I’m thinking about buying a Harmony Companion universal remote control and obviously I would like to integrate it in HASS, in particular turn on certain lights when the TV is turned on etc.
Is it the emulated_hue component that Controls the lights and if so, how can I extract the commands to use the remote with Z-wave lights via HASS?
Yes, it is the emulated_hue component that exposes all your HA switches to the Harmony.
Option 1: All the programming in regards to the operation of the Harmony is done within the Harmony app. You’ll simply setup emulated_hue on your HA installation, then have the Harmony “discover” the devices (exposed by the Emulated Hue). Then you can add it to your functions on your remote, etc. This has less of a delay to it when compared to having HA do the work, but requires a little more work to setup and tweak things.
Option 2: The programming is split between the Harmony and HA. You setup the activity in the Harmony, but the lights in HA. Using a few scripts (which I’m sure I’ve posted on here a few times), you can have HA “watch/poll” the Harmony’s activity, then trigger an automation when the Harmony changes activities. This has a slight delay to it when compared to having the Harmony do the work, as you have to “wait” for a “poll” to happen, but is more easily modified if you need to change/tweak things. My typical delay for doing this is usually less than 10 seconds, but more than 3.
Thanks a lot, I think I’ll be getting one. With a bit of luck I’ll find one on offer on Black Friday later this week.
I finally figured out how to make this work with all my z-wave devices in HA through the Harmony Hub Extender and now all my Z-wave devices, including my Front Door, show up as devices I can use on my Harmony Remote.