Window Covering Control

I just received an RFXTRX433e to control my 3 Somfy solar screens from Indigo and they work great. I also plan to add an awning soon and control it the same way.

I can control them with Siri by turning on and off the device but that is not a natural way to issue the command. I would rather say something like Raise the Kitchen Shade. I think this requires adding a Window Covering service to homebrige-indigo. I had intended to attempt this myself but I've been away from it so long that I would have to relearn how to do it from scratch.

Mike, is there any chance you will be adding this service anytime soon? I think it's similar to the door locks we added before and should be straightforward. If you don't plan to do it, I might eventually give it a try but I'm hoping not to have to take all the time to relearn the process when it should be much easier for you.

Thanks either way.

--Dave

Out of interest on this, does siri also understand the closing and opening of curtains. Is it defined as a seperate entity or does it just have blinds and curtains and awnings all under the same group where 'raise curtains' would have the same effect as 'open blinds', etc? If not can that be defined at the same time as my next automation plan is on curtains (that is assuming that our cats operation tomorrow doesn't cost the £2000 we fear it will.. in which case i'll be selling all my curtains, and windows.. and bricks... and automating it will be a moot point. )

I actually gave it a try but, as I predicted, had little success. I tried adding a Window Covering service by copying the structure of the Door service which uses the same basic parameters. However, I get an error when initializing Homebridge when it tried to add my first screen which is implemented as a virtual on/off device. The error is

Code: Select all

[My Indigo Server] Indigo request: http://127.0.0.1:8176/indigo/devices/Dinette%20Screen.json
[My Indigo Server] Discovered Virtual On/Off Device (ID 1959083833): Dinette Screen
/usr/local/lib/node_modules/homebridge-indigo/index.js:586
        .on('get', this.getPosition.bind(this));
                                   ^

TypeError: Cannot read property 'bind' of undefined
    at new IndigoWindowCoveringAccessory (/usr/local/lib/node_modules/homebridge-indigo/index.js:586:36)
    at IndigoPlatform.createAccessoryFromJSON (/usr/local/lib/node_modules/homebridge-indigo/index.js:325:16)
    at IndigoPlatform.<anonymous> (/usr/local/lib/node_modules/homebridge-indigo/index.js:231:42)
    at IndigoPlatform.<anonymous> (/usr/local/lib/node_modules/homebridge-indigo/index.js:304:17)
    at Request.self.callback (/usr/local/lib/node_modules/homebridge-indigo/node_modules/request/request.js:373:22)
    at emitTwo (events.js:87:13)
    at Request.emit (events.js:172:7)
    at Request.<anonymous> (/usr/local/lib/node_modules/homebridge-indigo/node_modules/request/request.js:1318:14)
    at emitOne (events.js:82:20)
    at Request.emit (events.js:169:7)

When I try to use the existing code to add it as a Door, thinking I can tell Siri to Open the Dinette Screen for example, the device gets added but is not found by Siri and shows up as an uncontrollable device when I look at, say, Insteon+.

You can accomplish what you want by creating a Scene in HomeKit - just name it to be what command you want to tell Siri, and then when you say that to Siri, it will execute the actions you associate with the scene (e.g. turning on the virtual device.)

See here: http://forums.indigodomo.com/viewtopic.php?f=191&t=15607

-Mike

You can accomplish what you want by creating a Scene in HomeKit - just name it to be what command you want to tell Siri, and then when you say that to Siri, it will execute the actions you associate with the scene (e.g. turning on the virtual device.)

See here: http://forums.indigodomo.com/viewtopic.php?f=191&t=15607

-Mike

Thanks, Mike, that worked. However, it required a bunch of specialized scenes for different things I might want to do with my 3 screens and awning. Also, IIRC, I will have to redo the setup if I change the homebridge setup. This would be greatly simplified if HomeKit knew that these devices are window coverings and the language used for Siri might be more flexible as well.

This works for now though. Thanks.

--Dave

I just released an update with support for windows and window coverings. See the announcement for details on how to upgrade: http://forums.indigodomo.com/viewtopic.php?f=191&t=16452