I am new to Home Assistant and this community, so my apologies if this post belongs elsewhere. I wanted to share this configuration as it took a bit of research to get here. I feel like this will help others in a similar situation to me.
I have a single HVAC system in my 2-story house. My Nest thermostat is in the living room which dictates the temp for the rest of the house. Throwing in temp sensors and closing register vents helps to a point, but regardless there is always a 10 degree difference between my upstairs and the main floor. I’ve read that Register Booster Fan’s can help in these situations, but also that they can damage the HVAC with negative pressure when the HVAC is in idle.
The majority of my smart home devices are WiFi, so that is my preferred protocol of choice at the moment. The SmartCocoon is a plug-and-play option, but it didn’t have varying sizes, and would sit too deep for one of my registers. The AC Infinity is a proven method, but connects via bluetooth. I came across this Howeall booster, and found that it connects with the SmartLife app. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CLLS82VW?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1
The booster fans did not display when I linked my smartlife and tuya accounts. I was able to get them accessible with the XTend Tuya HACS add-on. At the moment it only gives me the on/off switch, and a temp sensor. It would be nice to be able to adjust the fan speed between day and night, but those options are not available through this method at the moment.
I am now able to keep my upstairs rooms within 1 degree of the living room. It’s able to turn on/off with the heat/cool modes, and is also able to turn on/off when it’s in the fan only mode. Feel free to use/improve my yaml.
alias: Control Register Boosters with Nest
description: Turns register boosters on/off based on Nest thermostat activity.
triggers:
- entity_id: climate.nest_thermostat
attribute: hvac_action
trigger: state
- entity_id: climate.nest_thermostat
attribute: fan_mode
trigger: state
conditions: []
actions:
- choose:
- conditions:
- condition: or
conditions:
- condition: state
entity_id: climate.nest_thermostat
attribute: hvac_action
state: heating
- condition: state
entity_id: climate.nest_thermostat
attribute: hvac_action
state: cooling
- condition: state
entity_id: climate.nest_thermostat
attribute: fan_mode
state: "on"
sequence:
- target:
entity_id:
- switch.register_booster_fan_charlie_switch
- switch.register_booster_fan_master_switch
action: switch.turn_on
data: {}
- conditions:
- condition: and
conditions:
- condition: not
conditions:
- condition: state
entity_id: climate.nest_thermostat
attribute: hvac_action
state: heating
- condition: not
conditions:
- condition: state
entity_id: climate.nest_thermostat
attribute: hvac_action
state: cooling
- condition: state
entity_id: climate.nest_thermostat
attribute: fan_mode
state: "off"
sequence:
- target:
entity_id:
- switch.register_booster_fan_1_switch
- switch.register_booster_fan_2_switch
action: switch.turn_off
data: {}
mode: single
This is a problem I’m looking to solve as well in a two story rental with ice cold central air on the first floor. Saw the Howeall Wi-Fi connected fans and of course my first thought is “does it integrate with a home Assistant?”
Thanks for sharing this. It was very helpful for me to get this set up.
Question - do you find that turning the booster fan on/off together with your HVAC is the best strategy? I think (but not sure) that the built in mode adjusts the fan speed based upon comparing the room and register temperatures. Thus, for example, if the cooling turns off, the register may still have some cool air. The built in logic would keep the fan running, while yours would turn it off.
I agree that there is not much to be done here given the sensors provided. Just wondering what your experience and opinion is.
I noticed after adding the XTend Tuya HACS add-on that I had a “mode” drop down entity that was added. I was very excited to see this, but upon trying it I saw that it didn’t actually do anything (and nothing got sent to the register fan). Is this working for anyone?
I would like to use this so that I can automatically restart the fan in case of a power outage.
I just got the register booster as well. I noticed that you cant even change the fan speed in the offical tuya app, it does show “Fan Speed 10” but its ready only.
so maybe the only real way to adjust the fan speed is to just get a ladder and hit +/-
I looked in the tuya IOT portal for the debug info on this device, and theres only switch, child lock and set temp
It would be possible to add a delay when switching from “cooling” to “off.” The concern I have is creating too much negative pressure in the loop by keeping the fans running too long. My current HVAC is rather dated, so I suppose I’m playing the safe card more than anything.
It’s a bummer that Tuya cloud only gives access to the on/off function. I’d like to be able to adjust the speed at certain points through the day and night.
It does now! I requested that he look into adding more parameters, and I think/hope he is looking into it.
I noticed that now there is a “fan” attribute and I can use is to also set the mode and fan speed. But it only seems to work from the UI - and I have not been able to create an automation that actually works - It looks like the automation is created, but it doesn’t run.
With regards to changing the blower speed, I added a register fan device to my dashboard (for me, the device is fan.register_fan_study). I can open it and change the fan speed, and even the mode (picture below). Raise or lower the center line for fan speed, scroll down for the mode switch). These all work from the dashboard.
I tried creating an automation with it, but unfortunately the only part of the automation that works is to turn on the device. It ignores any mode and/or percentage setting. Screen shots of the automation (in UI and yaml below)
It would be great if somebody would have a suggestion on how to set the fan attributes. That would really be fantastic!
This is working fantastic but I’m just wondering if anyone has been able to control the display light (ie. turn off the display after turning on the booster)?
Reading through this it looks like you have been able to program fan speed. Could a person use a different parameter such as CO2 to control this? When we close the door in our bedroom the CO2 goes from 600 ish to 1300 ish overnight. We would like to keep it closer to 800. Room has an intake and return for HVAC that is running on a low fan speed 24x7.
Currently I’m monitoring CO2 using an Air Gradient monitor and a Airthings wave plus. I’m controlling a Shelly relay and turn boost mode on in ERV but that not enough with door closed.
I have been thinking about putting this on an intake to try and get a bit more fresh air in room. I already checked duct and flap is wide open.
Being able to control speeds I could set it to ramp up as CO2 goes up. Then ramp down slowly as CO2 goes down.
I don’t see why you couldn’t as it would just be trigger in an automation but ultimately you should be probably look into an ERV if your home is really that tightly sealed.
