So you want to Automate your A/C system to control with your Smart Home Controller?
This blog explains the different ways we can connect our Home Automation system to your controller.
The easiest option that most people migrate to is using the Remotec IR repeater. This only works if your A/C system comes with an IR remote and the functionality is limited. It will allow you to send the signal to control the status of the system but there is no feedback to say if the command was successful or not. However it does have a temperature sensor built in so that could tell you if it is operating or not after a certain time.
Another option for some of the older types of units is to swap out the time clock to a Z-wave version. Remotec 500 is a device but this is only for a hard wired systems not one that uses a data communication. This unit gives you full control of the associated cooling system.
The third out of the box solution that we have is to use the coollink system. This is compatible with most modern systems and works with your existing controller and allows you to control zones with multiple coolplugs. There are different plug options to suit Mitsubishi, Fijitsu, Dakin and LG
The last option if none of these systems are suitable is to use various Z-wave modules and sensors to give you the control of the system that you desire. Contact us or one of our install partners if this sounds like you.
This guide covers bridging your FIBARO to your CooLinkHub and in turn your Cool Plug for this you will need a few things;
Hardware;
FIBARO Home Centre 2
CooLink HUB
CooLink Plug (ensure you have the version that is specifically for your HVAC system) Software;
Putty (This is a free program that you can download from the link below)
https://www.putty.org/
You will need to download the following Virtual Device for FIBARO, the device is pre-built to make installation as simple as possible.
(I have the file, just point me to who I should send it off to, also what name you would like it to have, as its currently named so I can identify the Version of it)
Initial Set-up
You don’t need to do anything special while setting up the FIBARO controller, so if it is an existing system you should be fine.
For setting up your CooLink Hub and Plug you will need to set them up in accordance to the manual, you can find the manual below for all Cool Plugs.
CooLinkHub Configuration
Hub IP
Once you have connected up your CooLink Hub and your CooLink Plug your Router will assign an IP to the Hub, you will need this IP in order to proceed you can go about this in a number of ways, the simplest way is to simply watch your CooLink Hub for a short duration, every two minutes or so it cycles through some of its information, the devices IP is one of them and it will display four numbers in sequence on the upper right hand side of its screen.
HVAC Identifier
Along with the IP being displayed on the screen if you watch the bottom left of the screen it will constantly cycle the same three sets of information, the one we are looking for is L#, where # is a number such as 2, on the next cycle you will see that number much smaller and turned vertical on the screen followed by three numbers such as 093, once you have these two sets of numbers you have have the identifier as it will be the two sets combined in this example L2.093.
Setting Static IP
It is highly recommended that you set your CooLinkHUB to a Static IP, to do this you will need to use Putty, you will need the use the IP, the Port 10102 and then select RAW, and Press Open
This will open a command like prompt box just to make sure you have connected correctly you may wish to check the status of your HVAC system, to do this just type in the following ls L# with the # being the number to got in the “HVAC Identifier” section, once you have confirmed connection put in ifconfig
I have already set a static IP, to do this you will need to type in ifconfig IP XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX Make sure that you set the ip within the same subnet as your Gateway.
After the reboot you will want to connect to the CooLink Hub again using putty to make sure its changed its IP correctly.
FIBARO Virtual Device Set-up
You will need to set up the Virtual Device you downloaded previously, to do this you will need to navigate to the add device section of the Fibaro and press Choose Files under Import virtual device, find the Downloaded file and select it, after roughly 10 seconds you will be loaded into a new device called “CooLinkHUB”
Once you have loaded you will need to input your IP Address and the TCP Port 10102 and press save located on the right side of the screen.
After that press on Advanced on the top right of the screen.
If you scroll down you will find the Control for the CooLinkHub, however at this point of time it is not operational as we need to change some settings.
Underneath the Remote you will find a Bunch of Buttons and Labels, in order for your Fibaro to communicate with the HUB we need to make sure the Fibaro Sends the right commands to the HUB, this is simply done by changing all mentions of LS.093 to your corresponding number.
Once you have changed all noted L2.093 you will need to scroll back up and save the Virtual Device, once you have done so you will be able to control the CooLinkHub, and as long as you have done it all correctly you will also receive feedback from your HUB so if you change the Temperate manually the Remote will also update the temperature on the FIBARO HC.
Note: This guide is for the use ONLY for qualified persons to carry out such tasks. If in doubt please contact us.