5 ms·

IR-Controlling New Air Conditioner in Server Room

46 points by Stamp01 4y ago

metadat 4y ago
This sort of IR hacking is pretty badass, even if a bit fiddly. How much additional heat does that old G4 add into the mix? I wonder if this could be done much more efficiently with an RPi Zero or similar.
- sgt 4y ago
  Was wondering the same. Those old PowerPC's used to run hot. I think it was one of the primary motivations Steve had for changing to Intel.
  - Asmod4n 4y ago
    G4 Macs didnt run that hot, compared to G5 ones, which came factory water cooled in the case of a PowerMac G5. (https://everymac.com/systems/apple/powermac_g5/faq/powermac-g5-liquid-cooling-info-leaks-issues.html https://everymac.com/systems/apple/powermac_g5/faq/powermac-...)
  - gh02t 4y ago
    At least some of the early Intel Macs ran hot too; I had a core duo plastic Macbook and it got uncomfortably hot.
- WWLink 4y ago
  That g4 has a green power light, so it's probably a 'yikes' or 'sawtooth' model. Those G4 processors use like 7W of power! It wasn't until the Quicksilver dual processor models that they started hitting the limits with that case design. They introduced the "Mirrored Drive Doors" model to help lol. At that point we were talking about 40w or so.
  - classichasclass 4y ago
    It's a Sawtooth 450MHz.
- classichasclass 4y ago
  (author) The G4? Not much. The G4's FireWire spinning disk RAID? Quite a bit. I'm plotting possible replacements.
  - archi42 4y ago
    Not sure if that's technologically possible or even an option for you access pattern, but for my more modern SATA disks I see about 1W (from the wall) per disk when spun down, lots of W for spin up and 5 to 8W spinning. I guess numbers for old disks are a bit different, but the principle should hold. Drawback is that you'll likely be doing staggered spin up, which can introduce some latency. But for non-interactive stuff like daily backups that's just irrelevant.
sparker72678 4y ago
Not too long ago I got a new AC in my office, and attempted to do some automation (turn the temp up during the weekend, etc.) via an IR Blaster. At some point I ran out of patience and gave up trying. After reading this article I am encouraged to see that I was _not even close_ to getting it working, ha! Maybe I'll try again in the future, but gosh I just with these stupid units had another way to be controlled.
- rodgerd 4y ago
  I looked into the blaster approach and decided "just no"; I ended up getting a Sensibo which is just an IR blaster that someone else has done all the hard work for, which seems well work paying for.
  - grepfru_it 4y ago
    I have a rack with 6 1u servers in it (and some other A/V hardware and lots of disks). We have an AC unit for each floor of the house, the bottom floor is sized larger than the top floor. I keep the bottom floor set to 74 and the servers see an ambient temp of 76. I find this to be acceptable, but there are times when I don't need to maintain 74 for the entire floor of the house.. like when we are on vacation. One time we came back and our cleaning service raised the temp to 86(!!!) lets just say my servers were loud that day. So I'm looking into a mini-split unit to put in the server room. A minisplit is better than a window unit or a standing unit because I don't have to cut a very large hole nor do i have to figure out drainage. The power consumption is the same as what the article is pulling (900W) and all of the noise is exported to the exterior of the house. If you do not have a high cooling requirement then a heatpump may be sufficient for your needs
ctoth 4y ago
If you want to try something similar without all the fiddly bits (which are admittedly awesome) https://github.com/smartHomeHub/SmartIR https://github.com/smartHomeHub/SmartIR
Mister_Snuggles 4y ago
I've got two portable air conditioners, an LG in a living space, and a "Comfee" (which is made by Midea) for my home office/server room. The Comfee was very easy to automate. I just grabbed an ESP32 board that I had handy, some parts out of my bins, and soldered up a working IR blaster. ESPHome provided all of the hard parts, Home Assistant provided the UI. It works brilliantly. I have the air conditioner on a smart outlet which gives me real-time power consumption information, from here it's easy to determine what the machine is doing. I also have a Xiaomi temperature/humidity/pressure sensor, which I can use to feed into automations to control the unit if I want to. So far I've been unsuccessful at using an IR blaster to control the LG - ESPHome, out of the box, can't seem to control this unit. I haven't gone down the rabbit hole of capturing IR codes, but that's the next step once I get the appropriate parts.
- danhor 4y ago
  Most modern LG TVs work via a wireless connection to the remote, not IR
  - midoridensha 4y ago
    Probably most others too. My new TCL TV uses a Bluetooth remote.
  - ridgered4 4y ago
    My LG TV actually had support for control by serial communication, provided I plugged in a USB to serial converter. It allowed me to move volume control to my HTPC and largely dump the remote. I kind of doubt an air conditioner has the same feature though.
- r2_pilot 4y ago
  I too have an LG. I tried to control it with a Flipper Zero but it didn't respond well. I figure the codes are more of a state machine rather than simply replaying them. I didn't pursue it further though.
  - 4y ago
watsonkr 4y ago
For those who don't want to, or have the time, to build something like this, there is also an off the shelf solution: the Aqara M2 Hub[1]. I currently use this to control both my portable AC, and an electric fireplace. And for those who are concerned about security, you can easily restrict this device from accessing the internet using your firewall, and it will continue to function just fine. [1] https://www.aqara.com/us/product/hub-m2 https://www.aqara.com/us/product/hub-m2
- bpye 4y ago
  There are also devices that do RF. I have a Broadlink RM4 Pro [0] - and whilst the vendor software sucks, there is a Home Assistant integration [1], or several libraries - I've used a Go one [2] though I did modify it a bit as I wasn't totally happy with how it was written. [0] - https://www.ibroadlink.com/productinfo/762672.html https://www.ibroadlink.com/productinfo/762672.html [1] - https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/broadlink/ https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/broadlink/ [2] - https://github.com/rob121/broadlinkgo https://github.com/rob121/broadlinkgo
baybal2 4y ago
Most of big brand aircons have an option for wired control. It's just those controllers & gateways are rather obscure, and hard to find.
Johnny555 4y ago
Computers are hot. No, I mean, they're hot. They heat our house in the winter here in primarily sunny Southern California (not as much as my wife would like, but that's another story for another day). I had to look at the date on the article to see if this was written 20 years ago, since most modern computers aren't that hot and use very little power when not in use, unless you've got a big gaming (or crypto mining) rig. Then I read further: Normies don't have a room with an IBM POWER6, Sawtooth G4 (and its FireWire RAID), Mac mini G4, Macintosh IIci, Alpha Micro Eagle 300, Cobalt RaQ and associated IoT devices and network backbone infrastructure running non-stop (to say nothing of the Apple Network Server 500 and HP 9000/350 that also occasionally come out to play). So the article wasn't written 20 years ago, but his computers at at least that old. The only computer that I run 24x7 is a fileserver + home automation controller, and it uses around 35W of power (including the network switch), which is still more than I'd like, I want to build one that's more power efficient.
- archi42 4y ago
  35W is actually pretty good already. My network rack currently reports 95W. Of which 25-30W are the PoE switch (Aruba JL683A) including a 4 APs, one 5 port switch and a VoIP-Dect gateway on PoE. SFP+ ports have a DAC and a fiber module. The remainder is the home server ("does everything": firewall/router, huge NAS, home assistant, vaultwarden, foundry vtt, private cloud,...). For some reason it's 10W over normal, probably disks busy due to active downloads. That's a i3-8100 with 2 DDR4 ECC modules and a 10GbE NIC (8W).
InvaderFizz 4y ago
Most minisplit units work over IR blaster. HomeAssistant or ESPHome can be used to drive units capable of acting as IR blasters. Personally I use Broadlink RM4 Pro units. The connect to WiFi anywhere in the house and I can use HomeAssistant to drive them. They work for both IR and 315/433MHz devices. Broadlink isn't the only vendor, but I find the price reasonable and it's nice to not have to solder anything.
chris_wot 4y ago
Hmmm... what is an expect script?
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
midoridensha 4y ago
Why not just buy a new WiFi-controlled A/C? They're very common now.
- sokoloff 4y ago
  If they have a mechanically well-functioning A/C, why create more waste by replacing it?
  - midoridensha 4y ago
    You could just re-sell it to someone else. Replacing something that works fine doesn't mean you have to throw it in the trash. Plus, a newer A/C probably has better efficiency anyway.

46 points by Stamp01 4y ago

This sort of IR hacking is pretty badass, even if a bit fiddly. How much additional heat does that old G4 add into the mix? I wonder if this could be done much more efficiently with an RPi Zero or similar.

sgt 4y ago
Was wondering the same. Those old PowerPC's used to run hot. I think it was one of the primary motivations Steve had for changing to Intel.
- Asmod4n 4y ago
  G4 Macs didnt run that hot, compared to G5 ones, which came factory water cooled in the case of a PowerMac G5. (https://everymac.com/systems/apple/powermac_g5/faq/powermac-g5-liquid-cooling-info-leaks-issues.html https://everymac.com/systems/apple/powermac_g5/faq/powermac-...)
- gh02t 4y ago
  At least some of the early Intel Macs ran hot too; I had a core duo plastic Macbook and it got uncomfortably hot.
WWLink 4y ago
That g4 has a green power light, so it's probably a 'yikes' or 'sawtooth' model. Those G4 processors use like 7W of power! It wasn't until the Quicksilver dual processor models that they started hitting the limits with that case design. They introduced the "Mirrored Drive Doors" model to help lol. At that point we were talking about 40w or so.
- classichasclass 4y ago
  It's a Sawtooth 450MHz.
classichasclass 4y ago
(author) The G4? Not much. The G4's FireWire spinning disk RAID? Quite a bit. I'm plotting possible replacements.
- archi42 4y ago
  Not sure if that's technologically possible or even an option for you access pattern, but for my more modern SATA disks I see about 1W (from the wall) per disk when spun down, lots of W for spin up and 5 to 8W spinning. I guess numbers for old disks are a bit different, but the principle should hold. Drawback is that you'll likely be doing staggered spin up, which can introduce some latency. But for non-interactive stuff like daily backups that's just irrelevant.

sparker72678 4y ago

Not too long ago I got a new AC in my office, and attempted to do some automation (turn the temp up during the weekend, etc.) via an IR Blaster. At some point I ran out of patience and gave up trying. After reading this article I am encouraged to see that I was _not even close_ to getting it working, ha! Maybe I'll try again in the future, but gosh I just with these stupid units had another way to be controlled.

rodgerd 4y ago
I looked into the blaster approach and decided "just no"; I ended up getting a Sensibo which is just an IR blaster that someone else has done all the hard work for, which seems well work paying for.
- grepfru_it 4y ago
  I have a rack with 6 1u servers in it (and some other A/V hardware and lots of disks). We have an AC unit for each floor of the house, the bottom floor is sized larger than the top floor. I keep the bottom floor set to 74 and the servers see an ambient temp of 76. I find this to be acceptable, but there are times when I don't need to maintain 74 for the entire floor of the house.. like when we are on vacation. One time we came back and our cleaning service raised the temp to 86(!!!) lets just say my servers were loud that day. So I'm looking into a mini-split unit to put in the server room. A minisplit is better than a window unit or a standing unit because I don't have to cut a very large hole nor do i have to figure out drainage. The power consumption is the same as what the article is pulling (900W) and all of the noise is exported to the exterior of the house. If you do not have a high cooling requirement then a heatpump may be sufficient for your needs

ctoth 4y ago

If you want to try something similar without all the fiddly bits (which are admittedly awesome) https://github.com/smartHomeHub/SmartIR https://github.com/smartHomeHub/SmartIR

Mister_Snuggles 4y ago

I've got two portable air conditioners, an LG in a living space, and a "Comfee" (which is made by Midea) for my home office/server room. The Comfee was very easy to automate. I just grabbed an ESP32 board that I had handy, some parts out of my bins, and soldered up a working IR blaster. ESPHome provided all of the hard parts, Home Assistant provided the UI. It works brilliantly. I have the air conditioner on a smart outlet which gives me real-time power consumption information, from here it's easy to determine what the machine is doing. I also have a Xiaomi temperature/humidity/pressure sensor, which I can use to feed into automations to control the unit if I want to. So far I've been unsuccessful at using an IR blaster to control the LG - ESPHome, out of the box, can't seem to control this unit. I haven't gone down the rabbit hole of capturing IR codes, but that's the next step once I get the appropriate parts.

danhor 4y ago
Most modern LG TVs work via a wireless connection to the remote, not IR
- midoridensha 4y ago
  Probably most others too. My new TCL TV uses a Bluetooth remote.
- ridgered4 4y ago
  My LG TV actually had support for control by serial communication, provided I plugged in a USB to serial converter. It allowed me to move volume control to my HTPC and largely dump the remote. I kind of doubt an air conditioner has the same feature though.
r2_pilot 4y ago
I too have an LG. I tried to control it with a Flipper Zero but it didn't respond well. I figure the codes are more of a state machine rather than simply replaying them. I didn't pursue it further though.
- 4y ago

watsonkr 4y ago

For those who don't want to, or have the time, to build something like this, there is also an off the shelf solution: the Aqara M2 Hub[1]. I currently use this to control both my portable AC, and an electric fireplace. And for those who are concerned about security, you can easily restrict this device from accessing the internet using your firewall, and it will continue to function just fine. [1] https://www.aqara.com/us/product/hub-m2 https://www.aqara.com/us/product/hub-m2

bpye 4y ago
There are also devices that do RF. I have a Broadlink RM4 Pro [0] - and whilst the vendor software sucks, there is a Home Assistant integration [1], or several libraries - I've used a Go one [2] though I did modify it a bit as I wasn't totally happy with how it was written. [0] - https://www.ibroadlink.com/productinfo/762672.html https://www.ibroadlink.com/productinfo/762672.html [1] - https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/broadlink/ https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/broadlink/ [2] - https://github.com/rob121/broadlinkgo https://github.com/rob121/broadlinkgo

baybal2 4y ago

Most of big brand aircons have an option for wired control. It's just those controllers & gateways are rather obscure, and hard to find.

Johnny555 4y ago

Computers are hot. No, I mean, they're hot. They heat our house in the winter here in primarily sunny Southern California (not as much as my wife would like, but that's another story for another day). I had to look at the date on the article to see if this was written 20 years ago, since most modern computers aren't that hot and use very little power when not in use, unless you've got a big gaming (or crypto mining) rig. Then I read further: Normies don't have a room with an IBM POWER6, Sawtooth G4 (and its FireWire RAID), Mac mini G4, Macintosh IIci, Alpha Micro Eagle 300, Cobalt RaQ and associated IoT devices and network backbone infrastructure running non-stop (to say nothing of the Apple Network Server 500 and HP 9000/350 that also occasionally come out to play). So the article wasn't written 20 years ago, but his computers at at least that old. The only computer that I run 24x7 is a fileserver + home automation controller, and it uses around 35W of power (including the network switch), which is still more than I'd like, I want to build one that's more power efficient.

archi42 4y ago
35W is actually pretty good already. My network rack currently reports 95W. Of which 25-30W are the PoE switch (Aruba JL683A) including a 4 APs, one 5 port switch and a VoIP-Dect gateway on PoE. SFP+ ports have a DAC and a fiber module. The remainder is the home server ("does everything": firewall/router, huge NAS, home assistant, vaultwarden, foundry vtt, private cloud,...). For some reason it's 10W over normal, probably disks busy due to active downloads. That's a i3-8100 with 2 DDR4 ECC modules and a 10GbE NIC (8W).

InvaderFizz 4y ago

Most minisplit units work over IR blaster. HomeAssistant or ESPHome can be used to drive units capable of acting as IR blasters. Personally I use Broadlink RM4 Pro units. The connect to WiFi anywhere in the house and I can use HomeAssistant to drive them. They work for both IR and 315/433MHz devices. Broadlink isn't the only vendor, but I find the price reasonable and it's nice to not have to solder anything.

chris_wot 4y ago

Hmmm... what is an expect script?

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

midoridensha 4y ago

Why not just buy a new WiFi-controlled A/C? They're very common now.

sokoloff 4y ago
If they have a mechanically well-functioning A/C, why create more waste by replacing it?
- midoridensha 4y ago
  You could just re-sell it to someone else. Replacing something that works fine doesn't mean you have to throw it in the trash. Plus, a newer A/C probably has better efficiency anyway.