Velbus OpenRemote protocol integration

Add-ons Bindings
1

In my home i use Velbus as domotica system.
Is there in the future the possiblity of adding this to openHAB bindings?

1 Like
2

Hi @dafdegiraf, I started development of a Velbus OpenHAB binding a few months ago, you can try to install it through the Eclipse IoT Market addon as described here:

  1. Install openhab and open PaperUI
  2. Install Eclipse IoT Market
    • Add-ons -> MISC -> Ecliple IoT Market
  3. Install Serial Binding (Velbus needs openhab-transport-serial)
    • Add-ons -> BINDINGS -> Serial Binding
  4. Install Velbus Binding
    • Add-ons -> BINDINGS -> Velbus Binding
    • Velbus binding should be visible in Configuration -> Bindings
  5. Setup Velbus Bridge
    • Configuration -> Things -> + -> Velbus Binding -> Velbus Bridge
    • Setup bridge (com port, ā€¦)
  6. Scan network
    • Inbox -> Scan (top right) -> Velbus Binding
  7. Add Things and Items
    • All supported modules on your network are in Inbox
2 Likes
3

Velbus binding is integrated in the latest release of OpenHab.


My Velbus installation is connected with Velbus home center interface server VMBHIS https://www.velbus.eu/products/view/?id=409732&lang=nl
Only the USB ā€œbridgeā€ is supported with this binding in Openhab. Is there a possible solution to find my velbus installation over the home center interface.

4

Hi

Iā€™m really sorry to say that while the HomeCentre does allow VelbusLink to connect to the Velbus network over IP, it does so over an encrypted connection.

The only options areā€¦

To buy another USB module so that OpenHab2 can have a dedicated connection using the Serial Bridge.

Buy another USB module, then use a network server like VelServ, so that OpenHab2 (using the Velbus Network Bridge from the latest version of the binding which can be downloaded as a Jar file HERE or from @cedricboon own repository ) & other software (like VelbusLink) can connect to the TCP / IP port that is created.

Either of the above, but unplugging (discarding) HomeCentre.

Edit

Link to Velbus forum, where I answered a question about swapping from the different versions of the Velbus binding

Edit

I have posted a How To for VelServ on the Velbus Forum if anyone is looking for more information

5

Just in case anyone runs into the same ā€œStart on Bootā€ issues I have recently with versions of Debian or Ubuntu that have depreciated rc.local, Iā€™ve create a systemd service file.

My VelServ instance is located in /opt/velserv, so either edit the service file to point to the correct location for your system, or move the compiled VelServ to /opt/velserv

Likewise, edit the start command to the device and port of your choice.
(I use port 6000 and device /dev/ttyACM0)

Save the following code into a file in
/etc/systemd/system/

(Mine is called velserv.service)

#  This file is part of systemd.
#
#  systemd is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
#  under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by
#  the Free Software Foundation; either version 2.1 of the License, or
#  (at your option) any later version.
[Unit]
Description=Velserv
ConditionFileIsExecutable=/opt/velserv/velserv
After=network.target
After=network-online.target

[Service]
Type=forking
ExecStart=/opt/velserv/velserv -d /dev/ttyACM0 -p 6000
ExecStartPost=/bin/bash -c "/bin/touch /var/log/velserv.log"
ExecStartPost=/bin/bash -c "/bin/echo Velserv Started $(date) >> /var/log/velserv.log"
ExecStartPost=/bin/bash -c "/bin/pidof velserv >> /var/log/velserv.log"
ExecStop=/bin/kill $MAINPID
TimeoutSec/=0
RemainAfterExit=yes
StandardOutput=journal+console
StandardError=journal+console

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Then run the following commands

systemctl daemon-reload

systemctl enable velserv.service

systemctl start velserv

This service supportsā€¦

stop

start

restart

I hope this helps someone and saves them hours and hours of frustration.

rc.local worked so well for simple thingsā€¦ :frowning:

Update

Iā€™ve created a simple script to download and install Jermoneā€™s VelServ TCP server, the instructions are on this forum page

Likewise, Iā€™ve written a simple script to update the Velbus Binding too.

6


They managed to get the TCP/IP interface
The ā€˜velbusā€™ component supports the Velbus USB, Velbus serial and a TCP/IP gateway.