Introduction to François and beginner questions

[froch]

Hello
I’m François, I’m 61 years old and I’m an industrial computer and automation specialist in the paper industry.
I’m new to the world of home automation, as I’m very cautious about using connected objects at home for cybersecurity reasons. (professional bias).
Three months ago, I started researching on the internet.
I discovered Gladys, its French-made aspect, and its simplicity seem very interesting to me, so I embarked on this adventure.
I’m not a developer and don’t have real knowledge in that area.

I bought a Raspberry Pi (I’m discovering Linux), I installed Gladys by following your videos, and I also installed Node-RED.

• I bought two TP-Link outlets to start with, and in 10 minutes I created two scenarios!!
• Before going any further, I thought to myself, let’s start with the most complicated thing for me, connecting my Somfy roller shutters and my Mitsubishi heat pump.
  I found a small Toscorp box on the internet to control the Somfy shutters. After installing the Arduino software on my Mac to configure the box and through Node-RED, I control my shutters from Gladys individually and in groups.

Small problem, there is no push button in Gladys to control a device, which is a shame, I have to use an ON/OFF button for now. Do you think you could create this type of button?
Or create a feature with three push buttons (like a Somfy remote control)?

I retrieve the data from my heat pump via Node-RED and an MQTT device in Gladys, this device has two features (measure and setpoint) but the names displayed on the graph for the curves are not the names of the features but the name of the MQTT device, which is a shame. How can I fix this problem?

I think I will subscribe to Gladys Plus if I continue this adventure.
Another question I ask myself, not being a developer, is the Gladys application made for people like me?

[lmilcent]

Hello and welcome @froch!

Thank you for your presentation and your feedback, it’s always very interesting

Personally, I prefer to avoid using Wi-Fi home automation equipment to separate my local network from my home automation and thus avoid exposing it too much in terms of security. I guess that’s a profession deformation (cybersecurity)
So protocols like Zigbee are perfect for me. It’s local and not mixed with everyday computing.

Also, @pierre-gilles did an excellent job on Gladys Plus which provides a great way to access remotely, without compromising security or privacy.

Finally, to return to your button issue, I don’t think it’s possible yet in the Gladys interface, but if you have a home automation button, it will be recognized as such and fully usable. What is your use case here?

Otherwise, the Gladys app doesn’t exist, it’s the web page that can be installed on your computer or phone (web app).

[pierre-gilles]

Bonjour François et bienvenue!

@froch

I bought two TP-link plugs to start with and in 10 minutes I created two scenarios!!

It’s great to read that!

@froch

Small problem, there is no push button in Gladys to control equipment, which is a shame, I have to use an ON/OFF button for now. Do you think about creating this type of button?

Yes! This is a comment we often get. We have 2 feature requests that go in this direction:

Bouton poussoir sur le tableau de bord

Je propose d’ajouter un bouton à impulsion dans les fonctionnalités des Appareils. Par exemple, un des premiers équipement que l’on souhaite contrôler est le ou les volets roulants électriques. Une des possibilités est d’utiliser les fonctionnalités proposées ici : Gestion des volets roulants - #13 par syper Une autre possibilité est d’utiliser uniquement un bouton à impulsion (toujours le même message) qui permet de monter, de stopper ou de descendre le volet. Derrière bien sûr il faut gérer…

and:

Gestion des volets roulants

Ce sujet fait suite à l’issue GitHub : @AlexTrovato on peut en parler ici en français car j’ai l’impression qu’on ne se comprend pas en anglais là bas En fait le problème c’est de stocker l’information sur les capacités du volet roulant. Imaginons 3 marques de volets hypothétique : La première est contrôlée par une télécommande avec 3 boutons: ouvrir les volets à 100%, ouvrir à 50%, et ouvrir à 0% (position fermé) La deuxième est contrôlée par une télécommande avec un bouton …

@froch

This device has two features (measure and setpoint) but the names displayed on the graph for the curves are not the names of the features but the name of the MQTT device, which is a shame. How to fix this problem?

Interesting use case, in fact the philosophy was to have a maximum of one feature of each type per device, this is a bit what is done on other home automation platforms, because behind the voice assistants (Alexa, Google Home), are not able to manage several features of the same type in the same device.

Here the problem is surely that a different type is missing: these are not really temperature sensors, it is really a heating device with 2 different features: measurement (this is a temperature sensor), and setpoint (which is not a sensor in the strict sense)

We were discussing this in this topic with connected plugs that have 4 outputs:

Affichage des noms des fonctionnalités au lieu du nom des devices pour certaines intégrations!

En fait l’idée pour ces appareils qui sont un peu des multiprises, ce serait de faire en sorte que l’intégration split le device en plusieurs devices, et ce pour plusieurs intérêts : Etre capable de nommer proprement chaque device Pouvoir placer chaque device dans une pièce différente (car un relais peut contrôler des appareils dans plusieurs pièces) Que ces appareils soient gérés par les assistants vocaux (Google Home, Alexa), qui ne gèrent qu’une fonctionnalités du même type par appareil C…

You could for example split your device into 2 different devices?

@froch

I think I will subscribe to Gladys Plus if I continue this adventure.

Thank you! This is indeed the best way to access Gladys remotely, to have backups, etc… And this is what allows to support the project

@froch

Another question I ask myself, not being a developer, is the Gladys application made for people like me?

Completely, on the contrary Gladys 4 was designed mainly for a non-dev audience. And given your setup, you have for me much more knowledge than 90% of the Gladys community

[guim31]

Hello @froch and welcome!

I will follow you closely as I have a Mitsubishi heat pump but I have no idea how to integrate it into Gladys… Maybe even if you are a beginner you can guide me a little bit!

See you on the forum

[Psoy]

@froch

There is a small problem: there is no push button in Gladys to control equipment, which is a shame, I have to use an ON/OFF button

Good evening Froch:
Welcome to the Club
Since you have installed Node Red, you should be able to create an On Off button that returns to the Off position automatically.

My kitchen ceiling light turns on and off by sending the same command, in other words by pressing the same button on my remote control. So I made this NodeRed setup. What you are interested in is the Mqtt in Node, the Trigger Node, and the Mqtt out Node. The first node receives the command from the Gladys button with its topic: gladys/device/mqtt:cusine_plaf (and the rest), the trigger delays it by 500ms and then sends a 0 to the Mqtt out, and the subtlety is to copy/paste the topic of the Mqtt in and modify it like this: gladys/master/device/mqtt:cusine_plaf (and the rest). You add the term « master » and there you have it, a nice sliding button. You retrieve the info from the Mqtt in node to send it to your device and that’s it. In the meantime, this keeps you busy. I hope that’s what you were looking for.
Good evening

[cce66]

Good evening @Psoy,
Is it possible to have the export in JSON format with the schema? This will allow us to have both the code and the configuration of the nodes and the flow at the same time!

[Psoy]

@cce66

Is it possible to have the export in json format with the schema

Good evening cce66, (it’s the PO 66),
the schema I posted is extracted from an RFlink flow, with 17 Mqtt devices, do you want all that or is it just the button you want. The entire flow is linked to my hardware and not necessarily to yours

[cce66]

Yes not far from the first incident to say the least! Oh well that’s all the flow it’s great because it allows you to see other approaches and consider other developments!

[Fabic]

@Psoy, I used exactly the same trick (which I also set to 0.5s). Here is the flow:

[{"id":"d2599d92.81b8e","type":"tab","label":"Flow 4","disabled":false,"info":""},{"id":"b7b145ad.c410a","type":"change","z":"d2599d92.81b8e","name":"return switch","rules":[{"t":"set","p":"payload","pt":"msg","to":"0","tot":"num"}],"action":"","property":"","from":"","to":"","reg":false,"x":730,"y":360,"wires":[["c5c69dc3.53d4f8"]]},{"id":"a9f5cac0.17145","type":"delay","z":"d2599d92.81b8e","name":"return switch delay","pauseType":"delay","timeout":"500","timeoutUnits":"milliseconds","rate":"1","nbRateUnits":"1","rateUnits":"second","randomFirst":"1","randomLast":"5","randomUnits":"seconds","drop":false,"x":490,"y":360,"wires":[["b7b145ad.c410a"]]},{"id":"c5c69dc3.53d4f8","type":"mqtt out","z":"d2599d92.81b8e","name":"Gladys-reading","topic":"","qos":"2","retain":"","broker":"","x":1000,"y":360,"wires":[]},{"id":"c3b5249.0cc8458","type":"mqtt in","z":"d2599d92.81b8e","name":"","topic":"","qos":"2","datatype":"auto","broker":"","x":190,"y":360,"wires":[["a9f5cac0.17145"]]}]

In MQTT it works, for Tasmota it’s more complicated!

[Psoy]

@Fabic

It works in MQTT, but it’s more complicated with Tasmota!

Good evening Fabic,
Indeed, I haven’t tried with Tasmota. I only have the problem with Rflink and MQTT. With Tasmota, I only have SonOff devices and it works automatically. The SonOff sends its state with its command (small button).

[froch]

Thanks for the info, I tested it and it works well!!! In the meantime, it’s perfect
Good evening

[Psoy]

Super
Have a great evening too