Category: Home Automation

RaZberry2 Setup, Tips, Hints and Tweaks

Follow the setup here to ensure your Raspberry Pi is setup correctly to integrate with Domoticz

Step 1: Raspberry Pi Prep

  • sudo nano /boot/config.txt
    • add to end of the file: dtoverlay=pi3-disable-bt
    • removing: ‘console=serial0,115200’ from cmdline.txt
  • sudo nano /boot/cmdline.txt
  • sudo systemctl disable hciuart
  • sudo stty -F /dev/ttyAMA0 9600
  • sudo reboot

Domoticz integration

The RaZberry is connected to the GPIO pins on the Raspberry Pi and installs as a device on the “ttyAMA0” port. Domoticz can only access “ttyUSBX” ports so we’ll be adding a rule that creates a link on boot to a port that Domoticz can use

  • sudo nano -w /etc/udev/rules.d/09-tty.rules
  • KERNEL==”ttyAMA0″, SYSLINK+=”ttyUSB20″
  • sudo reboot

Open http://IP:8080

  • Click “Setup” on the Domoticz menu, followed by “Hardware“
  • Click “Enabled” is ticked, then type a descriptive name in the “Name” field
  • From the dropdown “Type” list, select “OpenZWave USB“
  • From the dropdown “Serial Port” list, select “/dev/ttyUSB20“
  • Click the “Add” button

Your RaZberry device should now be shown in the list – click on the “Setup” button next to it

Issue 1:

An error can occur during the firmware/software upgrade installation producing the following message when connecting to Razberry to http://IP:8084

“Webif is switched off. You can switch it on from Z-Way UI or box shell” is displayed

Enter the following at the CLI and try again:

  • sudo echo 900 > /opt/z-way-server/automation/storage/8084AccessTimeout-6b497208061ec7faae003cdd7f9a035e.json
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Raspberry Pi Home Automation Controller with Alexa integration

2017-05-09 12.16.41

After a lot of research, fiddling, re-imaging, tweaking, man-hours and money (not telling the wifey about that ;)) I have finally got my Raspberry Pi to control the host of different devices from the multiverse which we call “Home Automation” and all fronted by Domoticz with Amazon Alexa integration by HA-Bridge

I have followed many different guides to get where I am today so my  hopes are that this article will save at-least one person many hours of frustration to replace the multitude of “HA Hubs” required in the current market and rather focus on the job of which device does what I need it do to and looks good whilst doing it

First tip – Always image your SD card before making changes so you can rollback if it goes wrong or the SD card bugs out on you

In parting, Remember this is a personal home setup cobbled together from different HA kits and devices on the market that I currently have or will buy in the future

setup

Hardware:

  • Raspberry Pi2
  • Razberry2
  • RFXCOM RFXtrx433E

Software:

HA Devices:

  • LightwaveRF – Dimmer Switches,  Wall Sockets
  • Wemo Insight Socket
  • In progress – SONOS, Sony Bravia TV

Domoticz Alexa integration

You can setup Amazon echo to voice trigger any scene/switch/activity in domoticz using HA-bridge (e.g. “Alexa, turn on living room lights” ). I have been using this setup with an amazon echo outside the target market for the echo (In India) and it works beautifully well. The HA-bridge emulates Philips hue devices that is supported natively by the echo

Pre-requisites

  • An Amazon Echo device
  • A spare RPi/processing capacity on your domoticz box/ any other linux box
  • HA-bridge running on the above mentioned box

I use a spare Gen 2 Rpi B that I had lying unused The rest of the guide assumes that the HA-bridge is running on a separate box

 

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