messaging - there's no acknowledgement of the command and about 50% of the time the command doesn't execute.

Their own app is barely any better.

I would STRONGLY advise against Daikin if you want to use Wifi remote controls at all.

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

Fred99

13684 posts

Uber Geek

#2002145 25-Apr-2018 11:24

Talkiet:

The Daikin WiFi modules are dodgy as F at best. Very very unreliable. They work, but intermittently. I have spoken to a couple of senior installers and a design tech from Daikin in Aussie and they basically all just apologised for it.

I have my Daikin connected with HomeAssistant for automation, and the messaging is basically one way messaging - there's no acknowledgement of the command and about 50% of the time the command doesn't execute.

Their own app is barely any better.

I would STRONGLY advise against Daikin if you want to use Wifi remote controls at all.

Cheers - N

Have two Daikin wifi adapters - one the Aus/NZ version, one the Euro version. One came as standard with the heatpump, the other I bought the adapter and DIY installed.

DIY installing in the floor mounted unit was probably not for the faint hearted, to get at the circuits and route cables etc requires quite a lot of disassembly. The wall mounted unit sold with wifi adapter as standard had the wiring preinstalled and a slot where the unit sits - takes about 30 seconds to install.

What I would say is that the installers who set it up in the first place warned me that they didn't know how to set up the wifi adapter, implied that it was based on weird voodoo magic, handed me the instruction manual, and said that if I got stuck, there was one guy in their office who could probably help. Following the instruction manual to get wifi connected was a bit of a PITA, but about the same as installing a wireless printer can be if it doesn't "just work" first time. I can't remember now, but there is a button press combination to wipe/reset the unit - if you're having trouble, reset it, then go back to the start of the instructions.

So I have to disagree with what you say above. Both have worked very well all the time - not intermittently (but with note about non-compatibility of Euro card with region-locked software from the Google Play store - and how to get around that).

Kickinbac

417 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2002163 25-Apr-2018 12:02

I have a Daikin Cora with Wi-Fi and it works reliably and was easy to set up. I’ve never had an issue and its been installed for over a year.
I like the app as I can see the actual indoor and outdoor temperature at home anywhere and can easily set up time schedules. I’ve got it set so that it turns off at 9am and 11pm so it turns off if it’s left on.

I think the Daikin app / system is better than the Mitsubishi Electric app as with Daikin you are connected directly to the heat pump when home so no delay in response. With the Mitsubishi it works via internet and their servers so there is a 30-60 second delay when you make a change. I can’t comment on other brands as haven’t used them. There is the ‘pebble’ but its just an infrared repeater mainly intended for heat pumps that have no proprietary Wi-Fi interfaces and it has no two way communication.

I worked for a Daikin dealer and we found that most of the Wi-Fi adaptor problems were Wi-Fi coverage or router issues. 99.9% go smoothly them there’s one or two that are a p.i.t.a! We noted that houses with metal framing have coverage issues as they seem to be a faraday cage! If theres a problem we have a long ethernet cable and move the router into the room temporarily to check/prove Wi-Fi coverage. Other than that it can be a router problem and you need a tech savvy person to look at the router settings, your general refrigeration tech or heat pump installer are not IT gurus and this is really out of their scope of work.

Talkiet

4787 posts

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#2002166 25-Apr-2018 12:06

Trust me, I haven't installed it wrong. The SKYFi BRP15A61 unit I have is well known for being dodgy. It's 2.4Ghz (only) for a start, plus it's well known in the automation circles for being problematic.

https://community.openhab.org/t/daikin-skyfi-brp15a61/30687/9

Add to this the fact that it's been discontinued and Daikin have refused to supply it because it causes so many calls and issues, and I'm comfortable saying it's problematic - even installed and used with their awful app.

Perhaps you have a different model?

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

Kickinbac

417 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2002197 25-Apr-2018 12:17

Mine is a BRP072A42 which is hi-wall version, think it’s called Dmobile. The ducted Skyfi version is completely different.

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irongarment

280 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#2002277 25-Apr-2018 13:35

Fred99:
irongarment: Are there any actual geeks on this site? An ESP8266 module and an IR LED gets you wifi connected heat pump controller that you can control from your phone and link to your home automation system. Total cost about $20.

Yes.

But the Daikin Wifi controller works with 2-way communication between the phone app and the heat pump itself, so you can see the current status of the pump, inside/outside temperatures, fan speed, temp settings etc etc.

It doesn't matter, and I expect there isn't 2-way communication to the heat pump itself. If you build your own it still works the same way. The phone can query the 'current' state, and the controller reports the last state sent to the heat pump. It's trivial to also add as many temperature sensors as you like.

Fred99

13684 posts

Uber Geek

#2002289 25-Apr-2018 13:45

irongarment:
It doesn't matter, and I expect there isn't 2-way communication to the heat pump itself.

There is, and as such it does matter for that functionality.

irongarment

280 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#2002295 25-Apr-2018 13:53

Fred99:
irongarment:
It doesn't matter, and I expect there isn't 2-way communication to the heat pump itself.

There is, and as such it does matter for that functionality.

No, it doesn't. You can control the heat pump by generating IR signals, and cache the last command sent. There is no need for 2-way communication, and no need to spend so much money on the interface.

Fred99

13684 posts

Uber Geek

#2002307 25-Apr-2018 14:19

irongarment:
Fred99:

irongarment:
It doesn't matter, and I expect there isn't 2-way communication to the heat pump itself.

There is, and as such it does matter for that functionality.

No, it doesn't. You can control the heat pump by generating IR signals, and cache the last command sent. There is no need for 2-way communication, and no need to spend so much money on the interface.

I can (and often do) turn the pump on and off at the indoor unit without using the remote, so can check the real status remotely etc - not guess that the remote power button will toggle it off when it's been turned off at the unit - which the IR controller can't do as it's one-way. Part of this thread was a grizzle about the local cost of the Daikin Wifi module - but one came with no additional cost to one of the heat pumps I bought. The other didn't - because I found it useful, then because of the high price to buy it as an accessory locally, I bought an inexpensive card on Ebay - with identical functionality but "region locked" - a solution for that issue also discussed above, as have the differences/reasons people want the functionality of the two-way communication from the wifi module. You're telling people they "don't need" functionality that they might actually want.

Kickinbac

417 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2002490 25-Apr-2018 19:56

The best thing about thr 2-way communication is that I can see what the heat pump is set at. So if the wife has it set at 24 degrees (way too hot!) on the remote, I can change it via the app to say 22 degrees and she has no idea! Lol.

xlinknz

1127 posts

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#2002526 25-Apr-2018 21:15

I also have a Cora with a WiFi module - works very well at home and when not at home

The frustrating issue I had was that the WiFi module I have does not support the higher 2.4 WiFi channels, so when one changes their WiFi router to use the typically uncontested higher channel such as 13 the Daikin unit won't work, it took me quite a while to work out what was going on :(

That said my experience with the Cora and the WiFi has been very good

irongarment

280 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#2002578 25-Apr-2018 23:36

Fred99:
irongarment:
:

irongarment:
It doesn't matter, and I expect there isn't 2-way communication to the heat pump itself.

There is, and as such it does matter for that functionality.

No, it doesn't. You can control the heat pump by generating IR signals, and cache the last command sent. There is no need for 2-way communication, and no need to spend so much money on the interface.

I can (and often do) turn the pump on and off at the indoor unit without using the remote, so can check the real status remotely etc - not guess that the remote power button will toggle it off when it's been turned off at the unit - which the IR controller can't do as it's one-way. Part of this thread was a grizzle about the local cost of the Daikin Wifi module - but one came with no additional cost to one of the heat pumps I bought. The other didn't - because I found it useful, then because of the high price to buy it as an accessory locally, I bought an inexpensive card on Ebay - with identical functionality but "region locked" - a solution for that issue also discussed above, as have the differences/reasons people want the functionality of the two-way communication from the wifi module. You're telling people they "don't need" functionality that they might actually want.

No. I am saying identical functionality can be achieved in a different way, and more cheaply. If you send a 'power off' command to the heat pump it doesn't toggle the power status. It turns off the heat pump. If the heat pump was off already then nothing happens. Similarly, it's not necessary to know that the heat pump is on, or what mode it's in before sending a new command with temperature/mode/fan speed etc. The heat pump will do whatever is required to change from its current state to its new state. If you send a command to set the state to exactly what it is currently, nothing happens.

It's nice that you have the Daikin interface working, but for other people it's probably not a good choice, especially as it can be done more cheaply, and the resulting solution (IR interface) will work for almost any model of heat pump.

Here's a good example:
https://harizanov.com/2012/02/control-daikin-air-conditioner-over-the-internet/

michaelmurfy

meow
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#2002580 26-Apr-2018 00:10

@irongarment There are many people here who have use ESP8266's (including myself) but the problem with doing this is the fact the remote commands are commonly encoded packet bursts so you lose a whole lot of control going this method. I ended up going with the Sensibo (https://sensibo.com/) which is far cheaper than the integrated option for my aircon unit and actually does far more too. They also have a full API so have this integrated with Home Assistant and Google Home.

I could have messed around with the ESP for a bit more to get the same functionality but it wasn't worth my time - an off the shelf solution looks far tidier and just works for me.

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
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