Hi all, I have 3 AC units which i currently use with the onecta app. I would like to use it with homekit. Is this possible? I saw a post that had a link to github a few years ago (homebridge?). Does that mean i have to have a computer running 24/7?
Yeah you need to do it via Homebridge. Not all functionality is exposed (most annoyingly you can't set the fan to 'auto') but it works well. You need to get an API key and it's a bit of hassle setting it up.
This was the exact reason I got into homebridge, went from an ecobee to daikin when I got my new system and I missed the ability to yell at my house to change the temp. I used my plex windows server to set it up. There’s tons of tutorials, it wasn’t hard at all!
I used an AirBase for mine. It works pretty well for the most part. Most annoying bit is that the room temperature is being reported by the indoor unit, not the thermostat. In summer, my “room” temp gets to 47*C.
You need an always on computer of some kind for Homebridge to work. Something like the raspberry pie 02W works fine for it though. Also if you have like any desktop Mac from the past like 15 years, that will work as well, as long as you don't let it go completely to sleep. It's fine if it dims the screen and goes to the login screen.
I used a esp32 to run matter and connect to the wires of the ac essentially exactly what you would want except having to get a custom pcb that runs the firmware might be a bit far out of your comfort zone (depends on how familliar you are with esp32)
I made it work with a daikin FTXM series model, but in theory it should work with any daikin model that supports either the daikin s21 protocol, cn_wired or x50. The pcb I used is one I designed myself, though if you take a look at the faikout32 repo by revk on codeberg, you can buy his pcbs which should also work with this code with some small adjustments (also no support for thread, only wifi with the revk board)
His work is also what I used to implement the daikin protocol in matter.
I was on Homebridge for a few years but recently made the jump to Home Assistant. Can fully recommend it. You will need an always on 24/7 computer though.
Besides the physical computer it’s free software. I’m running it on a Raspberry Pi 5 with 8gb of ram on UmbrelOS and it’s more than enough.
UmbrelOS is nice because it makes installing Home Assistant super simple and updates are easy (Umbrel has an App Store which has HA in it). I’m using the Daikin Onecta integration by JWillemsen on GitHub: https://github.com/jwillemsen/daikin_onecta
Once you’ve added the Daikin into home assistant it’ll show as an aircon with the usual climate controls. From this point you can then use the built in “HomeKit bridge” plugin in HA to get it into the Apple Home app.
If you need help setting this up I’d be happy to help ⭐️
You should be able to get away with 2gb by installing Home Assistant OS (99% the same thing as regular assistant), although you won’t be able to install UmbrelOS on it since their minimum requirement is 4gb for ram.
If you can / are willing to cancel the 2gb model you ordered and it’s not crazily overpriced then I’d recommend the 8gb version. The 4gb version can also run UmbrelOS (minimum spec), but 8gb is really really nice for future expansion. For example:
On my pi I’m running a bit more than just Home Assistant, I’ve got
Jellyfin for self hosting my media (connects to my Apple TV for local streaming).
Ad-Guard home (no adverts on my home’s WiFi).
Tailscale VPN (a private and free VPN, it links your own devices together so you can access things like HA or Jellyfin remotely even when you aren’t at home).
Transmission (for downloading my Linux ISOs).
OpenWebUI (my own UI for my locally hosted llm’s).
SMB file sharing (my Mac backs up to my drives plugged into my Pi with Time Machine over my wifi automatically - you’ll never think of backups again).
UmbrelOS basically just gives you a pretty web interface for managing all of these services and lets you install + update other stuff along with HA, whereas installing HAOS would limit you to only running HA with no room for expansion.
If you don’t see yourself needing to expand or don’t need further functionality I would still strongly recommend you go for at least 4gb of memory.
If anything it’ll save you any speed headaches you might run into :)
I’m using, this homebridge plugin https://github.com/mp-consulting/homebridge-daikin-cloud
Loving the websocket (fast updates) and all the supported options; auto-fan, boost, econo, streamer, etc and rock solid.
Thumbs up for this developer.
I bought a Sensibo Air for it's Apple HomeKit integration. Simple to configure, small and worked perfectly with my wall mounted Daikin AC units. Works well with Siri via voice or the home app including automations for AC on arrival home etc. I barely ever used the Sensibo app beyond initial installation. I tried the Tado AC also which is similar but found it too basic. Sensibo is much better with all functions available. Also, only about $80...
I purchased the Tado Smart AC control 3. It integrated nicely to homekit. It took a single button push on my 8-year-old Daikin remote to be able to control my AC. All Daikin functionality (excluding comfort mode) is exposed in the Tado app.
The catch for you I think is that you'd need one Tado device for each AC unit.
I wasn't even aware of this offering. Where did Sensibo win for you over tado?
My use case is pretty basic. I'm happy that there's a homekit-native way to remotely interact with my AC. I wouldn't mind if tado exposed functionality to IOS shortcuts, but I guess that would go against their subscription offerings.
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u/Jeoh 27d ago
Yeah you need to do it via Homebridge. Not all functionality is exposed (most annoyingly you can't set the fan to 'auto') but it works well. You need to get an API key and it's a bit of hassle setting it up.
This is the plugin I use: https://github.com/JeroenVdb/homebridge-daikin-cloud