We are testing Fibaro: SONOS Play: 3 integration with the Fibaro building automation system

Building intelligence is amazing. Our house? Thinks ?, makes decisions and acts for the sake of our comfort, safety and full pocket. Fibaro, apart from the functions typically related to automation, can also integrate multimedia devices – TV sets, home theaters, set-top boxes, etc. Thanks to the fact that Horn Distribution provided me with another SONOS Play: 3 multimedia speaker, I had the opportunity to check how Fibaro copes with operation of such devices.

The Fibaro System is a wireless building automation managed, inter alia, via iPhone and iPad. We published a review of this system in March. The SONOS zone loudspeaker system is a high-quality multimedia loudspeaker that can operate separately or in a set. They connect to each other wirelessly in the MESH topology (similar to Fibaro modules). They offer high-quality sound.

SONOS devices can be successfully integrated with the Fibaro system. What does such integration give us? First of all, we can control the SONOS system from the level of Fibaro mobile applications and the www panel. Additionally, SONOS can be used in home processes. It can be automatically turned on when we enter the house, turned on with the TV so that the set works as a home theater sound system, etc.

How to add a SONOS device to Fibaro?

We start with setting up the variables in the Variables Panel. We can find them in the PANELS menu.

Click Add. Enter SonosLastCmd in the variable name field. Leave the Value field unchanged (0). Click save.

Then we add another variable. In Variable name, enter SonosTTS. Here, too, we leave the Value unchanged.

To be sure, click the floppy disk to save the changes. It should look like below.

The next step is to add a SONOS device. Click on Devices, then on Add or remove a device. We find Virtual Devices.

Having the file with the code for the Sonos device ready, click Choose file. We indicate the file downloaded below. (The file can be downloaded after clicking on the icon below)

Then click the Import virtual device button.

After a while, we will be in the settings of the added virtual device.

Enter your own name – in my case, Sonos Player, set the room in which the device is located, enter the IP address under which SONOS or Bridge SONOS is visible on the network and enter Port 1400.

If you do not know what IP your SONOS or SONOS Bridge is on, the easiest way to check it is by logging in to the router and checking connected clients. For me it looks like this:

As you can see, SONOS is properly marked on the web. Enter the IP address next to it in the Fibaro panel. The given file supports the SONOS device in English. However, you can change their names to Polish, if someone has such a need. In this case, just go to the Advanced tab and change the names of the buttons from English to Polish in the Label field.

When we have fully configured the virtual device and possibly change the names, you can click the floppy disk to add the device to the Fibaro system. SONOS will be seen in the www panel as a virtual device. You can, of course, change the icon in it. After clicking the button, a full remote control will appear.

How is SONOS visible on iPhone?

How does it work in practice?

Communication takes place via TCP / IP, therefore a slight delay is noticeable when operating the device. It’s great that the author of the script has given us the ability to change the volume level via a slider. The SONOS application is not very pleasant to use. I admit that to this day I have not fully figured out the program offered by the manufacturer. Operation with a remote control in the Fibaro application is definitely more convenient. Due to the fact that I have to say goodbye to SONOS Play: 3 on Monday, I did not create any scenes and connect with other elements of the house.

However, I can tell you that I also connected my Onkyo home theater to Fibaro and it works very well. Thanks to the fact that the TV is connected to the Wall Plug, when it detects the increased power consumption associated with starting the TV, it automatically turns on the home theater. I no longer have to do it manually with the co-pilot.

Of course, it is possible to create more advanced scenes, which, after starting, automatically turn on the home theater in the appropriate mode and volume level, dim the light, cover the blinds, activate the projector and slide the screen down. But it may be in the future… 😉

The author of the code for the virtual device is Jean-Christophe Vermandé “Kristoff”