Best third party product to add "intelligence" or timer to any air conditioner

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#1370565 19-Aug-2015 21:30

I did watch that video, pretty cool. Not sure I like that it's all in the cloud, if they go broke the device stops working. Still for that price I'll likely get one.

Can you have a phone control two or three easily? I'd want one for each heat pump.

graemeh

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#1370884 20-Aug-2015 13:59

If you want a cheap and easy solution you could buy a spare remote for each heat pump. Then for each heat pump set up one remote with the morning settings and one with the evening settings. As long as you label the remotes clearly it should be easy enough to use. Not high tech and not very smart but it should work.

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#1370918 20-Aug-2015 15:17

timmmay: Can you have a phone control two or three easily? I'd want one for each heat pump.

Sorry, cant tell you that - I've only had a short play with one.

mclean

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#1370935 20-Aug-2015 16:04

timmmay: I'm tired of having to reset our air conditioners twice day - in the morning I set it to come on late afternoon, in the evening I set it to come on in the morning. I want to automate this with my Fujitsu Nocria and Daikin heat pumps, which are 3 and 5 years old.

What's the best automation product? Sensibo (US$239 for hub and two controllers), Pebble (which was announced but I can't find anything about it), I suspect there are others out there. Also potentially interested in DIY options, within reason - if it involves any soldering I'm probably not interested.

What sort of controllers have you got? Most modern controllers, even hand-held remotes, will let you program four or more actions per day (eg two ON's + two OFF's), and program the temperature set-point for each action.

timmmay

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#1370998 20-Aug-2015 17:23

mclean:
timmmay: I'm tired of having to reset our air conditioners twice day - in the morning I set it to come on late afternoon, in the evening I set it to come on in the morning. I want to automate this with my Fujitsu Nocria and Daikin heat pumps, which are 3 and 5 years old.

What's the best automation product? Sensibo (US$239 for hub and two controllers), Pebble (which was announced but I can't find anything about it), I suspect there are others out there. Also potentially interested in DIY options, within reason - if it involves any soldering I'm probably not interested.

What sort of controllers have you got? Most modern controllers, even hand-held remotes, will let you program four or more actions per day (eg two ON's + two OFF's), and program the temperature set-point for each action.

I wish it was that simple. I have a 3 year old Fujitsu Nocria, they've said there's no 7 day timer available. I have a 5-7 year old Daikin, I didn't even ask them. The remotes I have are simple on/off timers not week timers.

jonathan18

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#1371329 21-Aug-2015 09:35

timmmay:
mclean:
timmmay: I'm tired of having to reset our air conditioners twice day - in the morning I set it to come on late afternoon, in the evening I set it to come on in the morning. I want to automate this with my Fujitsu Nocria and Daikin heat pumps, which are 3 and 5 years old.

What's the best automation product? Sensibo (US$239 for hub and two controllers), Pebble (which was announced but I can't find anything about it), I suspect there are others out there. Also potentially interested in DIY options, within reason - if it involves any soldering I'm probably not interested.

What sort of controllers have you got? Most modern controllers, even hand-held remotes, will let you program four or more actions per day (eg two ON's + two OFF's), and program the temperature set-point for each action.

I wish it was that simple. I have a 3 year old Fujitsu Nocria, they've said there's no 7 day timer available. I have a 5-7 year old Daikin, I didn't even ask them. The remotes I have are simple on/off timers not week timers.

We had a similarly aged Fujitsu Nocria in our hall, and it amazed me that it came with such a basic remote given what was available elsewhere and what it cost (it was a large unit). Hopefully Fujitsu is providing better flexibility now on all its units - surely such controls are not particularly complex to provide?

Even modern/more complex units don't always provide great controls - the Daikin ducted system we had installed a few weeks ago doesn't allow us to set the fan speed as part of a programmed start, so it will always start with whatever the previously used fan speed was. And then the phone/tablet app doesn't provide access to many controls including the 7-day timer (so imagine you'd forgotten to turn it off before going on holiday and the unit was set to go on every day - you'd not be able to over-ride this without turning it off every day!). Surely a good app would provide access to all the controls available on the controller?

Does using an aftermarket solution like a Pebble provide access to all possible controls? If so, they may be more flexible than that provided by the OEM.

blackjack17

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#1371335 21-Aug-2015 09:43

Something like this

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Long-Distance-RF-Air-Conditioner-Remote-Control-IR-blaster/32340247136.html

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ghettomaster

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#1371346 21-Aug-2015 10:08

$35US! Finally a price for Wifi heatpump controller that anybody can live with!

Is such a cheap IoT device something I want on my LAN in light of all the security concerns with IoT already? sigh... back to the drawing board.

timmmay

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#1371358 21-Aug-2015 10:30

ghettomaster: $35US! Finally a price for Wifi heatpump controller that anybody can live with!

Is such a cheap IoT device something I want on my LAN in light of all the security concerns with IoT already? sigh... back to the drawing board.

I'm slightly wary of things that are effectively unbranded. Check out the suggestion of "Broadlink RM Home" on the previous page.

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#1372660 23-Aug-2015 19:40

There is a post about the Orvibo Allone not working with heat pumps. Topic # 168575 17-Mar-2015 23:04
I checked by asking a supplier a question if would work with my Nocria as I had read of problems, and he confirmed no.

timmmay

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#1372701 23-Aug-2015 21:45

I think the Broadlink one is a winner, and if there was anyone to ask if I could have two I'd have ordered already. But I tried contacting them and got not reply. May try again.

timmmay

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#1373031 24-Aug-2015 12:48

Broadlink have told me you can control multiple devices from a single Android phone, using their app, and that both Fujitsu Nocria and Daikin air conditioners should be fine. They also said if you control from outside your home it uses AWS as a proxy, but if you're at home it controls them directly.

They're US$33/NZ$49 for the home model from dx.com (sold out), US$34 - $US44 for the pro model from AliExpress (more from the manufacturer, less from other vendors), or NZ$90 purchased locally for the home and NZ$109 for the pro. So you effectively pay more than double for buying from NZ. Typical. So I've ordered a couple from AliExpress.

Expect an update in a couple of months.

Mattmannz

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#1373057 24-Aug-2015 13:24

I have just installed a PebbleAir at home and it's great. Works very well, it's New Zealand made which I didn't realise at the time of purchase and they have excellent support. I logged a bug notification and 15 minutes later someone called me and we worked through the issue and they made an app update to fix the issue.

Pricey at $249 delivered but it does work very well. Has multiple times, temp sensor etc.

Matt.

Niel

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#1373236 24-Aug-2015 16:56

I have not read the whole thread, and I have not bought the following either, but it looks nice as a single unit for controlling lots of stuff.
http://www.banggood.com/Broadlink-RM2-Pro-Smart-Home-Automation-Phone-Wireless-Remote-Control-p-942667.html
http://www.banggood.com/Broadlink-RM2-Switch-Smart-Home-Automation-WiFi-Center-for-Cellphone-p-950802.html
http://www.banggood.com/Home-Appliances-Wireless-Automation-Remote-Controller-WIFIInfraredRF-p-949579.html
Support is not great, but there is some. Delivery is about 3 weeks. If you have not been on Bangood, the sign-up offer is not credit but a set of discount codes each requiring a minimum purchase. Otherwise, I've had a good experience with them (better/cheaper than DX).

You can never have enough Volvos!

timmmay

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#1373280 24-Aug-2015 18:01

Niel: I have not read the whole thread, and I have not bought the following either, but it looks nice as a single unit for controlling lots of stuff.
http://www.banggood.com/Broadlink-RM2-Pro-Smart-Home-Automation-Phone-Wireless-Remote-Control-p-942667.html
http://www.banggood.com/Broadlink-RM2-Switch-Smart-Home-Automation-WiFi-Center-for-Cellphone-p-950802.html
http://www.banggood.com/Home-Appliances-Wireless-Automation-Remote-Controller-WIFIInfraredRF-p-949579.html
Support is not great, but there is some. Delivery is about 3 weeks. If you have not been on Bangood, the sign-up offer is not credit but a set of discount codes each requiring a minimum purchase. Otherwise, I've had a good experience with them (better/cheaper than DX).

Yeah I just ordered two from Ali today :)

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