And here’s me wondering how to use Homekit to control my air conditioner to cope with heatwaves coming to Sydney (Australia, not Canada!).
I cannot use a controllable power outlet because the air conditioner does not auto-start on power-up. There are Google-based devices that simulate the a/c remote control but I have not found one for Homekit (in Australia).
BTW - Remote control of some types of heaters could be a safety issue because of the risk of fire if, for example, a heater has become covered by clothing.
Thanks Adam but Sensibo doesn’t seem to be Homekit compatible. It can work through Siri Shortcuts which, I think, means that the Sensibo app is used with Shortcuts. Nearly there but still looking…
Update: the “new” Sensibo Air Pro and Sensibo Air are listed as Homekit compatible (and the website displays the Homekit logo). I have ordered one and will report back…
OK - my Sensibo Air Pro arrived. It was a bit of a nightmare to set up because it wouldn’t connect to my home wifi. I tried a range of tips such as resetting the device and restarting my router. Eventually I temporarily renamed the 5GHz band so that only the 2.4GHz band was visible. This did the trick and, fortunately, restoring the 5GHz band to its original name (same as 2.4GHz) did not affect the connection.
The Air Pro instantly recognised my air-con remote control and is successfully simulating the remote commands.
Adding to Homekit was a breeze using the QR code on the device. It now is easy to turn the air-con off/on, change the target temperature and change the mode (heat, cool etc). Also Siri commands work: “set aircon to cooling at 24” (Celsius!), “turn aircon off”). I haven’t tried Automations or Shortcuts yet. It would be handy to have a shortcut that turns the aircon on if humidity + temperature get too high.
My only disappointment is that the Air Pro needs to remain plugged into a power source (via USB). I suppose I could use a rechargeable power pack but the lead does make the Air Pro more conspicuous.