I would like to control my Philips LivingColors 1st generation from Home Assistant. To make this possible I need to be able to communicate with the light. The LivingColors 1st generation uses a CC2500 2.4 GHz RF Transceiver for the communication between the remote control to the light. Some other smart people have already worked out how the communication protocol works, however a really decent way to integrate the light in Home Assistant is not yet available. There’s thus still some work to do.
I received a broken Inventum IKI6010 induction stove, a bottle of olive oil was dropped on the glass-ceramic surface which as a result got broken. I have the same make and model installed in my kitchen and am wondering, can I fix it (that should be easy), what’s inside and can it be made smart? Let’s investigate!
This is what happens when you drop a bottle of olive oil on your induction stove.(more…)
I’m getting more and more requests to implement network control for my Home Assistant BenQ Projector integration. The network control of the BenQ projectors seems to be just a telnet connection running on TCP/IP port 8000 and the same commands as used over the serial connection should work over the network connection. This shouldn’t be to difficult to implement. However I don’t own a network connected projector and have thus not implemented any network functionality, yet. A simple RS-232 to WiFi module and some software should be enough to simulate the existence of a network connection on my projector.
I started my home automation hobby about 6 years ago with Pimatic. Since a year I’ve been working with Home Assistant and have now converted all the plugins that I had written for Pimatic to Home Assistant integrations.
Today a new smart meter is installed and unfortunately my homemade P1 cable, needed to communicate with the device does not work on this new meter. I switched from an ISKRA ME382 to an ISKRA AM550.
I can now operate the AXA Connect 2.0 window openers via serial port and a level converter. I immediately wrote a Python library and a Home Assistant integration. Ultimately I want to control them via an ESP, but that’s something for an other time.
After researching the options for smart window openers I got my hands on one new and three second hand AXA Remote 2.0 window openers for a very good price. They are not smart yet, but others have been able to communicate with the integrated serial bus and connect them to home automation systems, so I have good hopes I will be able to connect them to my smart home.
The cupboards are back in place and the boiler has been neatly installed. Progress has also been made in the field of electric cooking. I bought a second hand induction stove that works on a single phase, the Inventum IKI6010. That saves me from a major renovation because my apartment from 1930 does not yet have a three phase electric connection.
I managed to reroute the water pipe and drain in the limited space under the floor of the bathroom and connect it to the new boiler. Currently just as a test setup. I still have to connect electricity, the floor has to be neatly closed again, the cupboards put back in place and then the boiler will get its final place in one of the cupboards and you will no longer see anything about this job.
For my hot water supply I decided to give the 15 liter boiler solution a try. I found the arguments of the video from the day before yesterday convincing, together with data about average shower duration and using the stopwatch a few times while showering, it seems like a done deal to me, an good solution for my one-person household.
