Somfy motor interfaces
I am finishing the installation of motorized shades using Somfy rts motors. I was wondering if anyone else has these, and if if so, what interface are you using with them and NEEO. They have a universal interface that among other things can use IR, but they also have interfaces using zigbee, z wave, and a wifi app. I was hoping someone is using one of these with NEEO, or could recommend one based on NEEO's functionality and strengths. They are each costly, so before I buy it would be great to get feedback from users.
Thank you
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I can't really help with that since I don't have access to any of their interfaces. But here are some thoughts.
IR: It depends if each Somfy needs to receive the commands themselves that is no solution. But if a central hub translates IR and passes that on to the Somfys that would be a solution that might make sense and that could be implemented on our side quickly.
Zigbee: Until we can fully control ZigBee devices directly without having a hub in between that will take a bit more time.
Z-Wave: We have not yet tested the Somfy Z-Wave adapter, but in general this should be working. If you let me know which devices you have in mind exactly I could get in tough with them to check if we could borrow one for testing.
Control over IP (WifFi Ethernet): This is probably the most future-proof choice. However, I can not tell you when our own driver will be ready for that. With our SDK everybody could come up with driver though right now until we are ready.
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Patrick Thank you for your thorough and timely response - it is appreciated. I will pass along the specific product codes for the hubs I am interested in.
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Patrick The Z wave to RTS interface is called the ZRTSI #1811265, and the universal RTS interface, URTS, # 1810872.
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Tom Mandel Thanks for that, I will get in touch with them to check if we can borrow the devices for testing. We will also try to get the code sets in parallel.
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Patrick Thank you. Their motors are used by many manufacturers globally so I would think many NEEO users will benefit.
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Patrick Hello again. I was wondering if any of your team have had time to look at the Somfy interfaces? The z wave interface operates at a frequency of 908 MHz according to the specs. Will this work with NEEO?
Thank you.
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Somfy RTS operates on a 433MHz frequency so unless Neeo has the necessary chips installed there can't be a direct integration with RTS. See link https://blog.athom.com/2016/08/07/making-rf-work-433-868-mhz-homey/ for some background info. Not sure whether any Homey user has successfully integrated with Somfy RTS yet.
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Markus Marbach I appreciate your input. Somfy offers a variety of interfaces for the various protocols to communicate with RTS, which I thought allow this to happen. As an example, would their universal interface, which accepts IR commands, not convert this to the correct signal to then pass on to the motor using their RTS command? To my understanding these act like hubs, which I thought was the only option.
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Tom Mandel given that Neeo does not have the necessary 433MHz chip and radio built in an RTS interface such as the URTSI II which takes IR commands and translates it into the Somfy proprietary command might be an option. Given the steep price of $260 for the interface and the rather ordinary look and design this is not an option I would choose. Hence I looked at Homey which supports Somfy natively. I think Neeo and Homey are a great combination and complimentary. I know Niels is using this, maybe he can tell us about his experience of how nicely they interact together. Somfy support was one of the main drivers I've considered Homey over the likes of Alexa, Google Home etc. Hope this makes sense.
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Markus Marbach too bad that there is no onboard support for 433 MHz. Next to IR it’s just the other main remote protocol out there.
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Markus Marbach Thank you again for your interest and support in this topic. I am in agreement with your comment regarding the cost and aesthetic of the Somfy interface, I just wanted however to ensure it was an option. Homey looks interesting - I have been following its journey on Kickstarter and beyond - but has technological/stability issues for some users. My research also shows that they had to cancel plans to ship to US/CA (I live in Toronto) for lack of funds to get government certification, as well as a limited number of interested backers in those countries. As Patrick mentioned in his earlier response, perhaps I could wait for an IP driver to be developed, although unless a community member creates one I think it may be a lengthy wait.
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Joerg Mattiello I am afraid 433Mhz is only a frequency, not a protocol. Somfy uses their own protocol which is why only a few (non-somfy) hubs have native support for it.
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Geert Van Der Linden
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Just curious if anyone bought one of the Somfy interfaces mentioned and was able to control RTS blinds with NEEO? I don't mind buying the interface if it in fact works.
Tom Mandel said:
The Z wave to RTS interface is called the ZRTSI #1811265, and the universal RTS interface, URTS, # 1810872.Reply-
Jon Iverson I purchased the ZRTSI interface and it is working well. I had built and installed 3 Somfy roller shades, and am successfully running them using the interface. I am currently using ‘time of day’ rules created in openHAB2 running on a rasp Pi 3 with a z-wave stick. Two of the shades are one the same floor of the ZRTSI, the other in an upstairs bedroom. I started an initial set-up on NEEO, but have been spending my free ‘tech time’ exploring openHAB2. I plan to revisit NEEO’s functionality in my home system in the future.
Tom
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Tom Mandel Thanks for the quick follow up! So if I understand correctly, you have the interface, but don't use it with NEEO, just Rasp Pi3?
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Thanks for the quick follow up! So if I understand correctly, you have the interface, but don't use it with NEEO, just Rasp Pi3?
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Jon Iverson That is correct. I had started to set it up, but focussed more on openHAB2. I just opened my NEEO app, and see that I have the blinds and interface in the devices section, just not initialized yet.
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I would also like to know more about people's experiences with alternative interfaces and Neeo integration. I have 10 Somfy blinds with RTS remote that would be great to be able to control with Neeo. I'm more concerned about easy and flawless integration than money.
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Niklas Greve
The brain does not support somfy rts native, so you can use forward data from the NEEO remote with an external webhook. With the captured webhook data you can than control somfy rts via another gateway etc. AIO Gateway supports RTS.
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Fonzo
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Milanot If you want to use an AIO Gateway V6 you can do this without webhooks. It is enough to send an IR command from the NEEO. You can teach the AIO Gateway V6 the IR command from the NEEO, if the IR command is received as a trigger then Somfy RTS is switched. So you could use any IR command the NEEO sends to switch Somfy RTS.
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