homeassistant

Anything new I buy has the ability to directly talk to homeassistant without a third party. Zigbee, zwave, ip. If its cloud it can fuck right off, I don't need it.

Many brand names are using these protocols to talk to their bullshit hubs that then send your data out of your network. I've got a hodgepodge of stuff like samsung sensors, Ikea switches, ip cameras and all kinds of stuff.

It isn't even that hard to set them up. HA can detect most devices on the network and recognise them.

Garages just need a momentary dry-contact switch wired up where the button is (or you can get a ladder and place it closer to the motor).

I use a Sonoff 4CH Pro which could do up to 4 garage doors. Surely there are other dry contact options, but that's the one I use.

It's flashed with Tasmota, and each switch is set to stay on for a fraction of a second, like a button press.

For sensors I use z-wave door sensors. The magnet is taped to the door, and the sensor is installed above it. I copied and pasted some yaml from somewhere to make Home Assistant display everything properly. It's pretty slick!

This is in my covers.yaml file (referenced from config.yaml, of course).

        garage_1:
          friendly_name: Garage 1
          device_class: garage
          value_template: "{{ is_state('binary_sensor.garage_1', 'on') }}"
          open_cover:
            - condition: state
              entity_id: binary_sensor.garage_1
              state: "off"
            - service: switch.turn_on
              target:
                entity_id: switch.garage_1_toggle
          close_cover:
            - condition: state
              entity_id: binary_sensor.garage_1
              state: "on"
            - service: switch.turn_on
              target:
                entity_id: switch.garage_1_toggle
          stop_cover:
            service: switch.turn_on
            target:
              entity_id: switch.garage_1_toggle
          icon_template: >-
            {% if is_state('binary_sensor.garage_1', 'on') %}
              mdi:garage-open
            {% else %}
              mdi:garage
            {% endif %}

I got two ratgdo modules in the mail yesterday. Hooked ‘em up last night and it was super straightforward. I disabled the built-in WiFi on the MyQ openers and they’ve been working excellently last night and today. No regrets!