Discussion
Does anyone have a recommendation (from their own, personal, experience) for an IR blaster, which:
* is available in the UK
* integrates easily with HomeAssistant without needing an app (e.g. can be flashed over Wi-Fi/Ethernet with / comes with Tasmota)
* works with Daikin air conditioning units (even if just "on" and "off")
please?
@neil I was looking for something similar this time last year (LG not Daikin, ESPHome not Tasmota): Found nothing that fit the bill exactly, but I did find a compromise I could work with.
The Broadlink RM4 series (both Mini and Pro versions)
It's the wrong microcontroller, so it can't be reflashed, but first-time setup can be performed without the app (by using a small Python package), and there is an integration in HA that works well, if not as user friendly as it could be.
@Seen_Canary Thanks! I had looked at one of these, but I wasn't sure.
@neil that said, if there was an equivalent of the Faikout for my AC units (I have 3, all from different vendors, plus some floor standing fans, that the Broadlink devices control) I'd go for that option in a heartbeat:
The biggest downside of IR control of AC units is the lack of confirmation that your request has been received, let alone acted upon.
The number of times I've tried to control the LG unit (the most difficult) and it's just ignored one of the steps in the middle is ridiculous.
> The biggest downside of IR control of AC units is the lack of confirmation that your request has been received, let alone acted upon.
Yes, exactly.
Install Fedizen
Get the full app experience
@neil I have a blog post about this in my drafts, which I need to finish off...
Is there another, implicit, requirement "does not require soldering to get it working"?
Basically I couldn't find anything that exactly fit the bill, so I bought an IR blaster that didn't support Tasmota and transplanted the wifi/control module for one that did. Fiddly one-time setup, but has worked really well since.
If that might be of interest I'll see about finishing off that draft!