Controlling Air Conditioners with Home Assistant

Controlling Air Conditioners with Home Assistant

Understanding IR Devices

Infrared (IR) devices are commonly used in various household electronics, such as air conditioners, televisions, and sound systems. These devices utilize IR signals to communicate between the remote control and the device. You can usually identify an IR device by looking at the original remote control—if it has a small LED light at the top and requires a direct line of sight to the device, it’s likely an IR remote.

Recommended IR Transmitters by Tuya

IR transmitters are devices that emit infrared signals to control other devices. Basically these are smart home devices that replace the original remote control for the device. Here are three Tuya IR transmitters that I recommend (I have all three, I recommend just getting whatever is cheapest, they work the same):

Setting Up Tuya IR Transmitters

To use these IR transmitters, start by setting them up in the Tuya Smart Life app:

  1. Install the Tuya Smart Life app on your smartphone, if you haven’t already.
  2. Follow the instructions that come with each device to set them up. They’re super simple to set up.
  3. Use the app’s interface to find your IR devices. Tuya has a catalog of devices to choose from and it is extensive. I’ve always been able to find my devices. You can also “teach” it new remotes, but I’ve never had to do it.
  4. Once configured, you can control your air conditioner with the IR transmitter through the mobile app.

Integrating with Home Assistant

To integrate these devices with Home Assistant, follow these steps:

  1. In the Tuya Smart Life app, go to “Scenes” and create a scene to turn the device on and another to turn it off.
  2. Refresh the Tuya integration in Home Assistant (or restart Home Assistant).
  3. Go to Home Assistant, navigate to Settings -> Automations & Scenes -> Scenes, and find your newly created scenes.
  4. Now you can create buttons to control the device on your dashboard. Here is the code for my setup:
- type: horizontal-stack
  cards:
    - show_name: true
      show_icon: true
      type: custom:button-card
      tap_action:
        action: toggle
      entity: scene.ac_spare_room_on_23
      icon: mdi:snowflake
      name: ACCool 23°
      show_state: false
      size: 60px
      styles:
        card:
          - height: 145px
        name:
          - margin-top: '-50px'
        icon:
          - margin-top: '-45px'
    - show_name: true
      show_icon: true
      type: custom:button-card
      tap_action:
        action: toggle
      entity: scene.ac_spare_room_off
      name: ACTurn Off
      icon: mdi:hvac-off
      size: 60px
      styles:
        card:
          - height: 145px
        name:
          - margin-top: '-50px'
        icon:
          - margin-top: '-45px'

This is how these cards look in my dashboard:

Final Thoughts

By integrating IR devices with Home Assistant, you can easily control your air conditioners and other electronics, making your smart home even smarter. Here are the products I recommend:

Summary

Integrating IR devices with Home Assistant through Tuya’s Smart Life app allows for seamless control of your air conditioners and other electronics, enhancing your smart home experience.


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