🧼📲 Homebridge Tuya Laundry Notify

A Homebridge Plugin that monitors laundry appliances by tracking power consumption using Tuya Smart Plugs and communicating with them over LAN, notifying users of start and stop cycles, and offering easy calibration for precise device activity detection.

📑 Table of Contents

• Installation
• Plugin Configuration Guide
• Using the Tuya Laundry Notify CLI Tool
• How Does the Tool Ensure Accuracy?
• How LAN Interaction Works
• kWh Calculation: Why It Works
• Telegram Setup
• Pushed.co Setup
• ntfy Setup
• Notification Services Comparison
• Contributing
• License

🌟 Key Features

• Real-time monitoring of laundry appliance power consumption via Tuya Smart Plugs.
• Notifications for appliance start and stop cycles.
• Easy calibration for precise cycle detection.
• CLI tool for identifying Power Value IDs and tracking power usage.

📦 Installation

Due to the custom configuration needed, the installation process is manual. Follow these steps:

1. Navigate to your Homebridge installation directory.
2. Clone the plugin repository:

   git clone <repo-url> ./node_modules/homebridge-tuya-laundry-notify

3. Move into the plugin directory and install dependencies:

   cd ./node_modules/homebridge-tuya-laundry-notify
   npm install
   npm run build

4. Restart Homebridge to load the plugin.

⚙️ Plugin Configuration Guide

This plugin doesn’t expose any new HomeKit devices. It uses Homebridge purely for configuration and integration purposes. The focus is on Tuya devices to monitor appliance power usage.

🧩 Smart Plug Requirements

Ensure that your Tuya smart plug supports real-time power or voltage display within the Tuya app. Different plugs may have unique Power Value IDs, which can be identified using this plugin’s CLI tool.

🛠️ How to Use the Tuya Laundry Notify CLI Tool

🚀 Step-by-Step Guide

1️⃣ Install and Start the Tool

Once installed, you can start interacting with the tool through an IPC socket using a command like:

socat - UNIX-CONNECT:/tmp/tuya-laundry.sock

Once connected, you'll be greeted with an interactive command prompt.

🧩 How Does the CLI Tool Work?

🌐 Interaction with the Tool

Once the tool is launched via an IPC interface, you can perform three main functions. Typically, the interaction follows these steps:

1. Choose a command (e.g., discover, track, exportConfig).
2. A list of connected smart plugs is displayed, allowing you to select the desired device.
3. Depending on the command, you may be prompted for additional information, such as the PowerValueID for power monitoring or configuration parameters.

2️⃣ Available Commands

🔍 Device Discovery (discover)

This command scans your local network to find Tuya devices and matches them with Tuya Cloud.

1. Enter the command:

   discover

2. View the list of detected devices, including details like Device ID and IP Address.
3. Use the displayed list to select a device for further operations.

Example Output:

📈 Monitoring Power Consumption (track)

Use this command to monitor a device’s power consumption in real time. The tool dynamically detects start and stop cycles.

1. Start by entering the command:

   track

2. Select a device from the displayed list.
3. Provide the PowerValueID (identified during discovery) when prompted.
4. The tool will now track power usage and display live updates.

Example Interaction:

🛠️ Generate Configuration (exportConfig)

This command helps you create a configuration block for your config.json file by guiding you through the required fields.

1. Enter the command:

   exportConfig

2. Select a device from the displayed list.
3. Follow the prompts to provide configuration details like PowerValueID, Start Value, and Stop Value.
4. The tool will generate a JSON configuration block, which you can copy directly into your Homebridge config.json.

Example Interaction:

🛠️ How Does the Tool Ensure Accuracy?

The tool relies on LAN communication for "real-time" data. Device states are determined dynamically by:

1. Power Thresholds: Configured start and stop values based on your appliance’s power consumption.
2. Dynamic Calibration: The tool adjusts tracking intervals and thresholds to account for fluctuations.
3. Cloud Matching: Ensures locally discovered devices are validated via Tuya Cloud once for complete access and reliability.

🌐 How LAN Interaction Works ⚡

The plugin communicates with your Tuya devices over LAN (Local Area Network) to ensure fast, reliable, and private data exchange. Here’s how it all comes together:

📡 Step 1: UDP Broadcast Discovery

• What Happens:
  The plugin sends a UDP broadcast on common Tuya ports (6666 and 6667) to discover devices in your local network.
  These ports are used by Tuya devices to announce their presence.

• Why It Works:
  When a Tuya device receives this broadcast, it replies with a data packet containing:

  • Device ID: Unique identifier for the device.
  • IP Address: Location of the device on your network.
  • Protocol Version: Communication version used by the device.

• Security:
  Only devices on the same network can respond, ensuring communication stays local and secure. 🌐🔒

🔍 Step 2: Matching Local Devices with Cloud Data

• After discovering devices on the LAN, the plugin compares them to your Tuya Cloud account to:

  • Verify that the discovered devices belong to your account.
  • Fetch additional details like device names or categories.

• Why This Step Is Important:

  • Prevents unauthorized devices from being controlled.
  • Ensures accurate device identification, especially for homes with multiple smart plugs.

⚙️ Step 3: Device Control and Monitoring

• Once a device is matched and identified, the plugin connects directly to the device using:

  • Device IP Address: For direct communication.
  • Local Key: A secure key used for encrypting and decrypting messages.

• Real-Time Data:
  The plugin sends commands and reads data, such as power consumption, in real time. This ensures:

  • No delays from cloud servers.
  • Offline operation without relying on an internet connection.

🌟 Why LAN Interaction is Awesome

1. 💨 Faster Communication:
   No delays caused by internet servers. Everything happens locally.

2. 🔒 More Privacy:
   Data stays within your home network, keeping your smart home secure.

3. 🌐 Internet Independence:
   Your devices can function even if your internet connection goes down.

📊 kWh Calculation: Why It Works ⚡

The plugin calculates your appliance’s energy consumption in kilowatt-hours (kWh) using real-time power monitoring.

⚙️ How It Works

1. Real-Time Monitoring:

   • Power values (in watts) are tracked frequently via the smart plug’s PowerValueID.

2. Energy Accumulation:

   • Energy is calculated over each interval using the formula:
     Energy (W·s) = Power (W) × Time Interval (s)
   • These values are summed for the entire cycle.

3. Conversion to kWh:

   • The total energy in watt-seconds is converted to kilowatt-hours:
     Energy (kWh) = Energy (W·s) ÷ 3,600,000

4. Dynamic Sampling:

   • Active appliances are sampled every second for precision, idle appliances every 5 seconds for efficiency.

🧮 Example

• An appliance drawing 500W for 30 minutes:
  Energy (kWh) = (500 × 1800) ÷ 3,600,000 = 0.25 kWh
• Notification: "Washing finished! Total consumption: 0.25 kWh."

🌟 Why It Matters

• Monitor Costs: Know your appliance’s electricity usage.
• Spot Inefficiencies: Identify unusual consumption.
• Stay Sustainable: Reduce and optimize energy use. 🌍💡

📡 Push Notifications Setup 🚀

The plugin integrates with Telegram, Pushed.co, and ntfy to keep you informed about your appliances' start and stop cycles. Choose your preferred notification service and follow the steps below for setup!

🔔 Telegram Setup

1. Create a Telegram Bot 🤖:

   • Open BotFather in Telegram.
   • Send /newbot and follow the instructions to create a new bot.
   • Save the Bot Token provided.

2. Activate Your Bot:

   • Search for your bot in Telegram and start a chat.
   • Send /start to activate the bot.

3. Find Your Chat ID:

   • Send a message to your bot.
   • Visit the URL below, replacing <YourBotToken> with your bot's token:

     https://api.telegram.org/bot<YourBotToken>/getUpdates

   • Look for "chat":{"id":<YourChatID>} in the response.

4. Add to Plugin Config:

   "notifications": {
     "telegram": {
       "botToken": "<YourBotToken>",
       "chatId": "<YourChatID>"
     }
   }

🔔 Pushed.co Setup

1. Create an Account 🌐:

   • Sign up at Pushed.co.

2. Enable Developer Mode:

   • Log in and switch to Developer mode.

3. Create an App & Channel:

   • Create a new app and channel in the Pushed.co dashboard.

4. Link Your Device:

   • Download the Pushed.co app on your phone.
   • Scan the channel QR code to link it to your device.

5. Add to Plugin Config:

   "notifications": {
     "pushed": {
       "appKey": "<YourAppKey>",
       "appSecret": "<YourAppSecret>",
       "channelAlias": "<YourChannelAlias>"
     }
   }

🔔 ntfy Setup

1. Create a Topic 🛠️:

   • Visit ntfy.sh and create a unique topic for notifications.

2. Install the ntfy App 📱:

   • Download the ntfy app from your device's app store.
   • Subscribe to your topic within the app.

3. Add to Plugin Config:

   "notifications": {
     "ntfy": {
       "title": "Notification Title",
       "topic": "YourTopic",
       "serverUrl": "https://ntfy.sh"
     }
   }

🆚 Notification Services Comparison

| 🔔 Service | 📱 Supported Devices | 🌍 Regional Availability | |---------------|---------------------------------------|--------------------------| | Telegram | iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux, Web | Global 🌎 | | Pushed.co | iOS, Android | Global 🌍 | | ntfy | iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux, Web | Global 🌏 |

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! If you want to contribute, please follow these steps:

1. Fork the repository.
2. Create a new branch (git checkout -b feature-branch).
3. Commit your changes (git commit -am 'Add new feature').
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature-branch).
5. Open a pull request.

📝 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Made with ❤️