The OrconWifiController is used to control an Orcon "Mechanische Ventilatie" unit through Wi-Fi. Integrating it Home Assistant, it provides the following functions:
- Read the requested speed from the remote or built-in humidity sensor. [pulselength in seconds]
- It reads the PWM signal which is sent from the factory controller to the fan. So it does not read the actual level (level 1, 2 (humidity sensor) or 3) but you can deduce the current level from the pulselength
- Read the current fanspeed [revolutions / minute]
- Control the fanspeed using a PWM signal
- Switch between factory control or Home Assistant control [on/off]
The OrconWifiController built into an Orcon MVS-15 unit:
The OrconWifiController is compatible with all Orcon MVS-15 units, as long as they are based on the EBM-Papst R3G190-RC05-20 fan.
The above functionality is accomplished by installing the OWC in between the fan and factory controller. The OWC is controlled by an ESP (Wemos D1 Mini (Pro)) and runs ESPHome firmware. A 220V cable is supplied. All the 220V connectors have the same pinout, so they can be connected in any way possible. It is also possible to run the OWC standalone, without the factory PCB.
A relay controls if the factory PCB controls the fan, or that the Wemos controls the fan. The default state of the relay is that the factory remote is in control. If you want to control the speed of the fan through Home Assistant/Wemos then the relay must be activated.
On the PCB, the following pins are connected:
Top-left = 1
Bottom-left = 8
Top right = 9
Bottom-right = 16
Pin 5 = PWM output to fan
Pin 7 = Relay
Pin 11 = Input from factory PCB (PWM)
Pin 12 = Current fanspeed rpm
The rest of the pins are designed for a Wemos D1 Mini (Pro).
Steps to integrate it into Home Assistant:
- Supervisor --> Add-on store --> add ESPHome
- Add node in ESPHome
- Paste YAML code and save.
- If the Wi-Fi connection works, then the node should change color from red to green.
- Sometimes the Fallback hotspot does not work automatically on the ESPHome firmware. Either reflash the firmware with your own credentials or setup a temporary Wi-Fi connection using SSID "OrconTestWifi" and password "WifiModule1234". If new firmware needs to be flashed to the Wemos, then GPIO 0 and GND need to be connected during power-on to enter flash mode.
- Add an integration in HA using Configuration --> Integrations --> Add integration --> ESPHome
- Enter the IP address of the OrconWifiController
- The new sensors/controls should be setup automatically by HA
Selling/buying the OrconWifiController
As of now (23 April 2021), I have decided to only start producing the OrconWifiController in a batch of 10 boards minimum. Otherwise, it costs too much time to keep track of everything. If you are interested in buying the OrconWifiController, then I suggest to unite yourself and let me know when I can produce 10 OrconWifiControllers.
Example of data in Grafana:
Example of Home Assistant Lovelace interface:
Check out this template as well: https://gist.github.com/Kalkran/d924a0ada197fa1c68df3708eae4ce86