Tips and testimonials
Learn about how Faikin WiFi controllers have shaped other people's energy saving journeys.
What is Faikin?
In a few words, the Faikin module makes your AC air conditioning unit smart.
You don't have to replace a perfectly good air conditioner to access smart home technology, the solution is to simply plug in a Faikin to gain acccess to more controls of the machine.
A Faikin is a small WiFi smart controller that plugs into the inside circuit board of your indoor AC unit. When the module is plugged in, it gives wireless control without relying on an app, it does not require an internet connection, nor a connection to any questionable cloud service data centres which can be unreliable.
There are no logins, no passwords, and no personal data required.
A Faikin runs entirely on your local network and you can control your AC unit from a mobile phone, a tablet, or a desktop computer via the built-in web interface. For those who are more tech-savvy, you can optionally integrate it with platforms like Home Assistant for all kinds of automation functionality.
Control over the internet can be achieved using your own VPN.
The Faikin project began with RevK who lives in the United Kingdom. RevK is the lead designer and primary developer and he collaborates with a large and active community who contribute to the project.
In 2025, Andrew Ransom founded Faikin Australia and he remains a keen contributor toward project Faikin. Andrew designs and develops Faikin cable kits and distributes Faikout hardware and accessories across Australia and worldwide. Faikin Australia was born from searching for better alternatives to cloud-tied controllers that operate inside his wife's AirBNB property and has been supporting and supplying Faikin products since.
The Faikout can be used in a few different ways, depending on how much automation you want, and how technical you’d like to get. All options begin the same way: The Faikout connects to the control circuit board from inside the indoor unit, using the correct cable for your AC model.
⚠️ Safety first: Always turn off power at the isolator/breaker before opening the AC unit. There is mains voltage inside.
Option 1: Local control (simplest)
Use the built-in Faikin Faikout web interface.
- Connect the Faikout to your Wi-Fi during setup
- Open the web interface from any device on your home network (phone/tablet/PC)
- You can control just the basics immediatly: on/off, mode, set temperature and fan. Full control is also available.
- This is a great place to begin if your goal is local control without any cloud accounts
The steps above outline the “plug it in, set it up, and it just works” option which suits most people.
Option 2: Home automation (moderately tecchy)
Use Home Assistant if you want automations and dashboard control with minimal setup.
- Use the official Home Assistant Daikin integration
- This allows main climate controls and supports the usual automations (schedules, presence, energy-aware logic, etc.)
- Trade-off: You generally won’t get the full suite of extra sensors and switches that are available via the basic Faikout web interface or MQTT
Most automations are possible, except those which depend on extra telemetry not exposed through the integration.
Option 3: Full-feature control (MQTT and advanced automation)
Use MQTT if you want maximum visibility and control.
- This option works with Home Assistant via MQTT, or other tools like Node-RED and custom scripts
- It is compatible with other platforms that use MQTT
- It exposes more sensors and switches (depending on your unit and firmware), which enables a richer automation logic
- This is ideal for advanced use cases like energy-price response, more detailed monitoring, and more customised behaviour
Most “smart” automations are achievable using Option 2, however Option 3 is the best choice if you want to install extra sensors/switches and gain deeper control of the AC unit.
Not sure which path to take? Send us your model number and what you’re trying to achieve (simple control vs automations), and we’ll point you to your best option.
The Canberra AirBNB holiday rental
The problem:
How do we reduce the AirBNB's energy wastage? (it's costing us a fortune!)
The solution:
Climate control automation.
Toward the end of 2024, Andrew's wife Elisa opened a full-time AirBNB property in Canberra. It was hugely successful but the energy costs were enormous. Andrew decided there had to be a better way to manage guests leaving AC's switched on and wasting electricity.
This raised many questions for us about usability:
- If the guest controls the AC with the in-room remote control, how can we control it too, discreetly?
- If the guest leaves the AC running at full capacity, unattended for hours, is there anything we can do to stop that behaviour?
In 2025, we trialled the installation of a Faikout and a Shelley BLU H&T ZB temperature and humidity sensor into our Daikin AC and monitored the system via Home Assistant on our smartphones. We recorded some observations and ran tests and based on the consumption data we collected, there was approximately a 40% reduction in energy use per hour of runtime.
We programmed the Home Assistant–integrated Faikin to:
- Turn the AC on when guest arrives
- Turn the AC off when guest departs
- Set back the temperature when a room is unoccupied
Presence logic is the key to solving guest inefficiency
Here is a typical scenario:
A guest is enjoying their accommodation and they have turned the AC on... and opened the window. It's late in the day and they decide to go to the pub but upon leaving, they forget to close the window... What happens next? The cooled air escapes and the AC runs harder to compensate. Dollars fly out the window!
If time-of-use and wholesale electricity tariffs are in play, the guest effectively has access to 'unlimited power' in their room making this scenario expensive, and quickly so!
Solve this problem by automating the AC's response:
- Turn the temperature lower
- Switch the AC off
- Change to fan mode instead of AC cooling, or
- Pause for X minutes before resuming operation.
But how does Faikin know if someone has left the room and the window is wide open? The answer is by using Presence Logic and Occupancy Sensing technology.
HOST TOOL 1: Install a Faikin and an Occupancy Sensor, such as mmWave. Hosts now have control to detect if a person is in the room and can program the AC to respond by making sensible changes.
Managing peak pricing with demand control
Inevitably, the energy consumed from the AC is not top of mind for the guest while on holiday. All of our guests aim for comfort in their room rather than AC efficiency (shocking, I know!)
HOST TOOL 2: Use Demand Control, to set a limit on the maximum output of AC unit.
To understand Demand Control, we use an analogy. Imagine a car where the accelerator can’t be pushed all the way down. Similarly, the AC unit's total capacity can be limited when electricity costs too much! Therefore, limiting saves you money. Genius!
By default, many systems will run at full capacity when trying to reach the setpoint. With demand control in play via a Faikin, you can cap the maximum output (for example turning the unit's capacity down to 70% during peak tariff times, or even down to 30%).
When limited, the unit won’t cool or heat as aggressively, but it can maintain reasonable comfort while reducing energy use during the most expensive periods.
Talk to us about how we can help you get a better setup for your property.
