I have this water heater and I was able to use one of loratap smart switch to turn off and on and measure the KWH
But how to read this temperature (Please se attached photo) by home assistant?
https://www.aliexpress.com/i/3256802181681800.html?gatewayAdapt=4itemAdapt
will this work? did someone try that?
Are you trying to only view the temp status or control it? If just status, why not use an esphome camera and the 7-seg integration in HA?
https://www.amazon.com/ESP32-CAM-MB-Aideepen-ESP32-CAM-Bluetooth-Arduino/dp/B0948ZFTQZ
I’m already controlling on and off through the zigbee switch
The camera is a privacy concern since this is a bathroom
Thanks for suggesting
Do you have a link to a manual, or at least a model number for your heater?
No one will be able to recommend something based on some fuzzy pictures - we need specific details in order to provide the correct solution.
this is the only video I can find but it is in arabic
I asked for a model number or manual because without those, it’ll be impossible to know what type of temperature sensor that heater is using. (Yes, there are many types of temperature sensors)
The only thing that video provided was the manufacturer (Olympus), and I had to translate the video title myself to find out. You could have at least provided that yourself if you want people to seriously help you.
If you don’t have a manual, you’ll have at least the model number printed either on an invoice or a warranty card. If you don’t, have a close look at the unit itself - it will probably be written somewhere on it next to the serial number.
Thanks a lot for your effort and your help with that
The manual usually don’t have any schematics but I will open the device myself (and send the part number) but for the concept will there be any device that will zigbee that screen reading ?
Let’s answer your questions one at a time:
Yes, the schematics would be helpful, but all we really need is the type of temperature sensor used inside the heater. A model number might help uncover this info from google.
If you’re going to open the device, I don’t need to tell you to be careful, but make sure the electricity is off and that the water has had sufficient time to cool down, otherwise you’ll burn yourself. If you still intend on doing that, I spotted something printed on the back of the black box in the video - that would help immensely in identifying the sensor.
No, I’m not aware of any zigbee devices that do screen reading. Your best bet at this point is the OCR camera suggested by Neutron above. Yes, it’s a camera in a bathroom, but it’ll be a few cms away from the heater, focused directly at it. There’s no way it’ll be able to capture anything else.
Your other alternatives at this point are:
- Zigbee temperature sensor with a probe, but you’ll have to find a way to get the probe into the tank itself. Something like this.
- Removing the black box and replacing it with the wall thermostat you linked to. This is probably the most dangerous option if you’re not 1000% sure how the controller is wired or if your heater isn’t using an NTC thermistor.
- Removing the black box and plugging only the temp sensor wires only in its place. Again it depends on the wiring and sensor type, and you could end up with incorrect readings. Also, you’ll lose the temperature display on the heater itself.
That last option is what I had to do, using an ESP module and a temperature module (in my case it was a PT1000, not NTC).
I lost the display on the controller since 2 temp sensors would give incorrect readings, but I was lucky that the controller had a dry contact for boost heating, so I could control everything from the ESP without having to use another relay.
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