Google translates as:
I decided to familiarize myself with that Home Assistant program when there were a few lamps at home that could be connected to WLAN. HA runs in an old Raspberry Pi 3+ environment. And it happened as always, that is, when he gave the little finger, it took the whole handâŠ
Of course, RuuviTags came along. First, bring in the âbasicâ RuuviTag, to measure temperature, humidity and air pressure. I then got a RuuviTag Pro to go out and take a sauna, and especially with that sauna there were a few âfinger creamsâ, i.e. a hearing problem.
Connecting the indoor and outdoor sensor to the HA went perfectly with Raspâs own Bluetooth feature, when they are reachable, but that sauna steam room sensor is on a different floor and behind some concrete walls, and it was not heard enough, even if the mobile phone finds it (signal strength -98 - -100 dBm ).
First, I tried to make another Rasp (model 2) an additional Bluetooth gateway, and transfer data to HA using MQTT. Yes, it also worked, but it was done with a bit of workâŠ
I got an ESP32 module, and it worked really easily. So now there are three sensors natively connected to HA, and I donât really see the need for many new sensors in home conditions right away.
However, a few questions arose:
- When I read the sensors using MQTT, I got more data out of the sensors than with that native connection. Why, and does the native interface have the ability to display those other data (such as air density and air water content), or are they calculated values?
Scrin replied:
Those you mentioned are calculated values, and it depends a little on the implementation, what is used and what values are calculated. One example of this can be found here (in English), where the quantities at the beginning of that table are measured (of course this depends on the tag model which are supported, e.g. the waterproof RuuviTag Pro cannot measure humidity), and under that âExtended valuesâ section you can find these measured quantities calculated quantities that this example RuuviCollector software is capable of calculating.
- The sensor attached to the wall of the sauna raised the question of whether it measures the temperature of the wall or the temperature of the air in the room? Has anyone figured this out? Should the sensor be lifted off the wall, e.g. with lifting blocks, so that the direct contact to the wall would be removed?
Scrin replied:
Specifically, the sensor measures its own temperature, which then depends on what temperature is supplied to it. For example, the tag on the sauna wall shows a temperature that is something between the air and the wall, and taking the tag âoffâ the wall brings it closer to the air temperature. This again depends on e.g. about the insulation of the sauna and how big a âthrowâ there is. In my own sauna, the difference is not very many degrees, but I have still tuned the tag to hang from the ceiling a couple of centimeters away from the wall, so it looks âcloser to correctâ.
j_o
Itâs great that you managed to rock it. My hearing problems were solved when I switched from using the RPi3bâs own BT module to using the connected BT dongle (the cheapest one I could find in the store) (Ruuvitags in HA more and more unstable with time).
V12
I tried this too, but the distances and thick concrete walls blocked the signal. With that ESP32 solution, I was able to move the unit close enough. All it needs is power, i.e. an old phone charger. After all, the unit has both Bluetooth and WLAN, so it integrated very easily with Home Assistant. The price didnât make my head spin either. Two units mailed from France for less than âŹ20.
j_o
Okay, great! If you put the information of that ESP32 module as a link in this message thread, then there will be an option for future users with which at least someone has been able to solve the issue.
V12
ALRIGHT. Itâs a bit âembarrassingâ to talk about and praise a product that competes with Ruuvâs own Bluetooth gateway⊠However, Iâve actually thought that I need to try that gateway in the summer with a mochi for beach sauna temperature monitoring. Weâll see how it works when there are two log walls and a good twenty meters of distance between them.
That is, in this video 1 it is well explained how easy and simple it is to implement and integrate such an ESP32 module into the Home Assistant.
I got the module myself from here 1.
I found the cell phone charger in the box.
I still need to add that a USB cable from the computer to that unit is needed during the installation.
* Hereâs a better video on how to set up an ESP32 to act as a Bluetooth proxy.