To the Homekit/HKB Experts

[Umtauscher]

Hi guys,

I am playing arround with HKB and my setup and I am really pleased with the result.
Thanks to everyone who made this such a great plugin!

I have 2 questions for you.

1. Is there any Homkit type that could be used to show the power consumption of a device. I am using some fibaro wall plugs to measure this but I have no idea if and how I could display the wattage in homkit. (I suppose it isn't possible though)

2. Is there any way to make a virtual device that could be used to emulate the states of the homkit type "security system" ? Maybe a workarround?

Thanks in advance for your input.
Cheers
Wilhelm

[durosity]

1: I don’t think it’s possible with HKB but could probably be done via one of the other Homebridge plugins which have been written for this kind of purpose.. I’ve not played with them myself but I’ve seen ones that use lux sensors to write other values out into HomeKit

2: Yes.. a virtual device will show up as an on/off or dimmer type that’s fully supported by HKB.. however I’d strongly recommend against this.. if someone had access to your phone they could disable your alarm with just a simple command to Siri. On/off devices don’t require any security to turn off.


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[Umtauscher]

Thanks for your answer.
Concerning the security control you are certainly right, the control is just nice to look at.
But in fact you verified what I was thinking.

Thanks for that.
Cheers
Wilhelm

[Umtauscher]

researching for Homekit options I came across this script for Homeassistant which seems to show possibilities for the integration of security funktions into homekit devices. I suppose the „code“ sections have something to do with that.
I am unable to test that, but maybe Apple aleady implementet a Pin code into the corresponding controls?

Code: Select all

 # Example configuration.yaml entry configuring HomeKit
homekit:
- filter:
    include_domains:
      - alarm_control_panel
      - light
      - media_player
    include_entity_globs:
      - binary_sensor.*_occupancy
    include_entities:
      - binary_sensor.living_room_motion
  entity_config:
    alarm_control_panel.home:
      code: 1234
    binary_sensor.living_room_motion:
      linked_battery_sensor: sensor.living_room_motion_battery
      low_battery_threshold: 31
    light.kitchen_table:
      name: Kitchen Table Light
    lock.front_door:
      code: 1234
    media_player.living_room:
      feature_list:
        - feature: on_off
        - feature: play_pause
        - feature: play_stop
        - feature: toggle_mute
    switch.bedroom_outlet:
      type: outlet
    camera.back_porch:
      support_audio: True
- name: HASS Bridge 2
  port: 56332
  filter:
    include_domains:
      - light

[durosity]

HomeKit doesn’t have support for pins.. it’s seen as being unnecessary as unlocking your phone basically gives the same authority to control any secure devices (window motors, alarms, etc)

Bare in mind HKB does present security devices to HK in their native format. So for example I have a DSC alarm panel that the HKB Plugin presents to HK as a security device.. so that allows you to set stay/away/off modes and get notifications if the alarm is triggered.. is that what you’re wanting?


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[Umtauscher]

Bare in mind HKB does present security devices to HK in their native format. So for example I have a DSC alarm panel that the HKB Plugin presents to HK as a security device.. so that allows you to set stay/away/off modes and get notifications if the alarm is triggered.. is that what you’re wanting?

Pretty much. I guess what I would really like is a virtual device that can be constructed from Action Groups and Variables to emulate any kind of hardware device to Indigo or Homekit.
For the time being, I suppose it would suffice to have a variable thats ist exposed to homekit as a Security device and brings the states to indigo.

I suppose something like that cannot be done with any plugin or Indigo itsself.

[durosity]

It may be possible but way beyond my abilities. As far as I can remember C4W specifically wrote the alarm plugin to read the custom states of the DSC Alarm plugin (possibly others too) so I imagine to get it to work the way you want it to would involve reverse engineering one of those plugins, or rewriting the HKB plugin. Or perhaps there’s a simpler solution but alas not one I’m aware of!


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[Seeker]

Bare in mind HKB does present security devices to HK in their native format. So for example I have a DSC alarm panel that the HKB Plugin presents to HK as a security device.. so that allows you to set stay/away/off modes and get notifications if the alarm is triggered.. is that what you’re wanting?

Wow. I have so much to learn about HomeKit control.

I have this plugin working to activate indigo action groups by voice mainly from my Carplay unit. it is very convenient. I also have a DSC alarm, and i was able to add it to HKB/homekit after reading this thread. the device in HomeKit is called 'alarm DSC keypad' which i may need to rename. iPhone control from home app works fine, but i just tried to arm and disarm it by saying 'alarm dsc keypad off' and a few variants, but sort never got it. is there a resource with documentation on siri/homekit phrasing that would help me? other tips?

ALSO, i have an action group called 'leaving home' and 'arriving home', both virtual switches to arm/disarm the DSC. sometimes they work by saying 'turn on leaving home' , but most of the time siri quips back with 'home is where the heart is' or something like that.