If it has an IR or RF remote, Home Assistant can control it!
I have a Mitsubishi heat pump and a Fujitsu heat pump. Neither one came with Wifi or Smart controls installed — just a IR remote.
I could add them to my Home Assistant network of smart devices if I spent $300 – $400 on a control unit.
Alternatively I can get an universal IR blaster and hook that up to my network. These IR blasters can learn and mimic the signal generated by the remote control unit that comes with the heat pumps.
Seems like a large number of Home Assistant enthusists have had good luck using the BroadLink brand of IR blasters to control anything with a remote like TVs, space heaters, ceiling fans and mini splits.
You’ll need one of these devices in each room as like with the remote, it will need a direct line of sight to from the blaster to the appliance.
Setting the IR Blaster and Learning Remote Commands
Setting the IR Blaster in Home Assistant was a little trickier than some of the other actions I’ve created.
Initial set up of the BroadLink RM4mini Smart Remote Hub was simple. Just download the app and follow the instructions. It found my device quickly and connected it to the Wifi.
Then add devices to the apt such a mini-split or AC unit. The app comes with some preconfigured setups which will most likely work with your unit. Pick one, try it out and see if you can control the unit via your phone.
If it doesn’t work, try another one. If all the suggested setups fail, you can create a custom “learned” set up.
The included temperature and humidity sensors showed up right away in Home Assistant which turned out to be a very inexpensive way to add temperature and humdity sensors – just be sure to order the version of the BroadLink RM4mini with included temperature and humidity sensors.
Next is getting Home Assistant to work with the BroadLink RM4mini Smart Remote Hub so you can set up automations by beeming remote codes on demand.
Setting Up BroadLink RM4mini Smart Remote Hub with Home Assistant
Here is the problem I’m trying to solve with the univeral remote:
We have solar and a single Telsa Powerwall II backup battery. The backup battery allows our solar panels to keep working during a power outage (as long as the battery isn’t at 100%. If it is at 100% everything shuts down because you can’t send excess power to the battery or the grid).
But since we’ve switched over a lot of applicances to electric, the demand on the Powerwall II might exceed it’s capacity and it can shut down if overloaded.
So during the last power outage I was running around switching off the mini-splits when the grid was down. Then when the grid came back on, I’d switch them back on.
I want to automate this so when a grid outage is detected, Home Assistant will “push” the power button and turn off the two mini splits via a remote signal.
The mini-splits will always be “on”, the themostats on the remotes will keep them from running when not needed i.e. on a nice spring day. And we have a propane furnace for backup which will come on if needed.
So I only need to mimic the remote’s power on/off button using the BroadLink RM4mini Smart Remote Hub.
This video walk thru of setting up Home Assistant and a universal remote like the BroadLink RM4mini was invaluable because the text version of the instuctions is very confusing.
ONE NOTE: In “Developer Tools”, Home Assistant now uses the word “ACTION” instead of “SERVICES” in the latest version.