I’m about to have AC installed in my home. We’re likely to follow the installing company’s recommendation for Mitsubishi units because noise levels are a top criterion for us and they seem to be good at that. My next priority is connectivity and compatibility with Home Assistant.
From what I’ve seen, we have some bases covered because those units seem to be using something called MelCloud, for which there is a HA module. It say “seem” because I’m in Spain and the official website for that does not list Spain as a country to select to get more information We know in anycase from the installers and the official webshite that these units come with WiFi and “Alexa support”.
However, I also see that the MelCloud integration requires email and password, which tells me it’s most likely a 3rd party platform that collects my data and then allows me to retrieve some of it. Also, WiFi can work, but Zigbee support would be better since I’m equipped with that already. Millions of WiFi devices are not necessarily a good idea. Our solar installation does this too and I’m really not enthusiastic about this.
So my questions are:
what’s the lay of the land today, for someone living in Spain? Are there better choices than the Mitsubishi WiFi-capable splits that I should be aware of, and that could potentially give me better data privacy and a better protocol? (keeping in mind those units emit 19dB of noise only!)
exactly how does the MelCloud thing work? Can I easily isolate them on a separate network without internet access after initial setup and use them? or do simple communications like “turn on” and “increase temperature” need to go through the 3rd party’s platform and come back to the AC unit? (I hope not, as this would probably be very slow, but I never cease to wonder about some things manufacturers do nowadays… looking at you Bosch)
what does the integration provide? the github page is not very informative in that regard. Beyond controlling on/off, mode and temperature settings, which I take for granted, can the units send back sensor data like current temp and humidity?
Thanks in advance for any hints or related clarifications!
Pierric.
I think my AC will be long installed by the time I finish reading that thread
I did get lost pretty quickly though. I’m okay with setting up and MQTT broker on my server (actually even though it’s stopped because I don’t use it, I have one more or less ready), but when “pigtails” and “CN105 connectors” enter the picture I’m gone completely.
I caught one of the last messages being about removing a WiFI unit, does this mean the idea here is inserting a completely custom connectivity module into each split, to have it communicate the way we want? And if so, can this be done with the option to add back the WiFi module if needed? And would someone who doesn’t know what a CN105 connector is, and sweats profusely when someone talks about soldering wires, be able to do it?
Thanks. So yeah, CN105 doesn’t look too scary, and the price of d1 mini’s seems really good, assuming they can be still be found. I now understand that the d1 plugs into the AC via the CN105 to get some sort of “admin access” to the unit. So it’s completely separate from the WiFi connectivity right? What I don’t get is: those d1 minis don’t seem to have connectivity themselves (no surprise at this price point), right? how do they send events to an MQTT broker then? do you have add-on modules for the d1 minis?
the d1 is a wifi enabled programmable micro controller.
d1 will connect to your WiFi and act as a bridge between HA and your AC.
you program it with esphome. The instructions are in the link.
Read the post, it’s worth it. You’ll have direct control from home assistant without depending on a paid mitsubishi cloud service.
Thanks! I couldn’t believe these things have WiFi, since I saw a page mention their cost at 2 euros. That said trying to look for buying options, what I find is considerably more expensive, more like 10 euros, so I guess that makes sense.
And wow, you just broke the news to me: the mitsubishi service is paid??? what the f? I’m not touching that.
So all in all, yes, if we go for that brand I’ll definitely take this path. I’ll start reading the post, and hopefully I’ll start having a clear idea of the plan before reaching the 270th message
If anyone has further views on other brands etc. I’m still in time to read about them, in case Mitsubishi is not the best choice!
I have 3 SRK25ZS-WF units from Mitsubishi, because low noise was very important to us.
The units have built-in WiFi and the WF-RAC (Smart M-Air) integration makes it very easy to connect them to HA.
Have you read this thread?
Thank you @complex1 ! I had not seen that thread, and I’m now wondering how many types of WiFi connectivity exist with Mitsubishi. I’ll need to find out what exactly comes with the currently sold units (concretely the MSZ-BT or MSZ-AY I’m likely to be getting).
Is your “flavour” and its HA implementation good in terms of what can be accessed via HA? What kind of things can it do?
Anything that requires payment? as this was a surprise from the previous messages… and does it require creating an account with their cloud?
Ah, @complex1 , I see why you have different connectivity. Yours is a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries AC, not a Mitsubishi Electric (found this when googling Smart M-Air)
Interesting that those are also silent! I’ll ask our installing company if they work with that brand too and if there are pros & cons vs. ME.
We know in anycase from the installers and the official webshite that these units come with WiFi and “Alexa support”.