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Turning a dumb AC unit smart (without losing my security deposit)

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Re: Turning a dumb AC unit smart (without losing my security deposit)

#21

Post by trillic »

Liftyee wrote: post #20

I don't get how so many large buildings in NYC and Beijing (two cities that I've personally visited) use independent little AC units like the PTAC or minisplit types. A couple per apartment, peppered over the outer walls. Engineers intuition says surely a large central unit would be more efficient and effective. Is it because of personal ownership reasons? Counterintuitive physics? Heat dissipation limitations on the…

There are no air ducts to move air between the units. They are old brick buildings and retrofitting central air you might as well tear down and rebuild a lot of the time.

Re: Turning a dumb AC unit smart (without losing my security deposit)

#22

Post by QuercusMax »

EvanAnderson wrote: post #13

The "couple a stepper motor to a shaft" API is so much better than any "smart" appliance API. Speaking more seriously, I wish classes of appliances would expose some simple analog and digital interface pins in a standardized configuration to let users choose whatever automation or monitoring hardware they want. HVAC equipment does this with standardized thermostat terminals. I'd love to see that on other types of app…

Exactly.

I don't want a "smart" washer / dryer / fridge / toaster. I want a standard interface I can build my own system around, or use someone else's that they've already built.

Re: Turning a dumb AC unit smart (without losing my security deposit)

#23

Post by andix »

OT: I'm looking for some way to control my AC via Infrared. I have a few pretty standard AC units with IR remotes. The ones with a display on it, that just transmit all the settings on the remote via IR on every button press.

Some device I can mount in proximity, that controls the AC, but preferably also has a temperature and humidity sensor included.

Re: Turning a dumb AC unit smart (without losing my security deposit)

#24

Post by blacksmith_tb »

trillic wrote: post #21
Liftyee wrote: post #20

I don't get how so many large buildings in NYC and Beijing (two cities that I've personally visited) use independent little AC units like the PTAC or minisplit types. A couple per apartment, peppered over the outer walls. Engineers intuition says surely a large central unit would be more efficient and effective. Is it because of personal ownership reasons? Counterintuitive physics? Heat dissipation limitations on the…

There are no air ducts to move air between the units. They are old brick buildings and retrofitting central air you might as well tear down and rebuild a lot of the time.

Which of course means they should use heat pumps, since the copper lines don't need nearly as much room (I suppose you'd still have to put a drywall wall in front of one brick wall potentially). Even just putting a bunch of mini-splits on the roof (instead of individual window AC units) would be an improvement, seems like.

Re: Turning a dumb AC unit smart (without losing my security deposit)

#25

Post by Guvante »

lstodd wrote: post #19
danudey wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It always kind of blows my mind that I keep seeing "smart TVs" which have a bunch of integration options for high-end AV installations (rich people's houses, etc.) but no API that you can integrate with to just handle toggling channels/inputs/power states/volumes. (I did get my last Sony Bravia integrated with Homekit so that I could control inputs, volume, etc. via the Home app, but that's not really what I'm lookin…

It always blows my mind why those rich people even bother with TVs. I'm not rich by any measure, but still I can afford a projector, a screen and a couple KRK monitors.

Multi use rooms require TVs.

Projectors cannot handle ambient light without being a fire hazard.

Re: Turning a dumb AC unit smart (without losing my security deposit)

#26

Post by barnas2 »

scottlamb wrote: post #4

> The rest of this blog post is a walkthrough of a software engineer’s approach to home automation and building custom hardware, and let me tell you: both the final product, and the journey to get there, are hella jank. IMHO it's not that bad? With the disclaimer that I'm also a software engineer who dabbles very very lightly with electronics and has no mechanical engineering expertise. But the overall approach of do…

That's what I did. Just an esp32 relay board with a tiny screen and a knob. Then I put more esp32 sensors in each room to get individual temps, with HA logic to select which room the thermostat pays attention to. If HA dies for some reason it falls back to a local control and I'm back to the same situation as before, a thermostat that only pays attention to the temperature in the hallway it's installed in. All the boards were flashed with ESPHome.

Re: Turning a dumb AC unit smart (without losing my security deposit)

#28

Post by mardef »

andix wrote: post #23

OT: I'm looking for some way to control my AC via Infrared. I have a few pretty standard AC units with IR remotes. The ones with a display on it, that just transmit all the settings on the remote via IR on every button press. Some device I can mount in proximity, that controls the AC, but preferably also has a temperature and humidity sensor included.

I use http://getmysa.com for this. they have their own app and scheduling, but i just automate mine via homeassistant

Re: Turning a dumb AC unit smart (without losing my security deposit)

#30

Post by dfxm12 »

danudey wrote: post #17
EvanAnderson wrote: post #13

The "couple a stepper motor to a shaft" API is so much better than any "smart" appliance API. Speaking more seriously, I wish classes of appliances would expose some simple analog and digital interface pins in a standardized configuration to let users choose whatever automation or monitoring hardware they want. HVAC equipment does this with standardized thermostat terminals. I'd love to see that on other types of app…

It always kind of blows my mind that I keep seeing "smart TVs" which have a bunch of integration options for high-end AV installations (rich people's houses, etc.) but no API that you can integrate with to just handle toggling channels/inputs/power states/volumes. (I did get my last Sony Bravia integrated with Homekit so that I could control inputs, volume, etc. via the Home app, but that's not really what I'm lookin…

Smart TVs don't exist for your convenience. They exist to track your behavior and serve you ads. If they happen to have some hackability, it's an accident or happy coincidence.
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