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Home Assistant is open source home automation that puts local control and privacy first. Powered by a worldwide community of tinkerers and DIY enthusiasts. Perfect to run on a Raspberry Pi or a local server. Available for free at home-assistant.io

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HA Ducted Air Con System? (self.homeassistant)

submitted 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) by computabloke to c/homeassistant

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Hi all, I was seeking any recommendations for Ducted Reverse-cycle AC system, with 4x Zones.

I would like to retrofit my existing Actron AC ducted system with a replacement AC unit. Current system has 4x simple 240vAC Zone dampers which energise to open and spring closed.

I would like to keep some classic wall controls (for guests etc), but add support for control through HA/Smart Home.

Current smart home is about 40 devices, mostly Tuya-based or Sonoff lights and switches, and I have a Zzh! stick (CC2652R) for Zigbee. Native HA or HACS addons are working well with all devices.

Desirable features:

AC control: on/off, modes (heat,cool,fan,auto), temperature (+/- °C), fan speed (L,M,H), timer.

Zone control: 240vAC 4x on/off

So far I see Polyaire Airtouch range, but I'm concerned that the tablet controller and software (Android-derivative) is proprietary, unconvinced they will maintain it sufficiently to be exposed to internet, and their controller and motors are 24v so would need complete ducting replacement (adds a good $3k to the cost).

Daikin Airbase can add a Wifi control to a classic wall controller which is more what I'm after. But their newer wall controls don't integrate zone control. So I could perhaps complement this by putting the zone controls on a separate 4x Gang Wall Switch (wifi or zigbee).

Any suggestions from our HA/Smart Home enthusiasts?

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[–] computabloke 1 points 11 months ago

This thread provides some useful opinions of Airtouch, iZone, Advantage air "My air.", Daikin Airbase.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AusRenovation/comments/13w8yig/what_is_the_best_ducted_aircon_controller/

[–] computabloke 1 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

For the benefit of anyone else interested. I ended up replacing my old Actron with a 10kw Daikin system and am very happy with it.

Influencing the decision, I noticed the Daikin Airbase integration was officially maintained by Home Assistant core dev team (not HACS) and had one of the highest reported install percents for AC systems brands (a bit over 1% of all HAs).

They have a remote wall control which includes 4 or 8 zone control at 24v or 240v. Unfortunately it's a little ugly to look at (and can't really hide it since it has a temperature sensor, unless you purchase a separate external temperature sensor) but it's nicer than the old Actron control, and with the zone features integrated this seems a great option for retrofit needs.

And with this configuration, the Airbase WiFi unit (on 2.4 or 5GHz) includes ability to control the zones.

I needed the Daikin app on my phone to do initial Wifi pairing, but I haven't needed to create an online account or permit remote internet access.

Over LAN, the Home Assistant integration just detected the Airbase and worked without any hassle whatsoever.

So very happy with the result and we saved probably $3k in ducting and zone motor and control replacements which weren't strictly necessary.

Sing out if you have any questions.