Mitsubishi Kumo Cloud Integration

Other Devices & Integrations Climate Control & Temperature Sensors
1

Hello all,

I’ve recently had a large Mitsubishi HVAC system installed in my home. I got the Kumo Cloud wifi based control system with the equipment so I can use the app to control each unit. That’s great but I would prefer to integrate it with Vera so I can write scenes to trigger different events.
After doing some research it seems like Kumo Cloud is either new technology or no one else has it. There’s very little on the internet regarding the Kumo Cloud interface. I have to imagine there must be a way to integrate this with VERA but I can’t find anything. Do any of you know if this would be possible?

2

Thanks for introducing this new product. I too have many Mitsu ductless systems and I wasn’t aware of this - until now. Seems Mitsu developed this in addition to Honeywell’s TCC (which is what I’m using today) and to offer wireless as seen by other ductless manufacturers (e.g. Daikin). This appears to give more granular control over functions lacking within TCC (e.g. Dry mode, airflow direction etc.). So yes, something can be developed but it’s critical to have a published API. Of course one could always monitor the traffic and reverse engineer one.

So without home automation, what are your initial thoughts on the controls offered by Kumo ? Any inherit delays or deficiencies in issued commands ?

[quote=“tcrote5516, post:1, topic:193081”]Hello all,

I’ve recently had a large Mitsubishi HVAC system installed in my home. I got the Kumo Cloud wifi based control system with the equipment so I can use the app to control each unit. That’s great but I would prefer to integrate it with Vera so I can write scenes to trigger different events.
After doing some research it seems like Kumo Cloud is either new technology or no one else has it. There’s very little on the internet regarding the Kumo Cloud interface. I have to imagine there must be a way to integrate this with VERA but I can’t find anything. Do any of you know if this would be possible?[/quote]

3

It appears to be a solid platform and beats the heck out of using the IR remotes that for some reason still come with these top of the line HVAC units. On a sidenote, that kills me…awesome product, inverter driven compressors, silent operation, highly efficient heat pump and they ship with a IR remote. Not wifi, not even RF…IR, freakin IR! Anyway…

The only gripe I have is the initial startup lag when you launch the app and it needs to contact each individual unit. At times it takes less than a couple seconds for each unit to report back its current status but other times it can take up to 2 minutes. This happens on the home wifi or miles away on 4g cell service. Once its “connected” any command is executed instantly and consistently with positive feedback showing in the app itself which is great. As long as you leave the app running in the background it doesn’t need to reconnect and appears to update regularly. If you completely close down the app you may need to wait for it to reconnect to each unit.

I’m not sure if the number of units affect the startup time. In the beginning I had one setup and it was fast. I now have 4 of the wifi modules on a 6 ton system and she’s a bit of a slow mover.

I hope someone much smarter than myself is able to put together an interface. It seems all the pieces are there we just need someone to connect the dots.

4

Ah, yes the dreaded remotes. Don’t get me started on those… I’m definitely curious a this point, I might purchase one and install it just to see how it works. I appreciate you taking the time to provide details…

[quote=“tcrote5516, post:3, topic:193081”]It appears to be a solid platform and beats the heck out of using the IR remotes that for some reason still come with these top of the line HVAC units. On a sidenote, that kills me…awesome product, inverter driven compressors, silent operation, highly efficient heat pump and they ship with a IR remote. Not wifi, not even RF…IR, freakin IR! Anyway…

The only gripe I have is the initial startup lag when you launch the app and it needs to contact each individual unit. At times it takes less than a couple seconds for each unit to report back its current status but other times it can take up to 2 minutes. This happens on the home wifi or miles away on 4g cell service. Once its “connected” any command is executed instantly and consistently with positive feedback showing in the app itself which is great. As long as you leave the app running in the background it doesn’t need to reconnect and appears to update regularly. If you completely close down the app you may need to wait for it to reconnect to each unit.

I’m not sure if the number of units affect the startup time. In the beginning I had one setup and it was fast. I now have 4 of the wifi modules on a 6 ton system and she’s a bit of a slow mover.

I hope someone much smarter than myself is able to put together an interface. It seems all the pieces are there we just need someone to connect the dots.[/quote]

5

So I did some searching and it seems for whatever reason (perhaps simplicity), a WAP that supports WPS is a requirement. Next spring (way too hot in Texas to do this now) I’m going to install a tri-system on the east side of our house and was looking to adopt this solution. It’s advisable that once you’ve successfully paired the units to the AP, proceed to disable the WPS feature. I use a commercial grade router and these simply don’t support WPS. Do a search and you’ll see why WPS is becoming an issue.

I simply can’t stand residential routers, so I’m going to use an rPi2 with a WiFi dongle and OpenWRT and isolate it onto it’s own VLAN. If someone hasn’t PCAP’d the traffic by then ,I will so we can start to see we can explore the details necessary to start building a plugin. I can then successfully retire my Nest thermostat and the Honeywell’s (and RedLink bridge) which control my 3 Mitsu’s today. Mikee has done an awesome job building that plugin and it’s been rock solid…

In the meantime I’ll keep checking Git for anyone who’s hacked Kumo… This is good news though…

If service from my Internet Service Provider goes out can I still
use the app? Yes! As long as the local network is functioning the
app can communicate to the HVAC units. You may have to disable
the data connection on your mobile device to use only the WI-Fi
network, temporarily, until Internet is restored. Choose to use the
wireless network As-is or choose Use Without Internet
from the alert in iOS
6

Well that’s encouraging news for sure!

I’ve been using the schedule feature in Kumo for the past few days and have also found that to very reliable. I have an MHK1 on my ducted minisplit (Kumo Cloud adapters on the 3 wall mount units) and have found the Kumo cloud to be a MUCH BETTER and less expensive option than the MHK.

7

Yes, the MHK1 solution is 50-60+ for each unit. Not having to swap batteries on the MHK1 and look at these antique looking stats will be worth it to me. I went ahead and ordered the parts for my OpenWRT/WPS access point, 65+ for parts and I can access it remotely if needed using Weaved. I’ll probably order the Kumo adapter when I can free up some time and the temps start to cool down. I’ve been hunting Ebay to see if anyone decides they don’t want it.

One of the things I dislike about cloud based solutions is having to converse with them directly to send commands to the HVAC’s. Direct communication will be nice !

[quote=“tcrote5516, post:6, topic:193081”]Well that’s encouraging news for sure!

I’ve been using the schedule feature in Kumo for the past few days and have also found that to very reliable. I have an MHK1 on my ducted minisplit (Kumo Cloud adapters on the 3 wall mount units) and have found the Kumo cloud to be a MUCH BETTER and less expensive option than the MHK.[/quote]

8

as of October 2016 this is no longer the case. The newer Wi-Fi adapter do NOT require WPS.
Wi-Fi Adapter (PAC-WHS01WF-E) older model, Requires WPS
Wi-Fi Adapter (PAC-USWHS002-WF-1) Newer Model, does NOT require WPS

Now we need someone smart enough to crack the communications so we can integrate into home automation.
there is a thread here where by someone has started investigating the coms. Its encouraging to me at least to see it appears to be json strings as my automation system works off those heavily.

9

In case any of you are interested. I coded a KUMO like controller with an ESP8266. Does same thing, except you can decide what controls it, not Mitsu LOL…I will be making demo samples soon with MQTT, for now there are demo’s in the git so that anyone can make their own thing using my library.

10

This is just awesome, I’ll order the parts this weekend… Many thanks !

[quote=“Swi, post:9, topic:193081”]In case any of you are interested. I coded a KUMO like controller with an ESP8266. Does same thing, except you can decide what controls it, not Mitsu LOL…I will be making demo samples soon with MQTT, for now there are demo’s in the git so that anyone can make their own thing using my library.
https://github.com/SwiCago/HeatPump[/quote]

11

[quote=“CudaNet, post:10, topic:193081”]This is just awesome, I’ll order the parts this weekend… Many thanks !

[quote=“Swi, post:9, topic:193081”]In case any of you are interested. I coded a KUMO like controller with an ESP8266. Does same thing, except you can decide what controls it, not Mitsu LOL…I will be making demo samples soon with MQTT, for now there are demo’s in the git so that anyone can make their own thing using my library.
https://github.com/SwiCago/HeatPump[/quote][/quote]

We recently discovered how to use remote temperature sensors and send that to the HeatPump, so that it uses that temperature instead of it’s own to determine if it should cool/heat or not and at what stage. This is good for ducted units in an attic, where temperatures reported by the heatpump are not the room temperature. MHK1 accessory from Mitsu does this, but is not remote WIFI enabled. We can now do the same as that accessory, but can change settings from any automation software that can do MQTT.
It is currently in a test branch, but will soon be merged into the master. The MQTT sample script will also be updated to support receiving remote temperatures and feed them to the heat pump.

12

@Swi,

I’ve been actively following the progress and it’s greatness - so wish I could help test but I’ve been so swamped at work. I currently have all the parts and I just recently setup the MQTT plugin. I just need to assemble the cable and give it a go. If I have any questions I’ll post on Git.

–CN

[quote=“Swi, post:11, topic:193081”][quote=“CudaNet, post:10, topic:193081”]This is just awesome, I’ll order the parts this weekend… Many thanks !

[quote=“Swi, post:9, topic:193081”]In case any of you are interested. I coded a KUMO like controller with an ESP8266. Does same thing, except you can decide what controls it, not Mitsu LOL…I will be making demo samples soon with MQTT, for now there are demo’s in the git so that anyone can make their own thing using my library.
https://github.com/SwiCago/HeatPump[/quote][/quote]

We recently discovered how to use remote temperature sensors and send that to the HeatPump, so that it uses that temperature instead of it’s own to determine if it should cool/heat or not and at what stage. This is good for ducted units in an attic, where temperatures reported by the heatpump are not the room temperature. MHK1 accessory from Mitsu does this, but is not remote WIFI enabled. We can now do the same as that accessory, but can change settings from any automation software that can do MQTT.
It is currently in a test branch, but will soon be merged into the master. The MQTT sample script will also be updated to support receiving remote temperatures and feed them to the heat pump.[/quote]

13

I know it’s been awhile but I figured I’d post an update.

Thanks to the tremendous effort by SwiCago and team, I now have a fully functional MEHVAC plugin. It’ll be a couple of weeks before I publish the first beta version publicly as I need time to finish some minor details and and document everything that I know will be asked at some point. I will say that this was unit tested using openLuup/AltUI, not Vera. For those still using Vera, you might want to strongly consider openLuup/AltUI. I no longer have a Vera but this plugin was written completely in Lua. Post here if anyone has questions.

Arduino library to control Mitsubishi Heat Pumps via connector cn105

–CN

14

Hi,
sorry to bother, but…

Are You saying that soon it would be possible to have a plugin (VeraPlus compatible) to control Mitsubishi Air Conditioners??? Would that one work also for the “Melcloud” system or simply with any model which can use the wifi interface or would it be necessary to use/make other hardware controller?

15

No bother…

I’m system testing the plugin on two (of 6 units) of my units to verify complete operation including that of HomeWave. If you’re Mitsubishi Electric HVAC (MEHVAC) unit has a CN105 connector, this will control it using an Arduino and a custom connector. Mitsubishi (USA) currently use the CN105 connector for interfacing with the (Honeywell) MHK1 and (Mitsubishi) Kumo Cloud. This replaces those expensive solutions with one that costs around $12.00 USD for each Arduino and the cost of 4 lengths of wire, a crimp tool and the connector. I was able to build 6 units for around $100 USD.

Hope this helps,
CN

[quote=“Axios, post:14, topic:193081”]Hi,
sorry to bother, but…

Are You saying that soon it would be possible to have a plugin (VeraPlus compatible) to control Mitsubishi Air Conditioners??? Would that one work also for the “Melcloud” system or simply with any model which can use the wifi interface or would it be necessary to use/make other hardware controller?[/quote]

16

Hi,
first of all: thanks! :slight_smile:

I see, then a “custom” hardware interface is needed… but, given You have that interface and successfully connect it to the CN105 connector, after that? To have this connected and working, for example, to a VeraPlus HA sistem? I was thinking to buy (I am in Europe) a Mitsubishi Conditioner which can be connected to an “MAC-567IF-E” interface and, with that using wifi to the Net and to a system called “Melcloud”.

So, since this"MAC-567IF-E" interface itself connects to the CN105. So “all” that is needed is an “interface for dummies” step-by-step instruction of how to craft it and, above all, a guide to make it all works with the Vera(Plus) system… or some way for Vera to interact “cloud-to-cloud” with the “Melcloud” or “KumoCloud”.

17

You’re very welcome Axios.

As you indicated, this is very much a custom solution and there will be a learning curve but I’ll do my best to document everything (part #'s, schematics, Arduino IDE, Arduino code, MQTT etc.). The Arduino(s) will require a single MQTT broker for directional communications between each MEHVAC and the plugin. As I mentioned previously, this plugin was written entirely in Lua. With that said, I’m not using a Vera (too unstable and unpredictable) - rather I’m using openLuup and AltUI. Both of these amazing solutions can be found here on this website within the “Plugin and Plugin Development” section. This isn’t to say that the MEHVAC plugin wouldn’t work on a Vera, I’m just unable to test it.

MelCloud looks very similar (function) to that of Kumo Clound. I can only speak of the MHK1 solution I was previously using which plugged directly into the Mitsubishi CN105 connector. Point being, if the unit has a CN105 connector then this should conceptually work. The developers of the Arduino code are maintaining a list of known working Mitsubishi units…

I realize this solution isn’t for all but I was tired of paying the high cost to manage these units. After the release of Kumo Cloud, I’d have to ditch my previous solution and buy 6 of Kumo’s… I wasn’t about to do that so it was totally worth it to me to learn how to put this plugin together as well as the Arduino’s.

Hope I was able to answer all your questions…
CN

[quote=“Axios, post:16, topic:193081”]Hi,
first of all: thanks! :slight_smile:

I see, then a “custom” hardware interface is needed… but, given You have that interface and successfully connect it to the CN105 connector, after that? To have this connected and working, for example, to a VeraPlus HA sistem? I was thinking to buy (I am in Europe) a Mitsubishi Conditioner which can be connected to an “MAC-567IF-E” interface and, with that using wifi to the Net and to a system called “Melcloud”.

So, since this"MAC-567IF-E" interface itself connects to the CN105. So “all” that is needed is an “interface for dummies” step-by-step instruction of how to craft it and, above all, a guide to make it all works with the Vera(Plus) system… or some way for Vera to interact “cloud-to-cloud” with the “Melcloud” or “KumoCloud”.[/quote]

18

Awesome work CudaNet!
I’m really looking forward to reading your writeup on this - especially all the required parts. Any chance you can also post a picture of the final result?

Thanks!

19

Yes,

Everything will be detailed (I promise) including where to purchase the parts (USA), assembly, loading the code to the Arduino board as well as a full list of the actions and how to call them using Lua. I’m thinking of providing a Linux image (Jessie) to load to a Raspberry Pi. I’ve done this in the past for openLuup users, of course this image would contain AltUI, openLuup, MQTT and the MEHVAC plugin pre-loaded. Then you could just modify the MQTT config file for a secured connection. I’ve considered purchasing a Vera but it’s just too painful dealing with their firmware.

I’ve had a couple of issues during test which took me some time to discover the root cause. Luckily, it was just the Arduino flaking out on me. I loaded code to a new Arduino, plugged it in and all was well. I’ve decided to make some minor adjustments to the temp calculations (no more rounding) to closely match that of the Mitsu units themselves (they operate in centigrade). I’ll load the new code this weekend and go back into test and see how well this works out. It’s been great controlling the units via HomeWave… For those wanting granular control over the WideVane, Vane and Fan modes - one could potentially setup something like MultiSwitch. I really need to test this out.

Once I’m closer to publishing this, I’ll start a new thread…

Thanks,
CN

[quote=“joepro, post:18, topic:193081”]Awesome work CudaNet!
I’m really looking forward to reading your writeup on this - especially all the required parts. Any chance you can also post a picture of the final result?

Thanks![/quote]

20

I use this library with my openhab setup via mqtt. I had rounding issues at first because they used integers instead of floats in the library. They updated the library to support float a few months ago now. I find the hp to be very accurate to the degree in Fahrenheit. I use my zwave thermostats in rooms with hp’s to override the internal temp sensor of the hp. Once the floats were added this works very well. Much better than letting the units use their own sensor.

All to say, double check you have the latest pull from github. I futzed with it for a week before realizing I had an outdated copy.

I use adafruit huzzah for this. No fuss. It requires a single plug and some pins. Four wires from the huzzah to the hp. No regulators or resistors. I stuffed them up inside above the pop off panel on the bottom so they are hidden but you can get to them if you pop off the cover. I made my four wire dongle have standard female pins on the huzzah end so I can just unplug the huzzah from the dongle which runs up inside the hp.

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