There’s definitely a community in Home Assistant - and several threads wishing for bond implementation. So far everyone I think either uses IFTTT, or some rest commands to send API commands to Bond bridge. No implementation afaik?
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Sharing my two cents here:
I really like IFTTT, and use it to automate my shades up/down based on triggers like sunrise and sunset, for example. (There is no shades support currently, but I have my shades mapped as a ‘Fireplace’ and that seems to work).
Since I realize that providing direct support may be expensive and/or not desirable, I think just the use of Webhooks would be sufficient. This way, I could call, for example:
https://bondhome/io/up/master_bedroom_shades/with/key/API_KEY_HERE
To raise my master bedroom shades. IFTTT has simple support for webhooks, and, (for some reason?) much, much faster than the built-in integrations. If I use a webhook, I can get a response typically within 3-8 sec on IFTTT whereas if I just choose a device it could be as long as 5-10 minutes.
Alternatively, HomeKit support would pretty much nail it for me as well - since I can set up triggers there.
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I can’t speak to the above points, maybe @merck can. But for this point: maybe “homebridge-bond” or SmartThings could work for you.
Here’s homebridge-bond on github
Our SmartThings integration has a shades controller now, as well.
That’s because we’ve still got an IFTTT integration but only for the “V1” platform, grandfathered for users who purchased the product when we were still advertising the integration.
That is great to hear. Indeed we plan to have a Cloud API out in the next few months, which would support exactly that kind of use-case.
Thanks @merck! @jacob I have hesitated on homebridge for a while, but you inspired me to set up a Pi. Just ordered mine!
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@dxdc - I am assuming previously you (and some others in this thread) didn’t have an in-home dedicated control system of any type? Hence the IFTTT usage, and/or HomeBridge and similar “cloud only” services without (multi-platform) dedicated hardware (as in, other than Bond or proprietary hubs such as Hue etc)?
Does that sound accurate? Just personal curiosity, nothing bad or anything.
@residualimages, correct, I didn’t have a dedicated internal system. I’ll give you some background.
I’ve had IFTTT for years, but it was so slow and unreliable I stopped using it. Then, I discovered that the webhooks with IFTTT were really fast. So, instead of a “normal” IFTTT configuration (IF “Motion detected” THEN “Turn on light”) I translated this to IF “Motion detected” THEN “Send web request”. And, then, within IFTTT you just tell it what to do when it receives a web request and it becomes fast again.
This works great for basic events, but then I found myself wanting more. For example, in the above example, I only wanted it to happen if it was dark outside. One could do this with a time (e.g., after 7PM), but I wanted it to be more specific - relating to the actual time of sunset each day.
So, I built a simple “logic middleman” API on AWS that I can post a command to, and will evaluate the logic I’ve provided. If the logic evaluates to TRUE, it will perform a callback to the original IFTTT Webhook. Otherwise, it will just abort and nothing will happen. It works great.
I also recently built my own Arduino sensor to trigger every time my mailbox is opened, and send a push notification to my phone.
So, I found myself wanting more and firmly believe that a single ecosystem is just needed at this point. It’s frustrating that major companies (like Google Nest) aren’t supporting HomeKit, presumably due to some kind of ongoing Google/Apple rivalry. With homebridge, I can make even smarter automations - for example, creating a sensor to trigger putting a shade down IF it’s sunny outside.
I wish there was more industry agreement on standards for a true “home hub”, but it doesn’t exist. Every IOT vendor makes their own app, and their own ecosystem, and then tries to add more products to it so that you’ll stick with it. I get it, but, it’s difficult to manage the wide variety of apps and there isn’t universal support for any platform (IFTTT, SmartThings, HomeKit, etc.).
So, it seems after a few years now the homebridge community is growing and I’m excited to join it.
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Thanks for the detailed reply, @dxdc ! I have some similar overlap in history, successes, frustrations, and eventual realizations.
Couldn’t agree more about closed loop proprietary systems and fragmentation in the IoT sphere, and how solutions such as HA, HomeBridge, ISY, Hubitat, and others, along with their communities, are proving their worth and sanity.
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If you want a true “home hub”, take a look on Home Assistant. It’s what I personally use and integrates with pretty much everything I need (no Bond native support yet, but you can get around using the Local API)
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@marcio Quite interesting! Thanks for sharing that, now I have some exploring to do before my Pi arrives…
Are you using it also with HomeKit or as just a true automation hub? Looks really great actually, but I do want everything inside HomeKit as opposed to having just another app. The integration with some of the geofencing w/ my iPhone is really helpful for what I’m looking to do.
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HA integrates with Google Home and Alexa (via their paid Nabu Casa subscription, or for free with you want to deal with the webhooks) and also supports exposing all the devices to Home Kit!
@marcio thanks for the information. I opted to configure homebridge instead since I have more control over the interface, and I don’t need a separate iOS app in this case. I’ll see how it goes with the automations.
That being said, there is no shades support in homebridge-bond. In case anyone else is looking for support, I have shade support working here: https://github.com/aarons22/homebridge-bond/issues/36#issuecomment-542441060
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+1 for “first party” support for SmartThings and Hubitat. The big thing is being able to see device status for my house in a single app / location.
Oh it’s pretty simple. I just use a rest_command and a script that calls it. Something like this:
# on configuration.yaml:
rest_command:
toggle_fan:
url: "http://192.168.1.250/v2/devices/79d012f8/actions/TogglePower"
method: PUT
headers:
BOND-Token: !secret home_bond_token
content_type: application/json
payload: '{}'
# on scripts.yaml:
toggle_fan:
sequence:
- service: rest_command.toggle_fan
alias: Toggle Fan
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I spent way too much time on mine lol. I’ve become a little addicted to configuring home assistant and learning new ways to automate my house.
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Nest thermostat shut down their API when they closed Works with Nest program. IFTTT is the only ‘bridge’ between the thermostat and my multi conditions automation set up via Apilio (replacing Stringify)
Off topic for @jzanick : if you want the DIY level Nest API back, don’t forget to sign up for the Device Access for Individuals program under Works with Assistant (estimated next Fall for DIY folks).