Philips Hue as a virtual module in the Fibaro HC2

by crissxcross20. November 2015

The Philips Hue lights as first of their kind meanwhile enjoy more and more popularity despite their high price. The Smartphone Control is a nice gadget but at the same time a curse as well. The colored pears are nice to be used as “Appcessories”, but who wants to have to look for their smartphone every time they step into a room, only to turn on the light.

Philips had opened the API for the Hue for a while now, so that one is able to integrate the colored pears in various systems. RWE Smart Home showed how to do it (we reported) and integrated the Philips Hue into their home automation.

What would it be like if you were able to integrate the Philips Hue lights into your Fibaro Home Center 2?

Sounds like a nice gadget at first, but at the second glance it is much more than that. Integrated into the Fibaro HC2 as a virtual module, it is possible to address the Philips Hue like a physical hardware component. You can turn it on or off via switch, remote or motion sensor. You can also integrate it into scenes, for instance to get an open window signaled visually.

Color and brightness of the Philips Hue can be varied freely

Philips Hue can be controlled with the HC2 web interface or the app

status of the Philips Hue is queried constantly

the Icon Set is adjusting itself to the brightness of the Hue lights

This is how you integrate the Philips Hue into the Fibaro HC2. Unfortunately it is not suitable for the Fibaro HCL, due to the fact that a LUA Code is necessary.

Create a User on the Philips Hue Bridge

First of all, you need a user name on the Philips Hue Bridge, to be able to address the Philips Hue API with it later on. In order to do that, go to the web surface of the Hue Bridge, via your browser, under the address:

http://<philips-hueip-address>/debug/clip.html

The easiest way for you to find the IP address of the Hue Bridge is via the web surface of your router.

On the web surface of the Philips Hue Bridge, next to the buttons GET, PUT, POST, DELETE, you can find three boxes:

URL
Message Body
Command Response

To create a new user, write the following in the URL line:

http://ip address>/api

Following belongs in the Message Body:

{"devicetype":"test user","username":"newdeveloper"}

Web Surface of the Philips Hue Bridge

Thereby, the user “newdeveloper” is created. Of course, you can name him Fibaro or HeinzHorst as well. Before pressing the button POST, you shortly need to press the (physical) button on the Philips Hue Bridge. After you now pressed POST, you should receive a “success” notification. A Step by Step instruction for the Philips Hue API can be found on “Getting started” as well.

Creating a virtual Module

Fibaro HC2 – creating a virtual module

You can switch to the web surface of your Fibaro HC2 now. On there, you create a new virtual module under “Module” > Add or remove > Add a virtual module. Name the module freely. This module will control a Philips Hue Bulb. Therefore I name my modules Philips Hue Bulb 1 to 3. Assign another room. The field for the IP address and the TCP Port can stay free.

Fibaro HC2 – name a new virtual module

Go to the tab “Advanced” and add a slider.

This slider is later on going to adjust the brightness. Preferably name it “Brightness”, assign “sldBrightness” as ID and select “LUA Code” for the slider.

Fibaro HC2 – Add the slider to the virtual module

Upload Icon Set

In order for the virtual module to later on receive a matching icon depending on the brightness of the Philips Hue, the next thing you need is the Icon Set. You can download it on here:

Icon Set Lights

Unpack it on your computer after the download. You will find 13 icons in this file. Upload them via the button “change symbol” in numbered order.

Fibaro HC2 – Change the virtual module, icon

As soon as those icons are uploaded, you are going to receive an ID from the Fibaro Home Center. The first icon usually receives the ID 1000, the next the ID 1001 and so on. To make sure that your IDs start at 1000 as well, since you could have uploaded icons before, check it once more. The easiest way to do that is via the Google Chrome Browser or when using Firefox via the developer-tools. With a right-click on the icon > then “examine element” the assigned ID can be found in the source text.

Fibaro HC2 – right-click on Icon

You can find the assigned ID in the source text. You need it in the script.

Fibaro HC2 – Examine element opens the source text and shows the ID of the icon

Slider LUA Code

The earlier added slider is supposed to receive the script now, which adjusts the brightness of the Philips Hue. Since the value of the Philips Hue light for the full brightness is 255, and the slider can only adopt a value of 0-100, we always need to multiply it with 2.55. You can copy the following code into the slider (sldBrightness) like that:

  hueBrightness = math.floor(_sliderValue_ * 2.55) 
  hueOn = true

1 2	hueBrightness = math.floor(_sliderValue_ * 2.55) hueOn = true

The three values, which have to be adjusted, can be found in the head of the LUA Script.

hueIP = fibaro:get(selfId, "IPAddress")
huePort = fibaro:get(selfId, "TCPPort")
hueUser = "newdeveloper" 
hueLightID = 1

hueIP = fibaro:get(selfId, "IPAddress")

huePort = fibaro:get(selfId, "TCPPort")

hueUser = "newdeveloper"

hueLightID = 1

This is the IP address of your Philips Hue Bridge. I you named your user name other than “newdeveloper” in the first step you need to replace it as well. The value “hueLightID” shows, which Hue Bulb is supposed to be controlled. The starter package of the Philips Hue includes three lights. This means the value in this case could adopt 1-3.

If your Fibaro HC2 did not start at 1000 by assigning IDs to the icons, you might adjust them – beginning at the function:

selfId = fibaro:getSelfId()
hueIP = fibaro:get(selfId, "IPAddress")
huePort = fibaro:get(selfId, "TCPPort")
hueUser = "newdeveloper" 
hueLightID = 1

-- set the id of the HC2 Virtual Device 
vDeviceID = fibaro:getSelfId(); 

-- function to select the correct icon based on the slider value 
-- NOTE: change the icon IDs if needed 
function getIcon(sValue) 
  if(sValue >= 90) then return 1010         -- 90%-99% 11_s_light100.png 
  elseif(sValue >= 80) then return 1009     -- 80%-89% 10_s_light90.png 
  elseif(sValue >= 70) then return 1008     -- 70%-79% 09_s_light80.png 
  elseif(sValue >= 60) then return 1007     -- 60%-69% 08_s_light70.png 
  elseif(sValue >= 50) then return 1006     -- 50%-59% 07_s_light60.png 
  elseif(sValue >= 40) then return 1005     -- 40%-49% 06_s_light50.png 
  elseif(sValue >= 30) then return 1004     -- 30%-39% 05_s_light40.png 
  elseif(sValue >= 20) then return 1003     -- 20%-29% 04_s_light30.png 
  elseif(sValue >= 10) then return 1002     -- 10%-19% 03_s_light20.png 
  elseif(sValue >= 1) then return 1001      -- 1%-9%   02_s_light10.png 
  else return 1000 end                      -- 0%      01_s_light0.png 
end 

-- define the new values for hueBrightness and hueOn 
if (_sliderValue_ == 0) then 
  hueBrightness = _sliderValue_ 
  hueOn = false 
else 
  -- multiply the slider value with 2.55 and round it DOWNWARDS 
  -- to get the hueBrightness value (0-255) 
  hueBrightness = math.floor(_sliderValue_ * 2.55) 
  hueOn = true 
end 

-- connect to the Hue bridge 
Hue = Net.FHttp(hueIP,huePort) 
-- HTTP PUT to set the new values 
response, status, errorCode = Hue:PUT('/api/'..hueUser..'/lights/'..hueLightID..'/state', '{"on":'..tostring(hueOn)..',"bri":'..hueBrightness..'}') 
-- continue if HTTP status code is 200 
if (tonumber(status) == 200) then 
    -- change the icon based on the new slider value 
    fibaro:call(vDeviceID, "setProperty", "currentIcon", getIcon(_sliderValue_)) 
end

selfId = fibaro:getSelfId()

hueIP = fibaro:get(selfId, "IPAddress")

huePort = fibaro:get(selfId, "TCPPort")

hueUser = "newdeveloper"

hueLightID = 1

-- set the id of the HC2 Virtual Device

vDeviceID = fibaro:getSelfId();

-- function to select the correct icon based on the slider value

-- NOTE: change the icon IDs if needed

function getIcon(sValue)

if(sValue >= 90) then return 1010 -- 90%-99% 11_s_light100.png

elseif(sValue >= 80) then return 1009 -- 80%-89% 10_s_light90.png

elseif(sValue >= 70) then return 1008 -- 70%-79% 09_s_light80.png

elseif(sValue >= 60) then return 1007 -- 60%-69% 08_s_light70.png

elseif(sValue >= 50) then return 1006 -- 50%-59% 07_s_light60.png

elseif(sValue >= 40) then return 1005 -- 40%-49% 06_s_light50.png

elseif(sValue >= 30) then return 1004 -- 30%-39% 05_s_light40.png

elseif(sValue >= 20) then return 1003 -- 20%-29% 04_s_light30.png

elseif(sValue >= 10) then return 1002 -- 10%-19% 03_s_light20.png

elseif(sValue >= 1) then return 1001 -- 1%-9% 02_s_light10.png

else return 1000 end -- 0% 01_s_light0.png

end

-- define the new values for hueBrightness and hueOn

if (_sliderValue_ == 0) then

hueBrightness = _sliderValue_

hueOn = false

else

-- multiply the slider value with 2.55 and round it DOWNWARDS

-- to get the hueBrightness value (0-255)

hueBrightness = math.floor(_sliderValue_ * 2.55)

hueOn = true

end

-- connect to the Hue bridge

Hue = Net.FHttp(hueIP,huePort)

-- HTTP PUT to set the new values

response, status, errorCode = Hue:PUT('/api/'..hueUser..'/lights/'..hueLightID..'/state', '{"on":'..tostring(hueOn)..',"bri":'..hueBrightness..'}')

-- continue if HTTP status code is 200

if (tonumber(status) == 200) then

-- change the icon based on the new slider value

fibaro:call(vDeviceID, "setProperty", "currentIcon", getIcon(_sliderValue_))

end

Fibaro HC2 – inserting of the LUA Codes into the Slider (Brightness)

Main loop LUA Code – Requesting Status

Fibaro HC2 – inserting of the Main Loop LUA Code which requests the status of the Philips Hue steadily

The Main Loop Code is going to update the status of your Philips Hue Bulb steadily, to update the status of the slider, the icon and the information bar. In case you should use the Philips Hue App from time to time, to adjust the brightness, the status slider in the virtual module of the Fibaro HC2 is updated automatically. The Fibaro HC2 gets these information every 3 seconds (Standard, can be changed in the script) from the Philips Hue Bridge. Copy the following script into the field “Main loop”. Here again, you need to adjust the values “hueIP”; “hueUser” and the “hueLightID” in the head of the script.

-- set the Hue bridge properties 
-- http://developers.meethue.com/gettingstarted.html 
-- go to http:///api//lights to get the ID of all your Hue lights 
selfId = fibaro:getSelfId()
hueIP = fibaro:get(selfId, "IPAddress")
huePort = fibaro:get(selfId, "TCPPort")
hueUser = "newdeveloper" 
hueLightID = 1

-- set the id of the HC2 Virtual Device 
vDeviceID = fibaro:getSelfId(); 
-- set the id of the icons used 
-- NOTE: change the icon IDs if needed 
iconUnreachable = 1011 
iconError = 1012 
-- specify the delay in milliseconds (3000 = 3 seconds) 
-- the lower the delay, the more traffic is send to the Hue bridge 
delay = 3000 

-- function to select the correct icon based on the slider value 
-- NOTE: change the icon IDs if needed 
function getIcon(sValue) 
  if(sValue >= 90) then return 1010         -- 90%-99% 11_s_light100.png 
  elseif(sValue >= 80) then return 1009     -- 80%-89% 10_s_light90.png 
  elseif(sValue >= 70) then return 1008     -- 70%-79% 09_s_light80.png 
  elseif(sValue >= 60) then return 1007     -- 60%-69% 08_s_light70.png 
  elseif(sValue >= 50) then return 1006     -- 50%-59% 07_s_light60.png 
  elseif(sValue >= 40) then return 1005     -- 40%-49% 06_s_light50.png 
  elseif(sValue >= 30) then return 1004     -- 30%-39% 05_s_light40.png 
  elseif(sValue >= 20) then return 1003     -- 20%-29% 04_s_light30.png 
  elseif(sValue >= 10) then return 1002     -- 10%-19% 03_s_light20.png 
  elseif(sValue >= 1) then return 1001      -- 1%-9%   02_s_light10.png 
  else return 1000 end                      -- 0%      01_s_light0.png 
end 

-- connect to the Hue bridge 
Hue = Net.FHttp(hueIP,huePort) 
-- HTTP GET to get all the info from the light 
response ,status, errorCode = Hue:GET('/api/'..hueUser..'/lights/'..hueLightID); 
-- continue if HTTP status code is 200 
if (tonumber(status) == 200) then 
  jsonTable = json.decode(response) 
  -- check if error table exists 
  if (jsonTable[1] ~= nil) then 
    -- show error information 
    errorType = jsonTable[1].error.type 
    errorDescription = jsonTable[1].error.description 
    fibaro:debug("Error type = "..errorType) 
    fibaro:debug("Error description = "..errorDescription) 
    if (errorType == 1) then fibaro:log("Hue: Unauthorized user") 
    elseif (errorType == 3) then fibaro:log("Hue: Incorrect light ID")  
    end 
     -- set slider value to 0 
     fibaro:call(vDeviceID, "setProperty", "ui.sldBrightness.value", 0) 
     -- change the icon to iconError 
     fibaro:call(vDeviceID, "setProperty", "currentIcon", iconError)    
  else 
      -- get the on state 
      hueOn = jsonTable.state.on 
      fibaro:debug("hueOn = " .. tostring(hueOn)); 
      -- get the brightness value (0-255) 
      hueBrightness = tonumber(jsonTable.state.bri) 
      fibaro:debug("hueBrightness = "..hueBrightness); 
      -- get the reachable state 
      hueReachable = jsonTable.state.reachable 
      fibaro:debug("hueReachable = " .. tostring(hueReachable)); 
      if (hueReachable == true) then 
          if (hueOn == false) then 
            hueSlider = 0; 
          else 
            -- devide the hueBrightness value by 2.55 and round it UPWARDS 
            -- to get the hueSlider value (0-100) 
            hueSlider = math.ceil(hueBrightness / 2.55); 
          end 
          fibaro:debug("hueSlider = "..hueSlider); 
          -- show brightness and state info on the bottom bar of the Virtual Device 
          fibaro:log("brightness: "..hueBrightness.." | on: "..tostring(hueOn)); 
          -- set the actual slider value 
          fibaro:call(vDeviceID, "setProperty", "ui.sldBrightness.value", hueSlider) 
          -- change the icon of the Virtual Device based on the hueSlider value 
          fibaro:call(vDeviceID, "setProperty", "currentIcon", getIcon(hueSlider))    
      else 
         fibaro:log("Hue: Light not reachable"); 
         -- set slider value to 0 
         fibaro:call(vDeviceID, "setProperty", "ui.sldBrightness.value", 0) 
         -- change the icon to unreachable 
         fibaro:call(vDeviceID, "setProperty", "currentIcon", iconUnreachable)    
      end 
    end 
end 
-- delay the Main loop 
fibaro:sleep(delay);

-- set the Hue bridge properties

-- http://developers.meethue.com/gettingstarted.html

-- go to http:///api//lights to get the ID of all your Hue lights

selfId = fibaro:getSelfId()

hueIP = fibaro:get(selfId, "IPAddress")

huePort = fibaro:get(selfId, "TCPPort")

hueUser = "newdeveloper"

hueLightID = 1

-- set the id of the HC2 Virtual Device

vDeviceID = fibaro:getSelfId();

-- set the id of the icons used

-- NOTE: change the icon IDs if needed

iconUnreachable = 1011

iconError = 1012

-- specify the delay in milliseconds (3000 = 3 seconds)

-- the lower the delay, the more traffic is send to the Hue bridge

delay = 3000