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, …)
  6. Scan network
    • Inbox -> Scan (top right) -> Velbus Binding
  7. Add Things and Items
    • All supported modules on your network are in Inbox
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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 “bridge” is supported with this binding in Openhab. Is there a possible solution to find my velbus installation over the home center interface.

4

Hi

I’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 are…

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 “Start on Boot” issues I have recently with versions of Debian or Ubuntu that have depreciated rc.local, I’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 supports…

stop

start

restart

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

rc.local worked so well for simple things… :frowning:

Update

I’ve created a simple script to download and install Jermone’s VelServ TCP server, the instructions are on this forum page

Likewise, I’ve written a simple script to update the Velbus Binding too.

6


They managed to get the TCP/IP interface
The ‘velbus’ component supports the Velbus USB, Velbus serial and a TCP/IP gateway.