Home automation... in the van?

[Guigsy]

So I'm pretty nerdy and I've got quite a lot of my house wired up to a home automation system. Lights turn on automatically when I move about. I can shout at Google to tell me stuff about the house. The washing machine in the garage announces that it's done to stop us leaving stuff in there until it smells. I get a warning when the cat's GPS tracker leaves the area. Like I said, nerdy stuff.

My home automation system runs on a Raspberry Pi, using a piece of software called Home Assistant. It plugs into many different smart devices and integrates into many online services.

Anyway, was interested in getting the information about the van's solar panel on my phone. I've got a Victron setup. The smartphone app is OK, but it's a bit basic. On another thread, steveh57 got me interested in running the Victron control system software on a Raspberry Pi. I played with this for a bit. But it seemed a bit limited.

I wondered if I could use Home Assistant in the van. I've got ideas for a bit of Google voice integration and a few other bits. But I wanted to know if I could get the data from the solar panel without having to run the Victron software. It turns out that someone has already done the work for me. With a £5 ESP microcontroller, two wires and about 15 minutes of play, I can get the data out of the Victron and into Home Assistant.

At the moment the ESP board is powered by a USB battery pack and it's mounted to a breadboard with a couple of jumper wires. So it needs to be made more permanent. But it works!

Info on how to connect Home Assistant to a Victron solar controller is here:

GitHub - KinDR007/VictronMPPT-ESPHOME: Victron Mppt charger ve.direct to esphome node

Victron Mppt charger ve.direct to esphome node. Contribute to KinDR007/VictronMPPT-ESPHOME development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

 

[steveh57]

Very nerdy I see there's also a package for the smartshunt as well.

 

[Guigsy]

Very nerdy I see there's also a package for the smartshunt as well.

Yup. I've been trying to justify buying the smartshunt... this has probably tipped it.

 

[steveh57]

One potential obstacle for me using this method for monitoring is that I do use the VictronConnect App remotely to adjust device settings, ok not very frequently, just wondering if there is a possible work around .

 

[Guigsy]

One potential obstacle for me using this method for monitoring is that I do use the VictronConnect App remotely to adjust device settings, ok not very frequently, just wondering if there is a possible work around .

The app still works on Bluetooth.

The ESP is actually only reading data spit out by the Victron. It's not connected to the receive side at all. I'm wondering if you could connect your Pi at the same time? I'm not sure if serial connections will let you do that?

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[dunnah01]

I can think of a few drawbacks of 'Lights turn on automatically when I move about' in a moho

 

[steveh57]

The app still works on Bluetooth.

True,I just find it some much more reliable and indeed without the range constraints to use the vrm portal. As you say if it could be combined .... the best of both

 

[pau1phi11ips]

True,I just find it some much more reliable and indeed without the range constraints to use the vrm portal. As you say if it could be combined .... the best of both

Very cool, I've been looking at Home Assistant. I've got a Philips Hue hub and a SmartThings hub in the van at the mo. Went with Hue for the lighting since it doesn't need an active internet connection to change the lights.

Love the Victron VRM system too. So well integrated. I'm using Victron ESS to schedule charge the van battery when it's 5p/kWh at night and then the Multiplus feeds mains back into my house supply during the day. My average price is 7.6p/kWh at the mo for the full day. I'm not 100% if I'll keep that in place full time since, although it would save about £300/year on my leccy bill, I'm actually using more kWh doing the AC-DC-AC conversation so not great from an environmental perspective. I'm on Octopus so the power is supposed to be 100% renewable but still feels a bit wrong.

 

[cmcardle75]

Love the Victron VRM system too. So well integrated. I'm using Victron ESS to schedule charge the van battery when it's 5p/kWh at night and then the Multiplus feeds mains back into my house supply during the day. My average price is 7.6p/kWh at the mo for the full day. I'm not 100% if I'll keep that in place full time since, although it would save about £300/year on my leccy bill, I'm actually using more kWh doing the AC-DC-AC conversation so not great from an environmental perspective. I'm on Octopus so the power is supposed to be 100% renewable but still feels a bit wrong.

It is environmentally responsible to do this and strongly encouraged by Octopus. You are actually buying cheap wind electricity at night and selling it back at peak time, reducing the need to supply gas/coal power. Battery banks intended to store cheap renewable energy to cover peak times are a key element of transforming electricity infrastructure.

 

[Madmag]

All way over my head I’m afraid but I would love to be able to turn heating on and make a coffee without getting from under the duvet. My husband seems to have mastered the technology though, I get up!!

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[Minxy]

I can think of a few drawbacks of 'Lights turn on automatically when I move about' in a moho

... you mean when you try to do a sneaky raid on the booze cupboard !!!

 

[dunnah01]

... you mean when you try to do a sneaky raid on the booze cupboard !!!

Cupboard! The noise of the water pump pushing best bitter through the bathroom tap would wake up the van next door

 

[wiljoy]

I'm looking for an automatic hand to fit in our toilet. No doubt it is possible but where do we stop. Its only a glorified van after all.

 

[seanwinder22]

So I'm pretty nerdy and I've got quite a lot of my house wired up to a home automation system. Lights turn on automatically when I move about. I can shout at Google to tell me stuff about the house. The washing machine in the garage announces that it's done to stop us leaving stuff in there until it smells. I get a warning when the cat's GPS tracker leaves the area. Like I said, nerdy stuff.

My home automation system runs on a Raspberry Pi, using a piece of software called Home Assistant. It plugs into many different smart devices and integrates into many online services.

Anyway, was interested in getting the information about the van's solar panel on my phone. I've got a Victron setup. The smartphone app is OK, but it's a bit basic. On another thread, steveh57 got me interested in running the Victron control system software on a Raspberry Pi. I played with this for a bit. But it seemed a bit limited.

I wondered if I could use Home Assistant in the van. I've got ideas for a bit of Google voice integration and a few other bits. But I wanted to know if I could get the data from the solar panel without having to run the Victron software. It turns out that someone has already done the work for me. With a £5 ESP microcontroller, two wires and about 15 minutes of play, I can get the data out of the Victron and into Home Assistant.
View attachment 535275

At the moment the ESP board is powered by a USB battery pack and it's mounted to a breadboard with a couple of jumper wires. So it needs to be made more permanent. But it works!
View attachment 535277

Info on how to connect Home Assistant to a Victron solar controller is here:

GitHub - KinDR007/VictronMPPT-ESPHOME: Victron Mppt charger ve.direct to esphome node

Victron Mppt charger ve.direct to esphome node. Contribute to KinDR007/VictronMPPT-ESPHOME development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

Sorry to jump on this but I’m trying to learn from the start about home assistant
I too have all Victron equipment with blink cctv wi fi lights the afterburner etc
I’m wanting to install home assistant how do I do this please ? I have wi fi in the van and router even Alexa
Do I need a laptop to get this home assistant stance set up and running
Sorry for the questions but can you explain to s newbie like me

 

[Guigsy]

Sorry to jump on this but I’m trying to learn from the start about home assistant
I too have all Victron equipment with blink cctv wi fi lights the afterburner etc
I’m wanting to install home assistant how do I do this please ? I have wi fi in the van and router even Alexa
Do I need a laptop to get this home assistant stance set up and running
Sorry for the questions but can you explain to s newbie like me

You want to use something that's low power as it's got to be on all the time. A Raspberry Pi or equivalent is ideal. I'm running my home instance on a Pi 4 with an external SSD for speed, but the house has a hell of a lot of integrations and automations. I'm considering using a spare Pi 3b I've got kicking around for a separate van instance as they're lower power, it'll have a lot less to do. Other boards might be available that are more efficient (and more available). Check at the Home Assistant web site for what they support. You want to do the HA Operating System install as it's only job will you be to run HA.

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