Domoticz controlled roller blinds - with IFTTT or google assistant

[chazmania]

Hi all -

I've been browsing the forums for a few months but as a complete green-as-grass newbie I've not been able to figure out how to solve the problem I've encountered. TL;DR: I want to be able to control my 433.92 roller blinds by voice and I can't work out how to do it.

So my home set up is as follows:
- Pi 3+ Rasbpian
- RFLink 433.92 gateway controller
- Google Home mini

I have 433.92 roller blinds which I was able, a few years ago, to connect to the domoticz server, and this works very nicely in that they are on a timer, the doorbell has been set up to send me an email when it rings, and the hue motion sensor in the garage alerts me when there is movement in the basement - that sort of basic thing. The other smart home devices in the house are things like the Philips Hue or MyQ garage which are basically consumer-ready so don't require any actual knowledge to set up. The point is though, that everything in the house can be controlled by voice via my google home mini - all except the blinds.

So I've been trying for a while to do it. I tried Controllicz, but it requires setting up a DNS (how?!) and a public IP address and open ports (such as 443) - which in Belgium, where I am, is a surprisingly expensive paid option (both the static IP add about €20 a month or something to the monthly cost - more than I'm willing to pay to have the convenience of voice-activated blinds. I say "or something" because Proximus is such a sh!t ISP that their website is actually down as I write this message so I can't even get to the page where it says the exact price). Moreover, I'm not sufficiently versed in Internet Security Protocol to want to leave an exposed port open. Anyway. I've tried Controllicz but because of the above limitations, that doesn't work.

The other options I've seen around, using webhooks etc, look to me like they could work - all it needs to happen is for a command to activate a switch via domoticz, and I suppose this could be daisy-chained via IFTTT or something like that. The problem is the idiot in between: me.

I'd be super appreciative of someone who might know a step-by-step guide that shows how it could be made to work - written, as it were, for a ham-fisted fool who hasn't a clue what he's doing.

Many thanks to those on the forum who've written things in the past that have held me fix past problems (like the most recent Domoticz update which crashed my system entirely and only through reading other's descriptions was I able to eventually bring it back online).

Cheers.

[FireWizard]

@chazmania

This should be possible. As Domoticz has no direct connection to Google Home/Assistant you have to look for an alternative.

One method is to use Node Red.
See: https://nodered.org/

This tool can communicate with Domoticz. using MQTT.
Therefore you need a MQTT server (broker), such as Mosquitto.
See: https://mosquitto.org/

If you have these tools available there are several possibilities to communicate with Google Assistant.

See:
https://www.domoticz.com/forum/viewtopi ... lit=Google
https://www.domoticz.com/forum/viewtopi ... le#p247452

Of course, you will find always a discussion, which solution is the best.
What an easy solution is for one user, is a complex thing for the other user.

Which service is the most reliable and future proof, I can't tell.

My Lights, Thermostat, Camera's and Domoticz webpages are linked to the Google Home (Nest) Hub, with NORA.
Controlicz is the only in the selection, that has a paid subscription. The others are free, but require registration.
But also IFTTT is possible and can be controlled by a webhook.

At the end you select the solution.

Regards