Hi everyone, I’m diving into the world of smart home automation and wanted to share my experiences and some questions I have along the way. I’ve been experimenting with integrating MQTT devices into OpenHAB, and it’s been a fascinating journey!
My Setup
I have a few custom-built ESP8266 devices that I’m running on battery power. These devices are connected to OpenHAB via MQTT, and they expose two topics: one for state updates and another for commands. For example, my cat door device sends updates to homeassistant/catdoor-battery/number/catdoorposition/state and listens for commands on homeassistant/catdoor-battery/number/catdoorposition/command. This setup works well when the device is active, but I’m running into issues when it’s in deep sleep mode. The device doesn’t receive commands, and I’m wondering if there’s a way to enable the RETAINED flag on MQTT messages to ensure commands are stored until the device wakes up.
Challenges and Questions
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MQTT RETAINED Flag: Does the MQTT binding in OpenHAB support adding the RETAINED flag to messages? I’ve looked through the documentation, but I couldn’t find any information on this. If it’s not supported, are there any workarounds or alternative approaches to ensure commands are delivered even when the device is offline?
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Battery Life Optimization: Since my devices are battery-powered, I’m constantly looking for ways to optimize power consumption. Deep sleep mode is great for saving battery, but it complicates command delivery. Are there best practices for handling such scenarios in smart home setups?
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Integration with Other Systems: I’m also exploring how to integrate these MQTT devices with other systems like Alexa and Google Home. Are there any recommendations or common pitfalls to be aware of when setting up such integrations?
Workarounds and Solutions
For now, I’ve implemented a workaround using a JSRule to manually send commands with the RETAINED flag. While this works, it feels a bit hacky, and I’m concerned about potential errors, especially with topic name mismatches. I’m hoping there’s a cleaner solution out there that I might have missed.
Looking for Feedback
I’d love to hear from others who have successfully integrated MQTT devices into their smart home setups, especially those dealing with battery-powered devices and deep sleep modes. What strategies have worked for you? Are there any tools or techniques that make managing such setups easier?
Thank you for your insights and suggestions! Let’s keep the discussion going and help each other navigate the exciting world of smart home automation.