Managing Multiple Geo Home Systems In Home Assistant: A Practical Guide

Hey everyone! If you're juggling multiple properties under one Geo Home account, you've probably run into a bit of a snag with the Home Assistant integration. You know, the whole "switching systems" thing in the Geo Home app itself? Well, that doesn't quite translate seamlessly into Home Assistant, and it can lead to some funky results on your dashboards. Let's dive into how we can wrangle this situation and get your smart home setup working smoothly, whether you've got a cozy apartment or a sprawling estate.

The Problem: Random Meter Readings and System Switching Woes

So, you've got your Geo Home account set up, and you're happily monitoring energy usage across two different properties. Awesome! But then you try to integrate this into Home Assistant, and bam – things get a little messy. The integration seems to latch onto one of your systems, and it's anyone's guess which one. You might see a random mix of gas and electric meters, or your data might seem incomplete or inconsistent. This is because the Home Assistant integration is designed to connect to a single "system" at a time. When you switch between properties in the Geo Home app, it's not automatically reflected in Home Assistant. You're essentially getting a roll of the dice every time your data updates. The core issue is the integration's lack of awareness of the multi-system setup within your single Geo Home account. It doesn't inherently know to pull data from both properties, leading to incomplete or inaccurate readings.

This can be frustrating because you want a comprehensive view of your energy consumption across all your properties in one central dashboard. You might want to compare energy usage, track trends, or automate tasks based on energy consumption data. When the integration only connects to one system, all this functionality is compromised. You're left with partial data, making it difficult to draw meaningful conclusions or trigger automations effectively. Therefore, the primary challenge lies in the integration's inability to differentiate and manage multiple "systems" associated with your single Geo Home account. This means you're stuck with a random system selection or a limited view of your energy data, rather than a consolidated, complete overview. To solve this, we need a way to tell Home Assistant, "Hey, there are multiple systems here!"

We'll discuss various approaches, from potential workarounds to more in-depth solutions. Let's make sure your smart home setup is as smart as you are!

Possible Solutions and Workarounds

Alright, let's explore some possible ways to tackle this multi-system challenge. While there isn't a perfect, out-of-the-box solution currently, we can still try a few things. Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Multiple Home Assistant Instances

• The Basic Idea: Run a separate Home Assistant instance for each property. This way, each instance connects directly to its respective system within your Geo Home account.
• How it Works: You'd need a separate device (like a Raspberry Pi, a virtual machine, or even a second computer) for each Home Assistant instance. Configure each instance with its unique Geo Home account settings to connect to a specific property. This allows you to keep the systems entirely separate.
• Pros: This method offers the cleanest separation. Each Home Assistant instance will have its dedicated set of meters and sensors for a single property, avoiding any confusion or data overlap.
• Cons: Managing multiple Home Assistant instances can be a hassle. You'd need to update and maintain each one separately. Also, you'd have to switch between the interfaces to monitor different properties. While it's effective, it may not be ideal for everyone.

2. Leveraging Templates and Customizations

• The Basic Idea: Within a single Home Assistant instance, you could try using templates and customizations to work around the integration's limitations. The aim is to manually create new sensors and combine data from multiple sources.
• How it Works: You can create template sensors that pull data from different Geo Home systems and combine them. For instance, you might use the utility_meter integration to monitor the electric meter of one property and the template integration to create another sensor. You could then create a new template sensor to calculate the sum of both properties' electric meter readings. It's a more advanced solution, which might require using the API of the Geo Home integration.
• Pros: It allows you to see all data on a single dashboard and is relatively easy to set up.
• Cons: This approach can get very complex quickly, especially if you have many sensors or properties. Requires a good understanding of Home Assistant's templating system and data handling.

3. Feature Request and Community Involvement

• The Basic Idea: Since the core issue is the current integration's limitations, the best solution might come from a future update. Consider submitting a feature request or contributing to the existing Home Assistant integration.
• How it Works: You can post a feature request on the Home Assistant community forum or GitHub repository. Clearly describe the problem, your needs, and how the integration could be improved. You can also search for existing threads or discussions about the same issue to contribute to the conversations.
• Pros: This can lead to a built-in solution that makes managing multiple systems much easier. It also helps other users with similar needs.
• Cons: Development and implementation of new features take time and are not guaranteed. Requires some active participation in the Home Assistant community.

API Data and Custom Integrations

• The Basic Idea: Explore how the Geo Home integration accesses the data using an API, then use a custom integration to retrieve data from both systems.
• How it Works: If you're tech-savvy, you could dive into the existing Home Assistant integration's code (if it's open-source). You could also sniff network traffic to understand how it fetches data from the Geo Home API. With that knowledge, you could attempt to create a custom integration or modify the existing one to handle multiple systems. You might need to reverse engineer the Geo Home API or use the requests library to interact with it directly.
• Pros: Provides full control over data retrieval and processing. It can be customized to fit your specific needs.
• Cons: Requires significant programming skills and knowledge of APIs. Maintaining a custom integration can be time-consuming, and it's possible to break something if not done correctly. Also, changes to the Geo Home API could render your custom integration useless.

The Ideal Solution (and What to Do in the Meantime)

Ideally, the Home Assistant Geo Home integration would be updated to support multiple systems seamlessly. This would involve allowing users to specify which system to connect to within the configuration, or even better, automatically detecting and managing multiple systems.

Until a native solution arrives, here's a recommended approach:

1. Evaluate Your Needs: Decide which solution fits your technical skills and how much time you're willing to invest.
2. Start Simple: Begin with workarounds such as templates and customizations. This is a good starting point. If you're comfortable with YAML and Home Assistant, this can be a powerful solution.
3. Be Active: Share your experience and any API response data with the Home Assistant community. The more information we have, the better the chance of a permanent fix.

Conclusion

Dealing with multiple Geo Home systems in Home Assistant can be a bit of a headache right now, but with a little creativity and community collaboration, we can find workarounds. Whether it's multiple Home Assistant instances, templates, or a future-proof custom integration, there are ways to get all your data in one place. The most important thing is to stay proactive, share your findings, and contribute to the community. Together, we can create a smarter and more unified smart home experience!

So, what are your thoughts? Have you found any workarounds that work for you? Share your experiences and suggestions in the comments below. Let's build a better smart home together!