Controlling AC from out of country

[kokesaat]

We have 3 modern ACs bought within the past 6 years.  The remotes allow you to turn on/off your AC,once only, on a single 24 hour schedule.  Whenever we go back to the US for several months, we'd like to be able to turn on our AC in dehumidify mode.  There's a device called SENSIBO (sensibo.com) that allows (allegedly) full access to your AC from anywhere, using your phone and wifi network.  Each device controls a single unit only and cost about $100 US.  

My questions:  Does anyone have experience with Sensibo?  Do I have any other options for remotely controlling my AC?  No one has access to our home while we're gone and we prefer to keep it that way.  Any tips/advice appreciated.

[OneMoreFarang]

I have no experience with Sensibo but I know basically how it works.

 

The original aircon remote control sends a infrared (IR) signal which tell the aircon what to do (temp, mode, etc.)

Any other device works similar, it sends a IR signal to the aircon.

Technically that is relative simple and someone who knows how to play around with Arduino could build it for less than 10USD.

 

I guess that with any remote control the signal is send to the aircon. And if the aircon is on (power connected) then that should work.

But it's likely that whatever you remotely tell the aircon to do is a one way thing. You tell the remote to do that but you don't know if the aircon is actually doing it (i.e. if the aircon breaker is off you likely wouldn't know that).

 

Probably there are some cheap Chinese devices which do what you want. But I don't know how they are called. Maybe something like internet controlled IR or something like that.

 

Maybe a cheap way for you to do this is to buy a couple of remote controls. Set one control to run for an hour in the morning and the 2nd to run for an hour in the evening and the 3rd to run for half an hour at midnight. Somethin like that should work.

Often you can buy working but not original remote controls cheap i.e. in Chinatown but probably also online.

 

[tjo o tjim]

It could be done on the cheap with “IR Blasters” and a Raspberry Pi based solution running OpenHAB or similar, but it would be a good bit of work. You would want an indoor temperature and humidity sensor, IR Learner, and IR Extender for each unit you want to control, and be able to VPN into the unit. 

 

A word ore of caution though, you might want to be careful controlling to humidity via the internal logic of the mini split; it will end up using a lot of energy. Personally, I would just use it to pre-cool when you are coming home. That is a much easier task as well. 

[tjo o tjim]

Did some digging on Sensibo, and it will do what you are looking for.  It is a great solution if all you care about is your AC, or if you want to integrate with the stalking speakers (Amazon Echo, Google Home, etc).  

 

Personally, I would be concerned about security with the company; their first product just sent an email to the device with a subject “AC ON” or “AC OFF”.  Proper security is hard, and with that as a starting point I wouldn’t trust them personally.  I also don’t really like all this “cloud based” home automation— it creates too many risks, although it does make things easier.  Moreover, lighting automation is actually important to me as well, and if I was out of town I would want some leak detectors and motion sensors.  I have used the Universal Devices ISY, OpenHAB, and was trying Home-Assistant as well.

 

But your biggest risk is that someone remotely cranks down your AC and you have a 10,000B electric bill each month you are gone, and the probability is pretty low.

[johng]

If you use a Raspberry Pi Ir blaster solution you could just use "cron jobs" to turn the aircon on and off at set times for a set period...no internet connection so no cloud based malarkey...but if over the internet remote is absolutely needed then you can setup on the Pi your very own mosquitto MQTT server and send commands to it either directly via secure shell (SSH) or a bit more work via Node Red,all free ,no routing of traffic through 3rd party servers only you know the passwords and have full control over the whole setup...big downside is its a lot of reading to do to before you're able to understand how it all works.

[ChipButty]

Check out this system see if it does what you want https://nest.com/ 

[Wirejerker]

Don’t forget to put the plugs in the hand basin, sink and bath. A rubber mat over any floor drain and a sandbag in the toilet


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[RideJocky]

It sounds great, but perhaps too much potential downside for whatever upside you are planning on.

Why not just buy a dehumidifier and be done with it?


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[NCC1701A]

18 minutes ago, RideJocky said:

It sounds great, but perhaps too much potential downside for whatever upside you are planning on.

Why not just buy a dehumidifier and be done with it?


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yes and that could be turned off and on remotely very easily.

[RideJocky]

yes and that could be turned off and on remotely very easily.

Why would you want to turn it off? They cycle on and off on their own.

[NCC1701A]

32 minutes ago, RideJocky said:

Why would you want to turn it off? They cycle on and off on their own.

 

I'm a control freak?

[kokesaat]

A dehumidifier may be the best option.  Instead of using a tank, I could connect a line to discharge into a tub/sink/outdoors.  

Thanks for the feedback

[sanookbkk]

This reply is a bit late, but I use the Ambi Climate (basically the same as a Sensibo I think). It's not cheap, but I love it. It learned when we like it a bit cooler and when a bit warmer. I use my phone to turn on the AC 5 minutes before I get home. If your wifi is on, you can control your AC from anywhere. Their customer service is top notch in my experience. 

[jackdd]

Usually aircons have a button on the aircon itself to turn it on or off. If you search for "timer relais trigger" on for example Aliexpress, you will find a variety of small devices, costing maybe arround 100 THB, with different operating modes. Maybe you find a device which has a matching operating mode to connect it in parallel to the power button at the aircon to turn it on / off in certain intervals.

[kokesaat]

I ordered one of these from lazada a few days ago.  I'll let everyone know how it works after I have an opportunity to try it.

Thanks to all for responding