openhab-addons/bundles/org.openhab.binding.sbus

Sbus Binding

This binding integrates Sbus-compatible hardware with openHAB, allowing control and monitoring over UDP networks. Sbus is a protocol used for home automation that communicates via UDP broadcast messages. The binding supports various Thing types including RGB/RGBW controllers, temperature sensors, switch controllers, and multiple sensor types.

Supported Things

• udp - Sbus Bridge for UDP communication
• rgbw - RGB/RGBW Controllers for color and brightness control
• temperature-sensor - Temperature Sensors for monitoring environmental conditions
• switch - Switch Controllers for basic on/off and dimming control
• contact-sensor - Contact Sensors for monitoring open/closed states (supports both 012C and 02CA sensor types)
• motion-sensor - Motion Sensors for detecting movement
• lux-sensor - Light Level Sensors for measuring illuminance
• date - Date/Time device for reading and synchronising the device clock
• temperature - (Deprecated) Use temperature-sensor instead

Discovery

Sbus hardware communicates via UDP broadcast, but manual configuration is required to set up things in openHAB. Auto-discovery is not supported at this moment.

Binding Configuration

The binding itself does not require any special configuration.

note If openHAB is deployed in a Docker container, you must set the network_mode to host. Without this setting, messages on the host network will not reach the Docker container's internal networks.

Thing Configuration

Bridge Configuration

The Sbus Bridge has the following configuration parameters:

Name	Type	Description	Default	Required	Advanced
host	text	IP address for Sbus communication (typically broadcast).	N/A	yes	no
port	integer	UDP port number	6000	no	no
timeout	integer	Response timeout in milliseconds.	3000	no	yes

Thing Configuration

Most Thing types share the same basic configuration parameters:

Name	Type	Description	Default	Required	Advanced
subnetId	integer	Subnet ID.	1	yes	no
id	integer	Unit ID.	N/A	yes	no
refresh	integer	Refresh interval in seconds (0 = listen-only mode).	30	no	yes

Contact Sensor Additional Configuration:

The contact-sensor Thing type has an additional type parameter:

Name	Type	Description	Default	Required	Advanced
type	text	Sensor type: 012c (dry contact) or 02ca (multi-sensor).	012c	no	no

Listen-Only Mode: Setting refresh=0 enables listen-only mode where the binding only processes broadcast messages without actively polling. This is useful for sensors that automatically broadcast their status updates.

Channels

RGBW Controller Channels

Channel	Type	Read/Write	Description
color	Color	RW	HSB color picker that controls RGBW components (0-100%). Can be configured to disable the white channel.
switch	Switch	RW	On/Off control for the RGBW output with optional timer.

The color channel of RGBW controllers supports these additional parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description	Default	Required	Advanced
channelNumber	integer	The physical channel number.	N/A	yes	no
enableWhite	boolean	Controls the white component support for RGB palette.	true	no	yes

Temperature Sensor Channels

Channel	Type	Read/Write	Description
temperature	Number:Temperature	R	Current temperature reading. Can be configured to use Celsius (default) or Fahrenheit units.

Switch Controller Channels

Channel	Type	Read/Write	Description
switch	Switch	RW	Basic ON/OFF state control.
dimmer	Dimmer	RW	ON/OFF state with timer transition.
paired	Rollershutter	RW	UP/DOWN/STOP control for two paired channels (e.g., rollershutters).

Contact Sensor Channels

Channel	Type	Read/Write	Description
contact	Contact	R	Contact state (OPEN/CLOSED).

Motion Sensor Channels

Channel	Type	Read/Write	Description
motion	Switch	R	Motion detection state (ON=motion detected, OFF=no motion).

Lux Sensor Channels

Channel	Type	Read/Write	Description
lux	Number	R	Light level in LUX units.

Date/Time Device Channels

Channel	Type	Read/Write	Description
datetime	DateTime	RW	Current date and time on the device.

Note: All sensor channels require a channelNumber parameter to specify the physical channel number.

Full Example

Thing Configuration

Bridge sbus:udp:mybridge [ host="192.168.1.255", port=5000, timeout=5000 ] {
    Thing rgbw colorctrl [ id=72, refresh=30 ] {
        Channels:
            Type color-channel : color [ channelNumber=1, enableWhite=true ]   // Full RGBW control with white component
            Type switch-channel : power [ channelNumber=1 ]  // On/Off control for the RGBW output
    }
    
    Thing rgbw rgbonly [ id=73, refresh=30 ] {
        Channels:
            Type color-channel : color [ channelNumber=1, enableWhite=false ]  // RGB only, no white component
            Type switch-channel : power [ channelNumber=1 ]
    }
    
    Thing switch switch1 [ id=75, refresh=30 ] {
        Channels:
            Type switch-channel : first_switch  [ channelNumber=1 ]
            Type dimmer-channel : second_switch [ channelNumber=2 ]
            Type paired-channel : third_switch [ channelNumber=3, pairedChannelNumber=4 ]
    }
    
    Thing temperature-sensor temp1 [ id=62, refresh=30 ] {
        Channels:
            Type temperature-channel : temperature [ channelNumber=1 ]
    }
    
    Thing contact-sensor contact1 [ type="012c", id=80, refresh=30 ] {
        Channels:
            Type contact-channel : contact [ channelNumber=1 ]
    }

    
    Thing motion-sensor sensor_motion [ id=85, refresh=0 ] {
        Channels:
            Type motion-channel : motion [ channelNumber=1 ]
    }
    
    Thing lux-sensor sensor_lux [ id=85, refresh=0 ] {
        Channels:
            Type lux-channel : lux [ channelNumber=1 ]
    }
    
    Thing date datetime1 [ id=1, refresh=0 ]
}

Item Configuration

// Temperature Sensor
Number:Temperature Temp_Sensor "Temperature [%.1f °C]" { channel="sbus:temperature-sensor:mybridge:temp1:temperature" }

// Basic Switch
Switch Light_Switch "Switch" { channel="sbus:switch:mybridge:switch1:switch" }

// Paired Channel (e.g., for rollershutters)
Rollershutter Rollershutter_Switch "Rollershutter [%s]" { channel="sbus:switch:mybridge:switch1:third_switch" }

// RGBW Controller with Power Control
Group   gLight      "RGBW Light"    <light>     ["Lighting"]
Color   rgbwColor    "Color"        <colorwheel> (gLight)   ["Control", "Light"]    { channel="sbus:rgbw:mybridge:colorctrl:color" }
Switch  rgbwPower    "Power"        <switch>     (gLight)   ["Switch", "Light"]     { channel="sbus:rgbw:mybridge:colorctrl:power" }

// Contact Sensor
Contact Contact_Sensor "Contact [%s]" <contact> { channel="sbus:contact-sensor:mybridge:contact1:contact" }

// Motion Sensor
Switch Motion_Sensor "Motion [%s]" <motion> { channel="sbus:motion-sensor:mybridge:sensor_motion:motion" }

// Lux Sensor
Number Lux_Sensor "Light Level [%.0f lux]" <sun> { channel="sbus:lux-sensor:mybridge:sensor_lux:lux" }

// Date/Time Device
DateTime Device_DateTime "Device Clock [%1$tY-%1$tm-%1$td %1$tH:%1$tM:%1$tS]" <time> { channel="sbus:date:mybridge:datetime1:datetime" }

Usage Notes

9-in-1 Sensor Configuration

9-in-1 sensors are multi-function sensors that combine motion detection, light level measurement, and dry contact monitoring in a single physical unit. To configure a 9-in-1 sensor in openHAB, you need to create three separate things that all reference the same physical sensor:

1. contact-sensor (type: 02ca) - For dry contact channels
2. motion-sensor - For motion detection
3. lux-sensor - For light level sensing

All three things must use the same subnet ID and unit ID to represent the same physical sensor.

Example for a 9-in-1 sensor with ID 85:

Thing contact-sensor sensor_contact [ type="02ca", id=85, refresh=0 ] {
    Channels:
        Type contact-channel : contact1 [ channelNumber=1 ]
        Type contact-channel : contact2 [ channelNumber=2 ]
}

Thing motion-sensor sensor_motion [ id=85, refresh=0 ] {
    Channels:
        Type motion-channel : motion [ channelNumber=1 ]
}

Thing lux-sensor sensor_lux [ id=85, refresh=0 ] {
    Channels:
        Type lux-channel : lux [ channelNumber=1 ]
}

Benefits of this approach:

• Clear separation of concerns - each Thing handles one sensor type
• Flexible configuration - only create the things you need
• Follows openHAB best practices for Thing organization
• Each Thing can be configured independently

Contact Sensor Types

The contact-sensor Thing type supports two different sensor types via the type parameter:

• 012c (default): 012C dry contact sensors
• 02ca: 02CA multi-sensor dry contacts

Choose the appropriate type based on your hardware.

RGB vs. RGBW Mode

The enableWhite parameter for color channels controls whether the white component is used:

• Set to true (default): Full RGBW control with white component
• Set to false: RGB-only control with no white component

This is useful for:

• Pure RGB fixtures without a white channel
• Creating saturated colors without white dilution
• Specialized color effects where white would wash out the intended color

Color Control and On/Off Functionality

The Color item type in openHAB inherently supports both color selection and on/off functionality:

• The color picker controls hue and saturation
• The brightness component (0-100%) functions as the on/off control
  • When brightness is 0%, the light is OFF
  • When brightness is >0%, the light is ON

This is why a Color item shows both a color picker and an on/off button in the UI without requiring a separate Switch item.