homebridge-actron-que v1.5.0

homebridge-actron-que

Use this plugin to control your Actron Que system with Apple HomeKit using Homebridge.

Current Status

This is an 'almost' feature complete implementation of the Que platform in HomeKit

• Control either a single zone or multi-zone system
• Master controller and each zone sensor will be exposed as unique, controllable accessory in HomeKit
• Get temp and humidity data from all zones and master controller reported in HomeKit
• Get temp data from outdoor unit as a separate accessory
• Report battery level on zone sensors and get low battery alerts in the home app
• Support for homebridge config UI

Fixes/Improvements in version 1.5.0

• Now supports running in "Fan-Only" mode. An option has been added to the configuration to create a Fan accessory for each zone and the master controller (Create FAN ONLY devices for each zone).

  Fixes/Improvements in version 1.2.8

• Provide option to disable battery checking for hard wired zone controllers (preventing erroneous low battery reports). Cached accessories will need to be removed for changes to take effect.

• Corrected error in humidity sensor detection that may have prevented humidity sensor from being added for zone sensors that support humidity reading.

Fixes/Improvements in version 1.2.7

• Allow master controller to also operate as a zone controller
• Resolved issue with logic controlling "Zones Push Master" temp adjustments which was causing setting to fail on first attempt

Fixes/Improvements in version 1.2.4

• Improved support for variations in API data returned for differing models of Que systems
• Added option to override the default heating/cooling threshold temperatures via plugin configuration

Fixes/Improvements in version 1.2.3

• Resolve intermittent crash on device status refresh -> https://github.com/jxg81/homebridge-actron-que/issues/3
• Implemented JSON Typedef schema validation for all Que API responses, see Schema Validation Errors
• Improved classification of homebridge log messages (Info, Error, Warning, Debug)

New in version 1.2.2

• NOW HOMEBRIDGE VERIFIED - No functional changes

Improvements in version 1.2.1

• HomeKit will now show 'No response' for devices if master controller is not connected to the Internet
• Explicit log message in Homebridge instructing to check the master controller wifi if disconnected from the Internet
• Better handling and recovery of network error states
• CI/CD implementation to improve code quality visibility

New in version 1.2.0

• Device state will now show as idle when heating/cooling temp achieved and fan is not running

  Fixes in version 1.1.1

• Fixed support for zone sensors that do not support humidity sensing -> https://github.com/jxg81/homebridge-actron-que/issues/1

• Improvements to device state transitions and status updates

New in version 1.1.0

• Graceful recovery from service or network outages
• Config option to control how adjustments to zone temperature are handled when set outside the +/- 2 degree variance with the master controller.
• Faster updating of current device status in HomeKit UI on HomeKit initiated state changes.

Limitations - These options cannot be set via HomeKit:

• Quiet Mode
• Constant Fan Operation

• Away Mode

  I could not see an elegant way to implement these using the standard Heater/Cooler accessory exposed in HomeKit, and i don't generally use these features myself, so haven't exposed them. I have the API commands and the tooling setup to support them, so if you really want these options drop me a line and I should be able to add some switch accessories into HomeKit that turn these settings on and off

Controlling Zone Temperature Settings

When modifying the zone temperature settings, the Que system only allows you to set a temperature that is within -2 degrees (Heating) or +2 degrees (Cooling) of the Master Control temperature. With version 1.1.0 I have modified the default behaviour to automatically adjust the master temp if required when modifying a zone temp. Setting zonesPushMaster to false will revert to the prior behaviour of constraining zones to the allowable max/min based on the current master setting. If you set a zone temperature that is outside of the +/- 2 degree range from the master the plugin will translate the set temp to the allowable range.

Installation

GUI Install

1. Search for "Actron Que" on the plugin screen of Homebridge Config UI X
2. Find: homebridge-actron-que
3. Click Install
4. Enter your account details in the settings screen displayed

CLI Install

npm install -g homebridge-actron-que

Configure account details in the homebridge config.json file a below.

Configuration

The plugin implements the Homebridge config UI service. Simply install the plugin and you will be guided through the setup.

If you are not using the Homebridge config UI you can add the following to your homebridge configuration

    "platforms": [
        {
            "platform": "ActronQue",
            "name": "ActronQue",
            "username": "<your_username>",
            "password": "<your_password>",
            "clientName": "homebridgeQue",
            "zonesFollowMaster": true | false,
            "zonesPushMaster": true | false,
            "refreshInterval": 60,
            "deviceSerial": "",
            "fanOnlyDevices": true | false,
            "wiredZoneSensors": [
                "Zone Name 1",
                "Zone Name 2",
            ],
            "maxCoolingTemp": 32,
            "minCoolingTemp": 20,
            "maxHeatingTemp": 26,
            "minHeatingTemp": 10,
        }]

platform

type: string

default: "ActronQue"

This is the name of the platform plugin you are configuring. This should always be set to the default value.

name

type: string

default: "ActronQue"

This is the name used for the instance of the plugin you are running. The default of "ActronQue" can be used in most cases

username

type: string

The username you use to login to the Actron Que app on your phone, or at que.actronair.com.au

default: 60

password

type: string

The password you use to login to the Actron Que app on your phone, or at que.actronair.com.au

default: 60

clientName

type: string

default: "homebridgeQue"

The value you set for client name will be used in two places: 1. It will set this as the default accessory name for the master controller when pairing the accessory in HomeKit. 2. It will appear as the client name in the 'Authorised Devices' list on the Que cloud service.

refreshinterval

type: number

Unit: seconds

default: 60

The plugin will periodically poll the Que API to update the locally cached settings in the plugin. This allows us to keep HomeKit up-to-date with changes made through other control methods (i.e. the wall controller or the Que mobile app). The default is 60 seconds but can be adjusted to suit your preference.

zonesFollowMaster

type: boolean

default: true

Setting this to true will make it so that any changes to the master controller temperature setting in HomeKit will ALWAYS be propagated to all zones. This is akin to toggling the 'Control All Zones' option on the Master Controller or in the Que mobile app.

zonesPushMaster

type: boolean

default: true

Setting this to true will make it so that changes to the zone temperature setting in HomeKit will push the master unit threshold temps for heat and cool if required. There is a +/- 2 degree variation permitted between the master temp and zone temps. Normally the Que native controls will restrict you to this temp range unless you manually adjust the master temp first. This option simply pushes the master temp to a new setting if you set the zone outside of the variance. Setting this to true has greatly increased my family's satisfaction with the controls.

deviceSerial

type: string (lowercase)

default: ""

In most cases you can exclude this option or leave it blank. If you only have a single air con system in your Que account the plugin will auto-discover the target device serial number. If you have multiple Que systems in your account you will need to specify which system you want to control by entering the serial number here. You can get your device serial numbers by logging in to que.actronair.com.au and looking at the list of authorised devices.

fanOnlyDevices

type: boolean

default: false

Control creation of Fan Only accessories for each zone. When toggled on these accessories will put the system in Fan only mode. Fan speed can be controlled via the Master Controller accessory.

• 1-10% = Auto speed
• 11-30% = Low speed
• 31-65% = Medium speed
• 66-100% = High speed

wiredZoneSensors

type: arraystring (case sensitive)

default: [] (empty array)

An array of strings defining zone names utilising hardwired zone sensors. Zone names must match identically with the zone names configured within the Que controller. Be concious of case, spaces and any leading or trailing whitespace in the zone name. Configuring zones as hardwired will prevent creation of a battery monitoring service and suppress erroneous low battery alerts for these sensors.

maxCoolingTemp

type: number

Unit: celsius

default: 32

Highest temp that the cooling mode can be set. Refer to you Que system settings for the correct value. This setting is optional and only needs to be set if the defaults do not align with your system configuration.

minCoolingTemp

type: number

Unit: celsius

default: 20

Lowest temp that the cooling mode can be set. Refer to you Que system settings for the correct value. This setting is optional and only needs to be set if the defaults do not align with your system configuration.

maxHeatingTemp

type: number

Unit: celsius

default: 26

Highest temp that the heating mode can be set. Refer to you Que system settings for the correct value. This setting is optional and only needs to be set if the defaults do not align with your system configuration.

minHeatingTemp

type: number

Unit: celsius

default: 10

Lowest temp that the heating mode can be set. Refer to you Que system settings for the correct value. This setting is optional and only needs to be set if the defaults do not align with your system configuration.

HTTP Error Handling

The plugin has been designed to manage the following HTTP error states

Error 400

The Que API returns a 400 status code when you attempt to authenticate with an invalid username or password. In this case you will see an Error logged to the Homebridge log suggesting that you check the username and password provided.
The error will also let you know that a restart may help if you recently revoked the client access through the que online portal. The reason the restart will help is because following this error the persistent storage of auth tokens is flushed in case there was an issue with the cached data.

Looks like you have a username or password issue, check your config file: http status code = 400
If you recently revoked access for clients on the Que portal, a restart should resolve the issue

Error 401

If an invalid or expired bearer token is presented in a request to the Que API the server will respond with a 401 ('Unauthorised') status code. In this case, the plugin will automatically request a new bearer token, update the request and retry. The plugin is configured to retry a maximum of three times with a pause of three seconds between requests. If the maximum number of retires is exceeded you will see the following Error logged to the Homebridge log file.
The error will also let you know that a restart may help if you recently revoked the client access through the que online portal. The reason the restart will help is because following this error the persistent storage of auth tokens is flushed in case there was an issue with the cached data.

Maximum retires exceed on failed Authorisation: http status code = 401
If you recently revoked access for clients on the Que portal, a restart should resolve the issue

Error 5xx

During development of the plugin I noticed that the Que API occasionally fails to service a request from its backend and responds with a 504 (i think this is what causes the Que iPhone app to be particularity awful to use). Waiting a second or two and retrying seems to reliably allow you to move past the error and carry on. I also noted that on occasion the Que service will misbehave and return a range of 5xx errors (primarily 504 and 503). For this reason the plugin will retry three times on a 5xx status with a wait time of three seconds between retries. If the maximum number of retires is exceeded you will see the following Info message logged to the Homebridge log file.

Maximum retries exceeded -> Actron Que API returned a server side error: http status code = 5xx

Generally these errors will resolve after time and things will keep on running. From version 1.1.0 this error handling was improved to prevent the plugin terminating and allow for a graceful recovery once the Que API starts responding normally again.

All other non-200

All other errors will fall through to a default handler that will return the following Error in the Homebridge log. As before, persistent auth data will be flushed to allow for a clean restart.

An unhandled error has occurred: http status code = <status code>
If you recently revoked access for clients on the Que portal, a restart may resolve the issue

Network Outages

Beginning with version 1.1.0 the plugin will now gracefully recover from network outages. The network MUST be available on startup, but if there is an outage during operation you will see the following Info message in the log and the plugin will resume functioning once the network is restored.

Cannot reach Que cloud service, check your network connection <specific error condition>

Master Controller Offline

Beginning with 1.2.3 the plugin will now detect if your master controller is disconnected from the network or otherwise unable to reach the Que Cloud Service. You will be alerted to this via the following log message:

Master Controller is offline. Check Master Controller Internet/Wifi connection

And / Or:

Master Controller is offline. Check Master Controller Internet/Wifi connection
Refreshing HomeKit accessory state using cached data

Schema Validation Errors

Beginning with version 1.2.3 the plugin will now gracefully recover when the API returns data that does not meet the schema validation requirements. This has been implemented as it was observed that the API will at times return a valid HTTP response, but the JSON payload contains incomplete data (I assume that this is a resource scaling issue on Actron's end).

API Returned Bad Data - Schema Validation Failed

State Refresh from Cache on Error

If errors occur during the periodic state refresh interval (poll to Actron cloud to ensure Homebridge has up to date device data) then you may see one or both of the following warning messages appear in the event log. This is simply to make you aware that the Actron cloud service is returning bad or error data however cached info will be used for the state refresh to allow operation to continue gracefully. From experience I have observed that the Actron service will experience issues most days and may return bad data for up to 10mins before returning to reliable operation. I am working on a project to start logging the availability of their cloud service so i can provide information to their support team to hopefully resolve these on-going issues.

Failed to refresh status, Actron Que Cloud unreachable or returned invalid data
Actron Que cloud error, refreshing HomeKit accessory state using cached data