Hey,
I am considering to buy an Aeratron Ceiling Fan that can be controlled via the Tuya App.
This would be my first Tuya device. And as far as I know Tuya devices are cloud based by default, but can also be controlled locally with some special API key - is that correct?
Does that work for all Tuya devices? Or just some of them?
And if I go with Tuya Local, can I then block the internet access for the device and things will still work fine?
Ari
Greetings Ariyala,
There is the Core integration that was written by Tuya themselves and resides in HA core, cloud based. Then there is Tuya Local and Local Tuya provided by individuals on GitHub. Both require some cloud interaction to at least get started ad occasionally thereafter as far as I can tell. People complain about all 3, mostly because (some) of the devices are cheaper than cheap poorly designed things made by little manufacturers using Tuya Chipset in their own boards and some are OK and better designed. What is what and what works best no one knows and everyone has an opinion.
Personally I have 3 Tuya (Zemismart) wifi LED’s and 1 switch running on the Core integration and they are fine. And I could care less if China knows I turn on bulbs, TBH. I picked the core version because I felt it has the best chance of everything being supported, with Tuya themselves as one of the original code owners.
Now does this help you, probably not much, but it’s the truth. It’s why many times when Tuya is mentioned in the forums and that tends to get answered last, as no one wants to deal with it.
Still want to buy Tuya? Most say yes, nothing to lose because it’s cheap. (Mine were free) Just know what you are getting into and look for better quality stuff for mission critical devices.
Using Tuya can be frustrating, but (using rose-colored glasses) you have options that can co-exist - so you could install all if you want. For a long time I actively used both the core Tuya integration and the make-all version of Tuya local. Some devices were not updating in the core version, so I used the local version. A while ago I switched everything over to local and recently I deleted the core integration.
One downside of the make-all version is that it doesn’t always recover from unavailable states. For example I have a light that includes three bulbs. If that’s turned off/on at the wall, some/all of the bulbs may not reload correctly in HA, and I have to go into the integration and reload them manually. And when switched on at the wall they blink randomly for a minute or two before settling down, so they’re obviously dodgy despite being from a “reputable” supplier (Arlec) rather than no-brand AliExpress.
I also have the rospogrigio version installed because it retrieves the data automatically that is needed for the make-all version. However, I think it can be used for almost any Tuya device because you configure it at a fairly low level.
I just installed several Aeratron fans and am trying to find a solution myself. My current hopes are with RFLink using the included RF remote and module that come with the fan. I’ll stay away from the Wifi module and Tuya as I want nothing to do with their cloud solutions. The last option is the Automation Module plus ESPHome, but at $200 for the module (times a total of 13 fans) gets stupidly expensive. The Tuya module at $100 each is still far from ideal even if the cloud portion of the equation could be solved.
I can’t really get much detail from Aeratron’s tech support on what protocol their RF remote uses, but for me that ends up as the cleanest and most flexible option.
I have seven AE3+ fans. I purchased them before they were Wi-Fi Ready. One of the drivers failed and I had to buy a replacement from the dealer. The instruction manual mentioned a Wi-Fi add-on module, but only one of my fans now can use that solution.
I am just starting down the path to control all of the fans. It looks like the button presses include a lot of current remote state information such as whether the light is on or not. I have three of the fans with light kits installed. I am working on finding a way to keep from changing the light state when changing the fan level or on/off state.
This Aeratron Web Interface project has made some steps in the right direction.