HeatPump VS Tasmota

I think we are talking about different machinery (or maybe different levels of control). What I meant is something like https://github.com/SwiCago/HeatPump , but officially supported.

SwiCago has references for hardware to buy (I used this to get the premade pig tails)

I have four of these units. Not sure of your tech comfort level, but I didn't want to pay $200+ per unit for the Mitusbishi thermostat, so I got some ESP32s and programmed them with this library. Now they're fully controllable using my existing Hubitat setup and a driver I wrote.

Brought them all into Home Assistant using ESPHome https://github.com/SwiCago/HeatPump

Nice, I'm also using Unifi NVR. For thermostats I use ZigBee temp sensors and built ESP32 boxes to control and give the temps to air handlers using swicago -- no actual thermostats on the walls. For sound I'm using Chromecast Audio for sources and proper amps/speakers. Unfortunately for shades Lutron has the best, which means dealing with their proprietary junk. If you can get the QS processor they are phasing out, you can use telnet (called LIP) to control it. Otherwise with QSX they've made it impossible for DIY, it's undocumented and unnecessarily complex in the name of security -- security I do not need on my secure LAN. Lutron also has nice motion sensors and (Palladiom) keypads, but I don't use them for lighting, ironically. Other shades like Somfy may be good enough at a fraction of the price. For circadian lighting, if you end up going the ZigBee route and forgo full color, the adjustable white Hue bulbs are cheaper. Savings can add up if you'd doing a lot of bulbs.

If you don't want to use the cloud, you can directly interface with the minisplit: https://github.com/SwiCago/HeatPump

All of my office devices are connected to Sonoff S31 smart plugs, flashed with Tasmota on their own locked-down VLAN, and can be controlled via voice, Alexa, Tasker automation on my Android, NFC tags at my office door and various scripts triggered via my StreamDeck (on Linux). This all works fantastic, and I can turn on or off my devices, including my printer, when I start or end my day at work.

The best alternative firmware example for true IOT devices is Tasmota [1]. Erase manufacturer firmware for every ESP devices the day after purchase to avoid those careless manufacturer firmwares.

[1] https://tasmota.github.io/docs/

The ESP8266 based Sonoff S31 and ESP32 based Switchbot plugs, both flashed with either Tasmota or ESPHome, are my go-to options for US WiFi smart plugs with power monitoring.

And if you want to turn your ESP8266 into a standalone appliance, with a web interface and directly editable config that doesn't need a build step, Tasmota is another great option.

https://tasmota.github.io/docs/