Automate Existing Chicken Coop Door

Configuration
,
1

I have an existing chicken coop door with a light sensor that can be set to open/close according to a schedule or the light level. I want to see if there is a way to connect it to HA so that I can get more granular control. In particular, this door closes during the day if it gets dark and cloudy, so I want to fix that.

The existing door does NOT have wifi. I did some searching on this site, but have not found a solution that works for me. I know that there is a project to connect an Omlet chicken door, but that is 3x the price of the one that I already have.

So in particular:

  • How to set up a wifi receiver at the chicken coop, so that HA can communicate with it
  • How to hack the control pad and/or remote for the chicken door to make this work
  • What other hardware do I need to get from point A to B

Here is the chicken door that I have: Amazon.com: Automatic Chicken Coop Door Solar - Powered Auto Chicken Door Opener, Timer/Light Sensor Modes for Safe and Convenient Chicken Keeping : Patio, Lawn & Garden. I am NOT looking to build a chicken door from scratch.

I am using this type in more than one place. One of them an AC power, the other does not. The chicken door operates fine with the small solar panel that came with it.

Thanks for any suggestions!

2

ESPhome

the door motor is controlled by relay
the relay is controlled by the light sensor

get esp32 relay board
connect light sensor to esp32 relay board
connect motor to relay on the board
connect esp32 to esphome and HA

you will gain direct control over relay open/close
you will gain state of light sensor; either a simple on/off basically or some brightness level

using that info you can create an automation to open/close door
you may directly open/close door
in the automation you can set conditions that overide door open/close based on time or other conditions.

1 Like
3

The associated reviews and product availability on Amazon are not encouraging. Having said that, the concept is similar to a tiny garage door or roller shutter. There has been a lot of discussion on various aspects of a chicken coop here in these forums that may give you ideas. Just use ‘chicken coop’ as your search criteria.

Yes, you can take the simple route and have a device that presses the remote buttons for you, or tap into the sensors and driver, and essentially replicate the existing controls with a replacement add-on. Your sensors will probably be light level, door position, limit switch for obstructions, voltage of power supply, and maybe a proximity sensor tuned to chickens. Your control will be signals for the door to open and close. Whether you just tap into the controller to do that or drive the motor directly is up to you. You will need some form of keeping correct time, either via network or onboard your automation device. Visual chicken facial recognition to prevent foxes entering would probably be gilding the lily, but you may want a two way video/audio feed to greet them individually like in the videos!!! Depends on how much they are pets or just egg producing livestock is going to determine how much time and effort you spend on this.

If you want specific help on how to add your sensors to ESPHome, some photos of the various boards would help. Even both sides of your remote control, detailed enough so we can read the chip numbers and board markings would be the first thing to do. It looks to be only very short range of operation. Any FCC ID markings on equipment or the manual? This may assist in identifying the remote technology being used.

Photo of the power supply, including the ratings would also assist, as now you will have the added requirement to power your remotely controlled automation, which will shorten the time the battery retains adequate power.

Distance is also a factor. If it is too far away, you may need LoRa rather than ZigBee or WiFi to establish reliable two way communications.

How far away is the closest power from the unit? For the one that is not close, you may have to install another bigger solar powered supply or an addon just for the automation to keep everything running.

Don’t be overwhelmed. An ESP32 running ESPHome with a cheap two port relay board, one channel for up, and another for down may do the trick, or just a onboard radio to emulate the remote control signals to the door will work. If you want fancy, then we can also rise to the challenge…

Reverse engineering how it all works is the challenge. Post detailed photos of the remote controller board, both sides, to start with, along with any labels and FCC markings for all parts. Let us know how confident you are with wiring and hooking up added devices to ESPHome and HomeAssistant.

1 Like
4

The manual for the door opener says that the remotes work on 433 MHz most likely they didn’t do anything clever with the circuity so its likely just a garage door opener under the covers.

Therefore you might be able to record and playback the signal.

If that doesn’t work hacking the remote is probably the simplest option (since you can keep the remote close to HA / won’t have range issues as long as the remote normally works from wherever you are planing to put it.

I am assuming the the remote has one button for open and one for close in which case you just have to wire them to anything that can close the circuit temporarily (basically a pair of relays).

1 Like
5

The photo of the chip on the remote control and FCC ID should make it easy to work out what protocol is being used.

No mention of distances involved. A simple signal booster or larger antenna coil may be all that is needed to bridge the gap.

Does one remote control open and close both doors, or is there unique codes that are learned for each one? Is it important that the doors are individually opened and closed, or is ok for them to operate in tandem?

1 Like
6

I’m back online after Christmas. Thank you all for your detailed responses. Here is some more information:

  • The control is combined with the solar panel and battery in a single unit. There is a 2-wire dc cable that runs from the control to the door.
  • The door has an anti-pinch feature, which I would like to keep. So a simple open/close relay would not be enough. Instead of trying to duplicate that action, I hope that I can just trigger the controller.
  • There is no power in the chicken coop, but it is in range of my home wifi signal. So if I add some type of small board that has wifi, I could communicate with that via Home Assistant.
  • I have two doors, but they are in different buildings. So the remote from one will probably not affect the other one. But if I boost the signal a lot and try to send it from my house, it might affect both doors.
  • I have no idea whether or not the remote is specific to that door. But I doubt it. It would probably work with any door of the same type. (I can test that when I get a chance.)

The remote has only two buttons. Trying to intercept and replay the signal from the remote sounds like a great idea. I could try to find the frequency, but I’m not sure how to record and play back the signal. It might be simpler to just hack the remote to simulate button press.

I have some experience building circuits, but now that I am older my eyesight is not as good as it once was. So trying to solder small parts could be frustrating. Maybe I can find someone to help with that bit.

Thank you everyone for your help. Sorry that it took me so long to respond. Happy New Year!