Looking for a portable AC with local control

I'm looking for a portable air conditioner (the kind with 1 or 2 hoses that go to outside air). The problem I'm running into is that every single one I find has some kind of "smart" controller built in. The ones with no WiFi connectivity still have buttons to start/stop the AC, meaning that a simple Zigbee outlet switch won't work. I could switch the AC off, but it would require a button-press to switch it back on. The ones with WiFi connectivity all require "cloud" access; my IoT devices all connect to a VLAN with no internet access, and I plan to keep it that way.

I suppose I could hack a relay in place of the "start" button, but I'd really rather just have something I can plug in and use.

I can't use a window AC; the room has no windows. I'll need to route intake/exhaust through the wall. So far, I can't find any "portable" AC that will work for me.

What I'm looking for is a portable AC that either:

  • Connects to WiFi and integrates with HA locally.
  • Has no connectivity but uses "dumb" controls so I can switch it with a Zigbee outlet switch.

Any ideas?

robolemmy ,
@robolemmy@lemmy.world avatar

Just ran across this while endlessly scrolling: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/15292568

TCB13 ,
@TCB13@lemmy.world avatar

Has no connectivity but uses “dumb” controls so I can switch it with a Zigbee outlet switch.

Any dumb unit can be converted into a smart one with an ESP32. If you're up to it, it just required you to wire a transistor to the connections of each physical button of the unit and then write those to the GPIOs of the ESP32. This way you can use the GPIOs to close the circuit like the physical button does and "smartify" the thing that way.

corroded OP ,

This is looking more and more like my best option. I guess I can just buy an AC and run it with thr on-board temperature control until I have time to build and integrate an ESP board.

robolemmy ,
@robolemmy@lemmy.world avatar

I’m not any kind of expert but I seem to recall that turning air conditioners off and on with a switched outlet is a bad thing… something to do with how they start and stop the compressor.

Also, unless you have no choice, stick with the dual hose models, because the single hose ones end up pushing conditioned air out the window. Even if a single hose model has a theoretically higher efficiency, it won’t translate to the real world because it’s blowing cooled air out the window.

Hacking something to replace the unit’s power button is probably your best option

corroded OP ,

I have heard the same thing about ACs, but I think it depends on the unit. The window units that I use have a switch on the front that literally just turns them off; there's no delay time for the compressor. It's the same as pulling the plug.

I've used single and dual-hose portable ACs in the past, and I only have dual-hose units now. This is purely anecdotal, but when I had single-hose units, they would maintain the temperature throughout the day as it warmed up, but they didn't do a great job of cooling. A dual-hose AC with a similar capacity was actually able to lower the temperature.

Shabby4582 ,

I have two window units and a switch on the wall wired in to turn power on and off to them like yours. It would be the same as pulling the plug. I added a Shelly relay to each of them to turn them on and off via home assistant.

I can’t change any settings on them as they are physical dials on the front of the unit. However, I generally keep the dials the same and just turn them on and off with the relays.

There’s a warning not to turn the units off and then back on in 3 minutes (I’ve seen this on quite a few units), but I think lots of units only enable the fan if they are switched on in that time frame as a precaution. The compressor comes on after the warning period passes. No idea why.

pearsaltchocolatebar ,

Get one with a remote, then get a smart RF blaster. There's the Broadlink RM4 that I'll likely be going with in the future.

Or, you could get an ESP32 and an IR transmitter/receiver and use Esphome. Same concept, but completely local.

Shabby4582 ,

I use a Broadlink RM4 for exactly this! Works great once set up. Had to let it connect to the internet to set up the first time, then blocked it on my iOT vlan so only Home assistant can talk to it. Has worked without any intervention for several years.

AA5B , (edited )

Not exactly the same, but I use the RM-4 with a mini-split AC in place of the remote, and it has worked well for years. You do have to place it somewhere line of site for the ir blaster but it has a very wide range

Setup was choosing a make a model, and everything mapped perfectly. In my case, it even reads the status and current temperature.

The one feature that I haven’t gotten around to trying is line power. I hate using batteries. However RM-4 also had a section on powering it directly that I wanted to try. In my case I have an Ecobee thermostat that I think I can grab power off of, and just mount the RM-4 on the wall right next to. However the batteries have lasted years so I never got around to it

EDIT: or maybe not. I have a Remotec RM-4. I don’t know if it is an ancestor to the Broadlink with the same name, but it’s a beige box. It’s local-only, with no WiFi or app

vividspecter ,

Tuya wifi devices are common and you can use TuyaLocal or LocalTuya (confusing I know) integrations to control them without cloud connectivity. You will need an API key an cloud access to first set it up, however.

aksdb ,

Lookup if the device is supported by LocalTuya though.

I made the mistake thinking that LocalTuya somehow acts like a proxy for a generic protocol, but it actually needs to understand the devices. Now I have a doorbell I can't use with it.

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