i3Engineering | An example of setting up devices in Home Assistant using MQTT Discovery ENG

1. Setting up the MQTT broker in Home Assistant

Data exchange between devices using the MQTT protocol requires the presence of a broker in the network, which ensures the passage of messages in the system.It is most convenient to set it up right away in Home Assistant by installing the appropriate integration.

1.1

Installing the integration

Open the Home Assistant web interface, select “Settings” from the left menu.

● Select Select "Devices and services"● In the "Integrations" tab, click "Add integration"● In the list that opens, select MQTT

Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the configuration: ● in the "Broker" field, specify localhost (this means that the broker is installed on the same resource as Home Assistant), port (default - 1883)● and optionally - login and password

To complete the broker configuration:● click on the settings icon on the MQTT integration card (three vertical dots) ● select "System options" ● enable the "Add new objects" function

2. Setting up the dimmable lamp in the i3 Home mobile application

2.1

Go to controller setup

To configure the output ports, you must first go to the controller settings:● Go to Menu - Device Manager● Select the desired controller from the list and click Configure

2.2

Configuring output ports

● Select the Ports and interfaces item and go to the OUT 1-... tab● On the OUT1-... output ports tab, the controller outputs are shown as separate cards● Select the icon of the desired output

2.3

Selection of the type of peripheral device

● In the output settings window, select "What is connected?" ● Specify the Device

2.4

Room selection

● In the "Where is the device located" field, you can specify the location of the connected device.● If you need to add a new room, click on the "+" icon located in the upper right corner of the screen, assign the name of the new room, set its type and click on the Save icon.

2.5

Device name

● We return to the settings window of the selected output port● In the field, for convenience, you should specify the name of the device, by which you can uniquely identify it● Click the Save icon

3. Setting the data exchange parameters using the MQTT protocol

3.1

Transition to controller settings

● Go to Menu - Device Manager● Select the controller with network interfaces (version N) and click Configure

3.2

Go to connection settings

● Select MQTT● In the window that opens, you need to specify the broker's MQTT connection parameters (protocol, address and port), the client's ID (identifier), and, if necessary, the login and password for authentication● Click Save

3.3

Activating auto-configuration for Home Assistant

● Toggle the Auto-configuration switch for Home Assistant● Click the Send button to send the device configuration to Home Assistant

4. Verification of data exchange using the MQTT protocol

4.1

Installing MQTT Explorer

● To check the correct data exchange with the controller using the MQTT protocol, you can use third-party software. For example, the MQTT Explorer program allows you to fully test the correctness of setting topics, passing commands, reading the status of devices and much more.● Download from official website and install MQTT Explorer. Specify the data for connecting to the MQTT broker: protocol, IP address, port, if necessary - login and password for access to Home Assistant.

4.2

Checking the lamp operation

If all the settings are entered correctly, the working window of the program will open, which consists of 2 main parts: on the left - the structure of topics, on the right - tabs in which you can set and track topics, values, history of changes in values.
To set the value of the brightness of the lamp, it is necessary according to the topiс: /devices/123/commands/AAAA/triac/5/set send the value of the brightness of the lamp in percent (from 0 to 100).
To do this, open the Publish tab, in the Topic field● Enter /devices/123/commands/AAAA/triac/5/set ● Select “raw” and enter a brightness value of 100 in the text box below● Click the Publish button

4.3

Checking the acquisition of brightness level data

● To get data about the brightness level of the lamp, in the Topic field, enter /devices/123/events/AAAA/triac/5/value● Click the Publish button● The result - the left window will display a thread with the current value of the lamp's brightness

5. Setting up the dimmable lamp in Home Assistant

5.1

Reloading the configuration

● Select “Developer Tools” from the left menu● Click on “Manually configured MQTT entities”

5.2

Checking the correct operation of the lamp with control through the Home Assistant web interface

As a result of the described steps, a device with the name specified in the configuration file will appear in the "Overview" section. The switch on the device card can be used to turn the lamp on and off.

No connection to the broker
Please note, that communication with the broker is required for data exchange between the controller and Home Assistant (in the MQTT settings window, Status Connected is written at the top). If there is no connection, check the correctness of entering the login and password, the IP address of the broker (the controller and the broker must be in the same network). If necessary, check ping and make sure that port 1883 is open.