I have my mini-split integrated into HA via a Broadlink Pro and an Ecobee thermostat. It works perfectly by turning on the mini-split to cool when the Ecobee goes into cooling mode due to the temp and comfort setting. My reasons for setting this up were that I wanted to use a temperature sensor on the other end of the space to be cooled and I thought it better to not have the mini-split running for long periods of time. I’m learning now that mini-splits are designed to run continuously and are more efficient that way. I’d love to still use the Ecobee to control the mini split. Would switching the mini-split to fan only when the Ecobee stops calling for cooling maintain the efficiency of the mini-split or is it more complicated than that?
It’s more complicated. I am learning about this by using a PID controller thermostat to gradually vary my actual A/C unit’s target temp based on the current home temp.
Interesting. Can you share what you have learned? Theoretically I could do the same with the Broadlink RM Pro. There wouldn’t be any confirmation back from the unit that the correct temp was set which may lead to HA and the AC unit getting out of sync, but I’d like to see whether that would be an occasional or frequent issue.
Yeah. What my PID climate does is alter the temperature of the actual A/C in 1 degree increments, based on what the PID controller computes from the current temperature reading. Through this setup I get roughly .2 degree precision in the actual temperature of the room. Note that the PID process only alters temp, it doesn’t turn the unit off or on, because I have a variable speed compressor in my minisplit.