Fujitsu mini-split heat pump control.

Posted on
Sun May 31, 2015 11:12 pm
Radjin offline
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Fujitsu mini-split heat pump control.

I purchased 8 units to replace the two central air units and have zoned control thoughout the house. These are each controlled either by a hard wired thermostat that also requires a converter for almost $500 . Or they come with an IR remote. Are there plug-ins + hardware that can be configured to replace these remotes and allow control through indigo? I am not sure how the hard wired controls work at this time.

Radjin~

It's not rocket science...

Posted on
Mon Jun 01, 2015 5:52 am
howartp offline
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Fujitsu mini-split heat pump control.

AFAIK (though open to correction) the problem with most thermostats and IR is you can't just use regular IR senders such as iTach. You need a HVAC/AirCon IR sender.

Most IR commands are singular (volume up, power on) whereas thermostats and other HVAC systems require all the data (cooling mode, temp 21, vanes still, fan speed low, blah blah, etc) to all be transmitted in one mass IR code.

There is one Zwave model whose name I can't recall (it's on this forum somewhere) but people have had varied success with it.

EDIT: http://www.vesternet.com/z-wave-remotec-ac-ir-extender

The problem with either scenario is you'd need multiple units - one by each zone - or you'd need IR extenders to wire all units back to one point where the IR sender is located; but the latter would mean all units responded together unless you can ID each unit.

Posted on
Sat Jun 13, 2015 7:31 am
Radjin offline
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Re: Fujitsu mini-split heat pump control.

These units and a few others have a wired option that allows all of the IR remote functions. Given it is a 4 wire connection I suspect there is some communications going on 485/232 or some pulse signal. With the expanding popularity of these things I wonder if anyone has researched this interface. I have written the manufacturer and always get a reply from someone telling me it is an electrical interface. Well yes it is. Has anyone gotten any further on the subject?

Radjin~

It's not rocket science...

Posted on
Sat Jun 13, 2015 11:29 am
howartp offline
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Re: Fujitsu mini-split heat pump control.

The UK models (or some of them) have various interfaces for HA systems: http://www.fujitsu-general.com/uk/produ ... parts.html

Do the U.S. ones?

Posted on
Sat Jun 13, 2015 11:42 am
howartp offline
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Re: Fujitsu mini-split heat pump control.

http://www.fujitsugeneral.com/PDF_06/ha ... ochure.pdf

That's the U.S. brochure - on page 52 there's an On/Off wired switch that you could incorporate into Indigo if you just want On/Off control (and use the remotes for Temperature etc).

Posted on
Sat Jun 13, 2015 12:11 pm
Radjin offline
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Re: Fujitsu mini-split heat pump control.

Yes as well as the wired remotes, both require an interface board sold separately.

UPDATE:

I found these manuals:

Install of the wired remote: http://www.fujitsugeneral.co.nz/scripts/get-manual.pl?manual_id=1762

It would appear these units communicate with three wires, 12vdc+ and -, and a signal. Not sure what type of communications that is.


This manual seems to give some clues on how it communicates:http://www.fujitsugeneral.co.nz/scripts/get-manual.pl?manual_id=1280

It's not rocket science...

Posted on
Wed Aug 26, 2015 12:14 pm
Ironalchemy offline
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Re: Fujitsu mini-split heat pump control.

I am a bit late to the discussion but can share a little experience. I have an older Fujitsu (RLS12). I plan to install several similar units in a new house addition and have been investigating how to best tie these back to Indigo integration with our radiant floor heating.

howartp is right that these units require that, for most commands, all settings must be sent every time you want to update one item. To work around this as a proof of concept, I have had some success in using an iTach and using the learning mode to learn specific sets of conditions to program the unit. That was very fussy but worked. It would take a bit of programming to do a plugin for a table lookup from the IR command list to put together the whole command from scratch and add the checksum each time you wanted to update something. That seems doable but not on my priority list yet.

If there is interest, I am happy to post the IR command set and command syntax summaries that I have gleaned from the net.

Radjin, any luck in working on the wired interface?

Posted on
Sun Sep 20, 2015 7:46 pm
pixelknave offline
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Re: Fujitsu mini-split heat pump control.

We have three Fujitsu Halcyon units in our house…two ceiling units, and one concealed duct unit. I've been searching for a way to control these via the same centralized thermostat that controls our radiant heat (in our case, an Ecobee 3). This particular configuration uses a single condenser, which supplies power and refrigerant to the three units, each of which has its own wired thermostat/controller.

After some back-and-forth with Fujitsu techs, I discovered that, while unconventional, it's not particularly bad to turn the whole system on and off from the condenser. So, here's my hack, and it's working reasonably well:

I wired an Insteon 220V relay into the power feeding the condenser…this lets me turn the whole system on and off from Indigo. Once the system has power, the individual units will run according to their local settings (e.g. if their room is too hot, their own thermostats will turn on the inverter). If all you need is Indigo control, that'll do it.

If you want to wire it up to a conventional thermostat, you can rig up a 24V relay, an HVAC 24V transformer, and an Insteon contact closure sensor such that whenever the thermostat calls for cool, the relay triggers the sensor, which can tell Indigo to fire up the system.

Posted on
Sun Oct 25, 2015 8:32 am
Radjin offline
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Re: Fujitsu mini-split heat pump control.

Ironalchemy: I have only found very uninformed or reluctant Fujitsu techs in my quest. I know it uses a ground referenced pulse but nothing beyond that. There is the possibility of buying a secondary board that gives you an on/off through a self supplied dry contact. This in theory will turn off the unit and close the covers but does not address the ghost current discussed in the forums.


Pixelknave: I installed Insteon switches and switch one leg of the 230vac to the unit after receiving confirmation that it would not harm the unit and would save the last settings. This has the added benefit, like you, of eliminating the so called ghost current talked about in the forums. But as you say it is unconventional and leaves the unit covers open. When turned back on they close and open as the unit resets.

I may purchase the Fujitsu secondary card and an Insteon micro-switch just to test the theory.

It's not rocket science...

Posted on
Wed Oct 28, 2015 9:26 am
berkinet offline
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Re: Fujitsu mini-split heat pump control.

pixelknave wrote:
We have three Fujitsu Halcyon units in our house…two ceiling units, and one concealed duct unit. ...I've been searching for a way to control these via the same centralized thermostat that controls our radiant heat (in our case, an Ecobee 3)....

For a somewhat different approach, take a look at https://www.intesishome.com (then click Discover your WiFi SmartAC). They make two types of units: Brand Specific and Universal. The type names are a little misleading. The brand specific is designed to connect internally into the A/C unit's control circuitry, while the Universal "connects" via IR. Both the Brand Specific and Universal types are actually specifically programmed for whatever type of A/C unit you have.

At this time there is no direct access to the local unit, they are only controllable through the Intestshome web site: https://user.intesishome.com/login (click View an example). An API is available, but only for commercial applications. They say a user level API is in the works. Though, someone with enough interest and time could probably figure a way to control the web interface via curl. Finding a reseller is difficult, but if you push a little, they will sell direct.

As-is, this will not solve your problem. But, if they deliver the promised user API, then you could use Indigo to interconnect a smart thermostat with the A/C unit.

Posted on
Mon Nov 13, 2017 3:52 pm
markf424 offline
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Joined: Dec 25, 2013

Re: Fujitsu mini-split heat pump control.

Awake, old thread. :)

I find myself in this same situation. I have a Fujitsu Halcyon in our pool house. In our area of coastal California, we have limited need for climate control except in the winter. Since I only use the pool house in the winter for playing guitar in the evenings, I'd like to use Indigo to heat it in advance, and turn it off when I'm not out there. The remote has a somewhat finicky scheduler that's not entirely intuitive. I'd much rather have something through my Indigo system.

Are owners still killing the 230v leg with relays? I see another thread with some owners using the Intesis system. I have sent them an inquiry as well.

Posted on
Mon Nov 13, 2017 6:04 pm
freshwuzhere offline
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Joined: Apr 05, 2012

Re: Fujitsu mini-split heat pump control.

I use this with Mitsubishi Electri on their M-Bus - 7 zones - older version but almost identical interface. You do need the interface board in your units. I’ve had no problems in 4 years. The new hardware looks great.

Happy to share my plugin or update as necessary. The cool master units are expensive but industrial grade.

https://coolautomation.com/products/coolmasternet/

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