Hey everyone! I wanted to share my recent success in integrating an older device into my smart home setup. I’ve been trying to connect an old Lufft OPUS 20 TCO data logger, which measures temperature, humidity, and CO2 levels, into my Home Assistant system. While it wasn’t straightforward, I managed to figure it out and thought I’d document the process for anyone else who might be dealing with similar challenges.
First, I checked if there was any existing integration for this device in Home Assistant. Unfortunately, I didn’t find anything directly compatible. The device is quite old, so that wasn’t too surprising. I then looked into whether it could be integrated via IP address or some other network protocol. After some research, I discovered that the device communicates over TCP/IP, which gave me hope.
I decided to use Home Assistant’s built-in networking tools and custom integrations. I found a community-developed integration that allows devices to be connected via IP and custom scripts. This required a bit of tinkering with configuration files, but the documentation was helpful. I set up a custom sensor platform and configured it to pull data from the Lufft device at regular intervals.
The next step was ensuring that the data was being correctly parsed and displayed in Home Assistant. I used the developer tools to monitor the sensor data and adjust the configuration as needed. It took a few iterations, but eventually, the temperature, humidity, and CO2 levels started appearing in my dashboard!
I also wanted to visualize this data over time, so I set up a simple dashboard using Home Assistant’s lovelace interface. Now, I can easily see how the environmental conditions in my home change throughout the day.
This experience taught me that even older devices can be integrated into modern smart home ecosystems with a bit of creativity and persistence. It’s also a great reminder of the power of open-source communities and the wealth of resources available for solving such problems.
If anyone else is trying to integrate an older or non-standard device, I’d be happy to share more details about my setup or troubleshoot any issues you might encounter. Happy automating!