Category: Home Assistant

Centralite Pearl Zigbee Thermostat

Controlling your thremostat shouldn’t be difficult. The Pearl Zigbee thermostat is now discontinued and can be obtained from sites such as Ebay for around 30 USD. In a nutshell don’t buy the Centralite Pearl Zigbee Thermostat. Reason: It randomly disconnects from the Zigbee Network and refuses to rejoin uness you press a number of very cryptic things on the display to get it working again. Not family friendly….


How to enter thermostat Programming Mode. The thermostat needs to be in an “off” state. To turn the thermostat off, press the “Mode” button until “Off” appears on the screen. Once in the off state, PRESS BETWEEN the hold button and the fan button. Continue to hold and swipe down on the right slider – “01” will display

• When “01” is displayed, it indicates you are in “programming mode.”

• Use the + and – buttons to advance through the menu options listed below in the “MenuOptions” list.
• Use the HOLD button to enter a menu option then use the + and – to set the appropriate value and then HOLD to confirm you menu choice (HOLD is used like the ENTER key)

• *Note, utilizing the MODE button will exit you from the menu*

• When finished programming, tap the MODE button until the thermostat to EXIT the menu and returned to normal operation – programming mode has been exited.

**Menu Options**

1 - Display Celsius and Fahrenheit
   0- Celsius
   1- Fahrenheit (Default)

2 - Heat type (Heat pump / Non Heat pump)
    0- Non Heat pump(Default)
    1- Heat pump

3 - Heat source (Gas / Electric) 
    0- Electric
    1- Gas(Default)

4 - Temperature Calibration 
    -2.5 – +2.5 Celsius
    -4.5 - +4.5 Fahrenheit
    (Default) - 0

5 - Set Minimum Heatpoint
    (Default) – 44 Fahrenheit, 7 Celsius

6 - Set Maximum Heatpoint 
    (Default) – 86 Fahrenheit, 30 Celsius

7 - Set Minimum Coolpoint 
    (Default) – 44 Fahrenheit, 7 Celsius

8 - Set Maximum Coolpoint 
    (Default) – 86 Fahrenheit, 30 Celsius

9 - Set Minimum Deadband 
    (Default) – 1.8 Fahrenheit, 1.0 Celsius

11 - EZ Mode 
    11- Yes
    All others - No

12 - Join Network
    0- No
    1- Yes

13 - Leave Network
    11- Yes
    All others - No

14 - Rejoin Network
    0- No
    1- Yes

15 - Redetect System Type 
    0- No
    1- Yes

    **Types Detected**

    04 - HP TWO COOL TWO HEAT
    05 - TWO COOL TWO HEAT
    FF - INVALID RELAY CONFIGURATION

16 - Reset 

    0- No
    1- Yes

    00 - Cool Only
    01 - Cool with reheat
    02 - Heat Only
    03 - Heat with reheat
    04 - Full Auto
    05 - Full Auto with reheat (default)

17 - Factory Reset All 
    11- Yes
    All others - No

18 - Display Configuration and Network Settings 

    Order of Display:

    1- PSOC Version Number
    2- Ember Version Number
    3- Heat Type
    4- Heat Source
    5- Temperature Calibration
    6- Relays Detected
    7- Network State
    8- Network Channel
    9-10- PanID

19 - Reset Counter 
    0-
    1- Reset to 0

20 - Standby Brightness Level 
    0-99- Brightness percentage leve

Adding A Display to Home Assistant

By far the most useful feature is being able to control your Home Assistant devices from a touch screen located somewhere convienient such as the Kitchen or Bedroom. We have had most success with the Lenovo Tab M10 Plus and Fully Kiosk Browser

https://www.fully-kiosk.com/

Rasperry PI RTL_SDR SUPPORT

cd ~

sudo apt-get install -y git git-core cmake libusb-1.0-0-dev
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y build-essential
git clone git://git.osmocom.org/rtl-sdr.git
cd rtl-sdr/ && mkdir build && cd build/
cmake ../ -DINSTALL_UDEV_RULES=ON
sudo make
sudo make install
sudo ldconfig
cd ~
sudo cp ./rtl-sdr/rtl-sdr.rules /etc/udev/rules.d/


# create file
no-rtl.conf 

sudo nano /etc/modprobe.d/no-rtl.conf


# add these three
lines

blacklist
dvb_usb_rtl28xxublacklist rtl2832blacklist rtl2830 

sudo reboot
lsusb
rtl_test -t


Build and install
rtl_433

sudo apt-get install -y libtool libusb-1.0.0-dev librtlsdr-dev rtl-sdr doxygen
git clone https://github.com/merbanan/rtl_433.git
cd rtl_433/ 
mkdir build 
cd build 
cmake ../ 
make
sudo make install
rtl_433 -f 344975000 -R 70

https://www.rtl-sdr.com/

Honeywell 5800RPS Door Sensor With Home Assistant

These are commonly installed by ADT Home security Systems and are for the most part great. They have a long battery life, a reasonable range, work on RF technology. If your subscription has run out or you wish to repurpose, how do you interface these great little sensors with Home Assistant ? Read on..

https://github.com/merbanan/rtl_433


def rtl_433_probe():
    """Run a rtl_433 UDP listener."""
    global exitFlag
    global doorVolume

    time.sleep(4) # put this here incase any code could crash the pi


    jq.setVolume(doorVolume)

    try:
    # Create listener for incoming json string packets.
        sock = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_DGRAM, socket.IPPROTO_UDP)
        sock.bind((UDP_IP, UDP_PORT))
        
        ## Connect to MQTT
        mqttc = mqtt.Client()
        mqttc.on_connect = mqtt_connect
        mqttc.on_disconnect = mqtt_disconnect
        mqttc.on_message=on_message        #attach function to callback
        mqttc.on_connect_fail=connect_fail_callback
        mqttc.username_pw_set(MQTT_USERNAME, password=MQTT_PASSWORD)
        LogEvent("connecting to " + MQTT_HOST)            
        mqttc.connect(MQTT_HOST, MQTT_PORT, 60)
        mqttc.loop_start()
        
    
    except Exception as e:
        LogEvent("main loop exception %s" % (e))   
        time.sleep(5)
        exit(1)  

    
    ## Receive UDP datagrams, extract json, and publish.
    while not exitFlag:
        line, addr = sock.recvfrom(1024)
        try:
            line = parse_syslog(line)
            data = json.loads(line)
            publish_sensor_to_mqtt(mqttc, data, line)

        except ValueError:
            LogEvent("issue with json")
            pass

  

def run():
    """Run main or daemon."""
    # with daemon.DaemonContext(files_preserve=[sock]):
    #  detach_process=True
    #  uid
    #  gid
    #  working_directory
    rtl_433_probe()


if __name__ == "__main__":
    run()

Supervisor



pi@doorrf:/etc/supervisor/conf.d $ cat doorrf.conf
[program:doorrf]
command=python /home/pi/doorrf.py
user=pi
autostart=yes
autorestart=yes
startretries=100


pi@doorrf:/etc/supervisor/conf.d $ cat rtl_433.conf
[program:rtl_433]
command=/home/pi/rtl_433/build/src/rtl_433 -f 344975000 -R 70 -F syslog:127.0.0.1:1433
user=pi
autostart=yes
autorestart=yes
startretries=100


pi@doorrf:/etc/supervisor/conf.d $ cat squeeze.conf
[program:squeezebox]
command=/usr/bin/squeezelite-armv6hf -o sysdefault:CARD=sndrpihifiberry -s 10.0.0.36 -n doorrf
user=pi
autostart=yes
autorestart=yes
startretries=100







Install
supervisord

sudo apt-get install -y supervisor

Supervisor Commands


sudo service supervisor start

sudo
service supervisor status

sudo
service supervisor stop

sudo
service supervisor restart

Zigbee firmware flashing for CC2531


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RguRQUXWLCY

If you are using a CC2530 or CC2531; it is a common issue for this adapter to crash (due to its outdated hardware). Reflashing the firmware should fix the problem. If it happens often consider flashing the source routing firmware or upgrade to a more powerful adapter. 

wget https://github.com/Koenkk/Z-Stack-firmware/raw/master/coordinator/Z-Stack_Home_1.2/bin/source_routing/CC2531_SOURCE_ROUTING_20211116.zip


so login to pi

Check if WiringPi is installed (should be) by running gpio -v if you don’t see the version in the output 

sudo apt install wiringpi

Navigate to the folder

cd flash_cc2531

and see if the USB device is wired correctly running:

./cc_chipid

You should see ID = b524. if any other outcome is given, check your wires.

md flash

cd flash

wget https://github.com/Koenkk/Z-Stack-firmware/raw/master/coordinator/Z-Stack_3.0.x/bin/CC2531_20190425.zip

or use the alternative above....

unzip file

cd ..

Clear the flash with 

./cc_erase 

Upload new firmware using 

./cc_write /home/pi/flash_cc2531/flash/CC2531ZNP-Prod.hex 

this will take about 3 min.

Radon Gas

So Whats the deal ? East Cobb, Marietta, Georgia ? Surely not ….. So the general recommendation of the EPA is to take action if your levels of radon gas in your home exceed 4 pCi/L at any point. Read up here https://www.epa.gov/radon/epa-map-radon-zones. Radon levels can fluctate based on a number of environmental factors such as airflow through the house and weather conditions.

https://extension.uga.edu/programs-services/radon-testing/georgia-radon-map.html

No scare tactics here, This post is really to discuss integration of Radon sensors into your Home Assistant (HA) setup. If your house is really air tight you might have a cause for concern in East Cobb. If you have never had your home tested it’s probably prudent to do so, at least once.

Professional Testing For Radon Gas

Testing by a “pro”, if your going to pay money you expect at least:

Are certified and completed an industry recognized course showing they are capable of understanding and being compentent to carry out such tests.

Have a working, recently calibrated Radon detector with documentation they can provide you, showing when it was calibrated and by whom.

Are able to perform Radon mitigation in the event that high levels of Radon Gas are observed in the testing phase, will deduct the cost of the Radon Gas Test from the mitigation expense and provide you with an estimate of the cost of mitigation PRIOR to any testing.

Monitoring needs to be setup in your crawlspace or basement and run for a min of three days, no less.

DIY

Radoneye is a product from a company that also produces equipment for pros, does not require calibration and can be purchased for the price of a professional radon test.

The easiest way to integrate with home assistant is using ESPHome and build a bluetooth proxy.

https://esphome.io/

Using HACS, add the Home Assistant integration rd200v2 after which you can add the ecosense radon sensors by going to Settings – Devices & Services

https://github.com/jdeath/rd200v2

As always, we provide setup, configuration and support for this type of equipment.

Here is a pretty detailed review of a couple of units

https://ryancr.wordpress.com/2020/11/28/radon-sensor-review-airthings-wave-plus-versus-radoneye-rd200/

Sensor attributes available in Home Assistant from the Radon sensor

Radon readings from the radoneye sensor in a home in Cobb County GA over 3days

Logitech Media Server

Sure, multiroom sound systems are a great addition to your home. The ability to play the same music or podcast in every room is a great feature. Take a look at the big names, ebay and thrift stores are littered with the ghosts of unsupported first gen systems from the big players. They are expensive investments and often fall foul of being abandoned by the manufacturer after they are no longer able to make any money on them.

Enter Logitech Media Server and options for playing the streams in software or hardware (squeezebox) Its been around forever, has a ton of open source community support. Logitech have discontinued there cloud based service, however this can still be used to stream local music, tunein, bandcamp and more.

Once you have downloaded and installed LMS from the link above, confirm the necessary ports have been allowed through your server firewall if required.

TCP 3483 squeezebox stream
TCP 9000 Server web interface
TCP 9090 CLI e.g Squeezer

Open a web browser window and enter the address of your LMS e.g http://10.0.0.2:9000

(If using windows you can find this in the information tab of LMS)

You should see a page similar to the following in your browser:

Main parts of the interface

Player: This is the output device that will actually play the audio. It is a drop down list and if nothing is present, you dont have any audio players connected and won’t be able to play anything.

Volume: The volume level of the currently selected player.

Transport: The Play, Pause, Next Track, Prev Track, Loop, Etc… Transport controls of the currently selected player

Source: The source audio that you wish to play, can be local MP3, Internet radio or other souces depending on plugins installed

Settings: (bottom right) Allows you to add and remove plugins, scan for local music and various other house keeping tasks.

Squeezebox players

You will need a player to output the audio stream from the Logitech Music Server. I have listed a few we have had direct experience with, there are many others.

A dedicated squeezebox player from somewhere like ebay or facebook marketplace, search for squeezebox

Squeezelite-X available from the microsoft store.

PiCorePlayer for the raspberry pi , Tested with Pi Zero and Model 3 , both work fine.

Squeezelite-esp32 for the esp32. We build these players and have a few for sale.

SB Player by angry goat for Android and chromebooks in the playstore (small one time fee)

Controllers

You will need some way of controlling the playback, volume and audio source of a player. This can be achived in a multiple of ways. A couple are mentioned here.

via LMS webpage on port 9000 (in our example that would be http://10.0.0.2:9000)

Android google play search for app named squeezer.

Squeezer Configuration page on an Android device

Proxmox notes

This section contains notes for installing LMS on proxmox, may be outdated or incorrect

Create a new LXC container on Proxmox, left all as defaults apart from unsetting the ‘unprivileged container’ checkbox.

Get things up to date

apt update
apt upgrade

Install required dependencies

apt install perl libssl-dev

Download the package

Downloaded latest stable Squeezebox server image from https://lms-community.github.io/lms-server-repository/

or

wget http://downloads.slimdevices.com/LogitechMediaServer_v8.5.0/logitechmediaserver_8.5.0_amd64.deb

Install the package

dpkg -i logitechmediaserver_8.5.0_amd64.deb

(at this point ran into error as I’d missed the perl installation, so installed perl and ran apt --fix-broken install as prompted, the installation was then complete)

make sure to ceate directory for playlists and make writeable for example

mkdir /var/lib/squeezeboxserver/playlists

cd /var/lib/squeezeboxserver/playlists

chown squeezeboxserver playlists

chgrp nogroup playlists

update settings in logitech media server

Control From Home Assistant

    #--------------------------------------------------------------------
    #  Start playing playlist named classical on squeezebox with 
    #  IP address 10.0.0.39
    #-------------------------------------------------------------------- 
   
    - id: 'TurnOnRadioStation1'
      alias: TurnOnRadioStation_1
      trigger:
      
      - platform: event
        event_type: "MY_CUSTOM_EVENT"
 
      condition: []
      action:

      - service: rest_command.lms_command
        data:
           p0: "playlist"
           p1: "play"
           p2: "classical"
           player: "10.0.0.39"

A better way to automate a light switch in HA

Using a delay is ok for a quick and dirty method to time how long a light switch should stay on when triggered by a motion sensor. It does not take into account retriggers or flexible enough to incorporate multiple sensors or trigger methods. Here is an example of a more flexible implementation.

Standard way with delay

#  
#--------------------------------------------------------------------
#  Turn on front door light if motion detected on external 
# sensor and not already on
#--------------------------------------------------------------------
#
    - id: 'TurnOnLaundryLightsIfMotion'
      alias: TurnOn_LaundryLightsIfMotion
      trigger:
      - entity_id: binary_sensor.motionlaundry_occupancy
        platform: state
        to: 'on'
      condition:
      - condition: state
        entity_id: switch.lightlaundry
        state: 'off'
      action:
      - entity_id: switch.lightlaundry
        service: switch.turn_on
      - delay:
          hours: 0
          minutes: 5
          seconds: 0
          milliseconds: 0
      - entity_id: switch.lightlaundry
        service: switch.turn_off
      mode: single

Better way with re-trigger

#  
#--------------------------------------------------------------------
#  Turn On laundry Lights if Motion
#-------------------------------------------------------------------- 
#
- id: 'TurnOnLaundryLightsIfMotion'
  alias: TurnOn_LaundryLightsIfMotion
  trigger:
  - platform: state
    entity_id: binary_sensor.motionlaundry_occupancy
    to: 'on'
  condition:
  - condition: state
    entity_id: switch.lightlaundry
    state: 'off'
  action:
  - service: switch.turn_on
    data:
      entity_id: switch.lightlaundry
  - service: automation.turn_on
    entity_id: automation.TurnOff_LaundryLightsIfMotion


#  
#---------------------------------------------------------------------
#  Turn off laundry Lights if Motion
#---------------------------------------------------------------------
#
- id: 'TurnOffLaundryLightsIfMotion'
  alias: TurnOff_LaundryLightsIfMotion
  trigger:
  - platform: state
    entity_id: binary_sensor.motionlaundry_occupancy
    to: 'off'
    for:
        minutes: 5
  condition:
  - condition: state
    entity_id: switch.lightlaundry
    state: 'on'
  action:
  - service: switch.turn_off
    data:
      entity_id: switch.lightlaundry
  - service: automation.turn_off
    entity_id: automation.TurnOff_LaundryLightsIfMotion

Sonoff Zigbee 3.0 USB Dongle

If using zigbee2mqtt with these sonoff dongles note when ordering there are 2 versions. Version P based on CC2652. Version E based on EFR32MG21. The E version seems to work, flashing is slightly different if you are changing from coordinator to router or vice versa. It is listed as experimental on zigbee2mqtt site .

For the time being it seems that purchasing and using the P version is a better choice. We are testing the E version and will publish any specific info here.