I have to say this has worked flawlessly for me, there was a recent issue (bug) where it would cause Alexa to respond with “device not responding, check network or power supply” but still actually send the command to HASS. I fixed this by applying a patch but it may have been fixed in latest release (I’ve not upgraded to 0.36.1 yet).
My tip would be to use customise to rename what Alexa sees as the name using “emulated_hue_name:” for example "emulated_hue_name: “Telley”… my switch in HASS is called TV, which is correct but Alexa didn’t like the word “TV” so I changed it so only Alexa sees it as “Telley”…
Originally I was putting them into Groups within the Alexa app (e.g. a group named “telley” with switch “TV” inside) however there was an occasion where I rebuilt HASS due to a failed SD in my Pi so I now name everything within HASS, this makes transitions and starting over fresh easy! I don’t use any groups in the Alexa app now…
- alias: TV BBC ONE HD
trigger:
platform: state
entity_id: switch.bbc_one_hd
state: 'on'
condition:
condition: and
conditions:
- condition: state
entity_id: switch.tv
state: 'on'
action:
- service: homeassistant.turn_on
entity_id: script.bbc_one_hd
Basically I expose the switch.bbc_one_hd to alexa, when I ask her “Alexa, turn on BBC One HD” she turns on the switch, which tiggers to automation, which starts the script to send the commands to my Humax Freeview set top box > “back button” (to clear any menus that might be open) > “1” > “0” > “6” (which is the channel number for bbc one hd.
I’m also using it to switch on TV, Xbox one, 360, PC, appleTV, Nvidia Shield.
@badgerhome, thanks for the input on Harmony. It seems though that the Alexa Harmony Optimized for smart home skill allows for that when you add favorite channels to your MyHarmony account. I haven’t tested it much, but that looked like it would be one of the ways to do it. Of course that doesn’t perform the other automations you’re accomplishing, but it is another way to go about it. (with seemingly less work)
I found the only thing you cannot do well with emulated hue is controlling the temperature, i.e. increase/decrease the value by some values.
One workaround which allows you to set a certain value I posted here:
Since it’s actually also not yet supported by haaska, I submitted an initial pull request to support the climate component in Alexa properly, it’s working, but needs some rework for better coding style:
I had the same issue, I ended up figuring it was down to the fact that the RPI 3 only has a 100M Ethernet NIC on it (an issue as my internet speed is faster than 100Mbs). Ended up disabling it and using just the Ping. Then realised that it runs the download/upload speeds even if you don’t have them configured so disabled it entirely.
@daenny, thanks for the info. This looks like something I’ll be implementing shortly. Tonight’s project is to setup my new QNAP with lots of apps, automatic backups, etc… and maybe a dimmer switch
Thanks for the reviews! I just got my HS-WD100+ today and was trying to get double and triple tap working. Is this not possible with HASS currently? I wonder how hard it would be to write it in…
Question for you: Did you have any trouble getting load 2 to work in your setup? The device shows up, however Home Assistant shows load 2 as on and when i try to toggle it just returns to the on position and the outlet doesn’t come on.
Load 1 works fine, toggles every time…
Edit: This question is concerning the Enerwave ZWN-RSM2 module
My Groups.yaml for these looks like:
Outdoor front:
switch.front_lights_relay_switch_8_0
switch.front_lights_relay_switch_8_0_3
Outdoor rear:
switch.deck_lights_relay_switch_9_0
switch.deck_lights_relay_switch_9_0_3
Customize.yaml:
switch.deck_lights_relay_switch_9_0:
icon: mdi:lightbulb
friendly_name: Back Door Light
switch.deck_lights_relay_switch_9_0_2:
icon: mdi:lightbulb
friendly_name: Back Door Light Duplicate
switch.deck_lights_relay_switch_9_0_3:
icon: mdi:lightbulb
friendly_name: Deck Spotlight
switch.front_lights_relay_switch_8_0:
icon: mdi:lightbulb
friendly_name: Front Door
switch.front_lights_relay_switch_8_0_2:
icon: mdi:lightbulb
friendly_name: Front Door Duplicate
switch.front_lights_relay_switch_8_0_3:
icon: mdi:lightbulb
I don’t use the 2nd load (as it shows in OZWCP, and only use 1 and 3) on either as it appears to be a duplicate of the primary (labeled as such in customize.yaml). I haven’t really had much troubles after the initial setup with the light responding to commands. I’m still in the midst of lots of setup, so I’m restarting Home Assistant regularly, and mostly use these relays/switches just on automation for outdoor lighting. I did experience more troubles at the start, but I think I was using load 2 initially.
Thanks for that info. I checked it again and it looks like “device 0” is indeed load 2 (I hear it click when I toggle it). Still not working though, so I guess I’ll go back through it tomorrow if I get a chance and look for loose connections, throw a voltmeter on it, etc…
@tkvtec Thank you for all the information you posted. I’m not sure how I missed this post, but am glad I found it now. Particularly because I am getting ready to install Amcrest cameras and am in the process of buying the network gear for PoE
I also have the First Alert ZCOMBO and am glad they work, though I wish they showed up in HA a bit better so one could tell what alarm was active (CO or Smoke), but at least I know they are active when they are, so I’m okay with it as it is for now.
I also have a Trane ZWave (older one at that) Thermostat that is just not working in HA as I had hoped and have eyed the Ecobee so I am kind of interested in your set up there and impressions and how well it works from HA to Ecobee and then does HA update from the Ecobee.
I have also been looking at the Ubiquiti Unifi Pros (Since I am adding switch capacity to my network for the PoE) but have also looked at Cisco Aironet as well. I just have a pet peeve about having to go to the cloud to configure an AP in my home, which apparently is what has to be done on some Cisco AP’s.
Anyway, just some thoughts, and thanks again for posting all that you did.
@StormStrikes No problem, just trying to help contribute something to the community that gave me much of the info I needed to get as far as I have with my setup.
An idea for the ZCOMBO, you could maybe setup Input Boolean’s that change based on the status of the ZCOMBO. Setup an Input Boolean for Smoke, one for CO, and one for Test… possibly even one for All Clear? You could then display those in your views for an easier way to identify the status.
The ecobee and HA seem to communicate much better with each other than the ZWave CT30 thermostats I have. Much more reliable. The CT30 shows up as a separate AC and Heat thermostat, the Ecobee shows up as a single thermostat with a range for acceptable temp. You can slide either the low or high independently. Again, limited testing so far, so I can update in about a week with further testing, but so far so good. Exactly what I was expecting for functionality even initially with the other thermostats, which just never delivered. So far, the Ecobee has already paid for itself in the absence of my aggravation and ease of use. I really wish I just spent the money earlier on and saved myself the month of troubleshooting.
The Unifi will need a controller, which I have an ESXi VM for, but can be built in a container in a Docker environment on a Pi or NAS or other simple device… or you could just spend the $100 on the Unifi Cloud Key. Honestly though, if you’ve gotten HA up and running the Unifi Controller setup should be no problem. Of course, you could always use the Windows based controller which is super simple to deploy. I always seem to forget about the Windows one though since I just have laptops that travel with me, and I use to manage other Unifi environments for clients, so I always use an ESXi VM. I’m looking to build one in Docker though.
