I thought I'd do an overview of how to get the best out of the above setup.
You will need to be familiar with setting up static IPs on your router, using command line, not afraid of using a text editor to modify configuration and code and be prepared for some frustration getting it working. If this isn't you then read no further.
I have an automated home with a variety of devices - switches, light bulbs, smart radiator valves, thermostats and a groovy little thing that can push a switch down. Mainly Tuya and Sonoff/eWeLink devices. I am on the Octopus Agile tariff. This has different electricity prices for each half hour during the day and is published a day in advance at around 4pm. You need a newer smart meter to be able to use the Agile tariff. Here's a good overview :
Energy Stats - If you do decide to switch to Octopus from your current supplier, please use
this link for £50 off your bill and £50 off my bill. You switch to Octopus standard pricing first (for a few days) and then once completed request a move to Agile.
I used to use a complicated set of different tools to manage the house - smartthings, SharpTools, IFTTT, Alexa routines and so on. To do what I really wanted I would have involved a monthly subscription fee to one or more of companies involved. Instead I decide to go down the route of
Home Assistant
Home Assistant runs typically on a server that you build and place into your household network. Probably the easiest way to get started is to use a
Raspberry Pi dedicated install. Needless to say, I didn't use that route, I use a Docker installation running on a TerraMaster NAS but that route required a good deal more delving into linux and files.
Home Assistant handles all of the equipment that I use:
Mazda Integration
Pod Point Integration
Octopus Energy
eWeLink
Tuya
Home Assistant comes with a powerful set of automations (routines) that can be triggered by events, switch devices on or off etc.
Specifically:
I use the Octopus integration to calculate (it's built in to the integration to do this) the cheapest 5 30 minute slots overnight (10pm-6am) to charge the car - This can be used to trigger the Pod Point to enable/disable charging. I also use an afternoon and morning slots calculation to do a similar thing if I'm going to use the car more than once during the day. Last night it cost me about £1.40 to charge the car form 30% to 100% using the cheaper slots.
You can also check that the Mazda is at "home" to make sure you don't start a charging session when you aren't at home - You can also check that the Mazda is plugged in, but you may need to get Home Assistant to do a Refresh of the car, wait a couple of minutes and then do a check to see if the car is plugged in. The Mazda integration works exactly like the Mazda App which I'm sure you will already know needs to be refreshed to get the latest picture.
I also have routines that switch off the Pod-Point charging if the car is unplugged from the cable.
There's loads extra that can be done beyond the work with car - I use Life360 app and Home Assistant integration to turn off the lights/TV etc. if no one is home, turn off the heating if no one has been in the house for 6 hours (vacation mode), switch on welcome lights in an evening. Set radiator valve thermostats according to different times of the day. Just limited by your imagination. Check the weather and only turn on the heating when it's cold (I use a 4ch Sonoff switch wired in parallel with my central heating controllers, but if you got something like hive it will integrate with Home Assistant.)
If you want to integrate a 'thing' just google 'homeassistant the_thing_you_want_to_integrate' I've found loads of stuff I wasn't expecting, not least of which is the Mazda integration.
Hope this is of use to someone.
