Sensibo Quickstart Install Guide

Version: 3.2
Date: Wednesday, July 16, 2025
Authors: Richard Mullins

Overview

Sensibo makes your existing air conditioner smart and connected! Sensibo is an external device that you pair your remote controlled air conditioner with. Sensibo will work with the majority of infra-red based HVAC systems whether it is a mini split, window AC, ductless, portable, heat pump and even central air conditioners.

The Chowmain driver for Sensibo communicates to Sensibo via the Sensibo Cloud API which enables full two way control and feedback over room temperature, humidity, setpoints, hvac mode, fan speeds and swing.

The Sensibo is Wifi based/USB powered you can easily retrofit them into existing jobs. Keep stock them in the back of your van and upsell them on customer visits. The product can be purchased off the shelf from retailers such as Harvey Norman, Good Guys, Bing Lee Electrics for $159 AUD or can be purchase online from Amazon or directly from the Sensibo website.

NOTE An active and stable internet connection is required for Sensibo to operate with RTI.

Installation

The zip file that included this documentation has the rtidriver file you will need to add. The first step is to download and extract the driver from the zip file. The default location is Documents\Integration Designer\Control Drivers

Set your project up by adding Rooms and controllers to suit your setup.

Add the driver

Please use the following steps to install the driver.

Click on to the Drivers tab at the top of the Add Workspace Item window

Select the USER library from the pull-down.

The Sensibo driver supports multiple units (listed in the driver as zones) so select a room

Find the Sensibo driver in the Add New Driver section and click Add Device.

If you have additional Sensibo units, they can be added to new rooms in the Add To Existing Driver section, making sure to select a zone from the Zone list.

Once you all the Sensibo units have been added to your project click Next. If required change the driver name and when your done click Add Device.

The driver is now ready to configure or use.

Driver Configuration

The driver requires you to have your Sensibo setup and working. You will also require a licence. The following will take you through the steps to get all the required information you will need to configure the driver.

Sensibo API Key and Room Name

To communicate with the Sensibo cloud you need to have set up a room in the Sensibo app and you also need to obtain an API key.

Set up a room

When you first configure the Sensibo you will be asked to add it to a room. The room name you use needs to be entered into the RTI drvier config exactly with the same case, spaces, etc.

Get an API key

To get an API key you will need to log in to Sensibo at https://home.sensibo.com/login?next=/me/api with your Sensibo account details. Once you have logged in, click in the menu button in the top left corner (Hamburger Icon) then click Create an API key.

Enter a name for the API key (eg RTI) and click ADD API KEY. Note this key as you will need for the next step.

Configuring the Driver

To configure the driver you will need an API key, the room name that you have this Sensibo located in and, for continued operation past the trial period, a valid licence.

Rate Limits and polling

Make sure to read the Rate Limits section as it affects the variables below. To try and make sure we don't hit the rate limit, we use the Queue Timing setting, detailed below. It is also important to correctly set the poll timer to suit.

Sensibo Settings

There are three settings listed under the Sensibo Settings section of the driver config, API Key, Poll Rate and Queue Timing.

API Key

The API key field needs to contain the API key you generated in the previous step.

Poll Time

The poll time is the time we take between polls for updated settings. This should be at least 2 times the value used for the Queue Timing, but ideally 5 -10 the size would be preferable for stability. The default is 300 seconds.

Queue Timing (s)

The Queue Timing value is how long the driver will wait in between sending commands to Sensibo. Due to the rate limit, if this value is too low you will very limit hit the rate limit and cause the driver to be ignored by Sensibo for several minutes. The rate limit has changed multiple times, so this setting is here to help tune the driver if you do end up getting rate limited. The default is 30s, and we have tested down to 20s at the time of writing, but you should test before finalising the value of this command.

Please refer to the Rate Limits section for details on how to test your settings

Zone Setup

Each zone requires a name that must match the name used in the Sensibo app for the device you wish to control and the name must match exactly. The number of zones will be set by default to match the number of zones you added in the initial setup step.

Add licence to driver

The driver will work without a licence for its trail period (listed on our website), automatically entering the trial phase if you don’t enter a licence key. To keep using the driver after the trial has expired you will need to purchase a licence key.

Driver Functions

The driver functions are listed below. They are zone specific, so the commands will be sent to the unit that has the name matching the one you have configured in the Driver Configuration.

Power Control