🏡 Smart HVAC Automation for Home Assistant (Mini-Splits)

This project contains a Home Assistant automation that intelligently manages multi-zone mini-split HVAC systems for maximum comfort and efficiency.
It is designed for a 2000 ft² home split into two zones:

• Zone 1 (Open side, ~1000 ft²): Entry, Kitchen, Dining, Living Room (2 wall units on 1 outdoor unit)
• Zone 2 (Bedrooms, ~1000 ft²): Master, Middle, Spare bedrooms (3 cassette units on 1 outdoor unit)

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✨ Features

• Per-zone sliders for heat/cool setpoints (no YAML edits required)
• Tight hysteresis (0.3 °C / 0.5 °F) → avoids overshoot
• Anti-short-cycle guard (10 min) → protects compressors
• Forecast-based pre-conditioning (hot-day morning pre-cool, cold-night evening pre-heat)
• Dew-point-driven dehumidification → only run dry when it’s actually muggy
• Heat block when outdoor ≥ 20 °C (68 °F)
• Quiet-hours fan caps (22:00–07:00) in bedrooms → quieter nights
• System log snapshots every run for long-term debugging

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📂 File Layout

config/
├── configuration.yaml
├── includes/
│   ├── sensors.yaml
│   ├── binarysensor.yaml
│   └── derivative.yaml
└── automations.yaml

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🛠️ Setup Steps

1. Input Numbers (Sliders) → setpoints per zone
2. Binary Sensors → heat-block and forecast triggers
3. Dew Point Sensors → for smarter dry mode
4. Automation → the controller (smart_hvac_tight_band)

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📊 Logging Example

System log entries look like this:

HVAC Update:
Z1=cool (fan high; effCool=23.5°C (74.3°F), heat=19.5°C (67.1°F)),
Z2=fan_only (fans M/auto, Mi/auto, S/auto; effHeat=20.0°C (68°F), cool=24.0°C (75.2°F)),
DewPts: Z1=14.5°C (58.1°F), Z2=13.9°C (57°F);
Outdoor=21.0°C (69.8°F) HeatAllowed=False

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📺 Dashboard Examples

1. Zone Setpoints (sliders)

type: entities
title: HVAC Zone Setpoints
entities:
  - entity: input_number.zone1_heat_set_c
    name: Zone 1 Heat (°C)
  - entity: input_number.zone1_cool_set_c
    name: Zone 1 Cool (°C)
  - entity: input_number.zone2_heat_set_c
    name: Zone 2 Heat (°C)
  - entity: input_number.zone2_cool_set_c
    name: Zone 2 Cool (°C)

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2. System Snapshot

type: glance
title: Current HVAC Snapshot
entities:
  - entity: climate.esp_entry_hvac_entry_heatpump
    name: Zone 1 – Entry
  - entity: climate.esp_livingroom_hvac_living_room_heatpump
    name: Zone 1 – Living
  - entity: climate.esp_master_hvac_master_room_heatpump
    name: Zone 2 – Master
  - entity: climate.esp_middleroom_hvac_middle_room_heatpump_3
    name: Zone 2 – Middle
  - entity: climate.spare_room_heatpump
    name: Zone 2 – Spare

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3. Environmental Readings

type: entities
title: Environmental Sensors
entities:
  - entity: sensor.outdoor_temperature_owm
    name: Outdoor Temp (°C)
  - entity: sensor.zone1_temperature_weighted
    name: Zone 1 Avg Temp (°C)
  - entity: sensor.zone2_dew_point_c
    name: Zone 2 Dew Point (°C)
  - entity: sensor.average_humidity
    name: Avg Indoor Humidity (%)

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4. Forecast Awareness

type: entities
title: Forecast Triggers
entities:
  - entity: binary_sensor.heat_blocked_over_68f
    name: Heat Blocked (≥ 20 °C / 68 °F)
  - entity: binary_sensor.forecast_hot_today_30c
    name: Hot Day Forecast (≥ 30 °C / 86 °F)
  - entity: binary_sensor.forecast_cold_tonight_5c
    name: Cold Night Forecast (≤ 5 °C / 41 °F)

---

5. Quiet Hours Status

type: conditional
conditions:
  - entity: sensor.time
    state_not: "22:00"
card:
  type: markdown
  content: >
    🌙 Bedroom fans capped to auto/low until 07:00.

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🔧 Key Thresholds

• HYST = 0.3 °C (0.5 °F)
• Dew Point for dry = ≥ 18 °C (64.4 °F) + RH > 60%
• Forecast triggers = ≥ 30 °C (86 °F) hot, ≤ 5 °C (41 °F) cold
• Quiet Hours = 22:00–07:00

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📜 License

MIT License. Use freely, but please credit if you fork or publish modifications.

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🙏 Credits

Created for a real two-zone, five-unit mini-split system running on Home Assistant.
Optimized for comfort, efficiency, and long-term maintainability.