Velux blinds (Radio signal)

EvertorN

Hi guys,

I just moved to a new share house and my room came with Velux automatic blinds. I can control these blinds with a controller that sends out a radio signal. My first thought was of course "I wanna hook this up to Homey". Unfortunately, there is no app yet that adds support for these blinds. I am keen to give it a go myself, but I think I need some device to 'sniff' the radio signal in order to build the app?

Can anyone give me a push in the right direction? How can I decode this radio signal to build my app?

Cheers

EvertorN

I found this information in the manual, does anyone know if this is compatible with Homey? @danone ?

GeurtDijker

Search the various discussions about io homecontrol on this forum.
Like https://forum.athom.com/discussion/363/io-homecontrol

And to be short, no hope to get it implemented soon if it will be  ever possible. 

GeurtDijker

Sorry,
now on my PC I read the whole scanned article, 
Are you sure it is the new 2,4 Ghz control you have?
The 433 and 868 Mhz feq. can be scanned from Homey but IO Homecontrol is closed and has security.
That makes it a No-Go. 

The 2,4 Ghz can be ZigBee - WiFi or Bluetooth. 
https://www.athom.com/en/homey/technology/

If they use that and are open to the protocol's and how it is secured.... it could be possible if you get enough information. 

but for now I can't find anything else than IO Homecontrol on the dutch Velux site and cant find any Velux 2.4 Ghz remotes on the velux .com.au or the internet so far. 

danone

I would agree with @GeurtDijker even if you manage "to sniff" the radio signal, it is perhaps proprietary and it has its own security. The IO Homecontrol was founded around 2002 by Somfy and Velux and looking to the post mentioned by GeurtDijker, Homey is a no go here. I think that Velux uses 2.4GHz in Australia just because 868 cannot be used here.

But it says that you can link its Interface with home automations "smart" systems like CBUS. So maybe instead of trying to figure out a direct communication blinds-Homey you can use their interface (which I think that's the KLF100 below) to control this via Homey, by having a z-wave device hooked up to it like a Fibaro double switch 2 or similar.
I know that this means another device but it is relatively super easy and fast solution. (you don't need the wall-mounted plate like below picture unless you also want such manual control...)
Since you leave in a shared house, when you leave for good just take away with you the z-wave device.

EvertorN

@danone Interesting.. How would this work? Like which products would I need to buy to get this setup working?

danone

EvertorN said:

@danone Interesting.. How would this work? Like which products would I need to buy to get this setup working?

It looks like the interface (the KLF100) can be also controlled from a voltage free relay. There would be few options using a z-wave device, for example a Fibaro Double Relay 2 (FGS-222) With this one you just simply wire it like in the drawing below (sorry for the rough draw....). You don't need to wire S1 and S2 unless you also want to have a wall switch.

This Double Relay is then easy to be controlled by Homey, you need to install the app, in my example the Fibaro app and pair it with your Homey. Just make sure you get the proper z-wave device e.g. you have an EU Homey then you get an EU frequency z-wave device.

arnd

And Yes it works perfect with the fibaro FGS-222  and the Velux KLF-200  !!!  Thanks for the tip 

nmeden

arnd said:

And Yes it works perfect with the fibaro FGS-222  and the Velux KLF-200  !!!  Thanks for the tip 

Nice, but I assume this was just the test setup. Otherwise your electrical installation looks downright lethal. At the very least, put the Fibaro inside an electrical junction box.

Also, might it really be water pipes that everything is twisted around..??

johnhoogland

it also works with the older and cheaper klf 100. However, you can only use a command for one group. I use it for opening and closing all Velux blinds.
I too used the figaro FGS-222.
I used the powercord from the velux to also power the figaro.