HVAC Integrated Thermostat Control - Exergy HA Blueprint

Integrate your bitcoin miner into your home’s HVAC system as “Stage 1” heating, with your existing furnace as backup.

Before You Start

Miner connected to Home Assistant - Install the Canaan Avalon Home Integration first
Smart thermostat - Connected to HA (Z-Wave, Zigbee, or WiFi)
Home Assistant with HACS - See our system configuration guide if needed
Professional installation - Ducting and wiring modifications recommended

How It Works

This setup uses your miner as the primary heat source:

Stage 1 (Miner): When heating is needed, miner turns on first
Stage 2 (Furnace): If miner can’t keep up, furnace activates
Miner produces bitcoin while providing base heating
Furnace only runs when additional heat is needed

System Architecture

                    ┌─────────────────┐
                    │   Thermostat    │
                    │  (Smart/Multi)  │
                    └────────┬────────┘
                             │
         ┌───────────────────┼───────────────────┐
         │                   │                   │
         ▼                   ▼                   ▼
  ┌──────────────┐   ┌──────────────┐   ┌──────────────┐
  │  Stage 1     │   │  Stage 2     │   │  Cooling     │
  │  (Miner)     │   │  (Furnace)   │   │  (AC)        │
  │  via HA      │   │  Direct wire │   │  Direct wire │
  └──────────────┘   └──────────────┘   └──────────────┘

Automation Installation

To use the YAML automation examples in this guide:

Copy the desired YAML code from the examples below
In Home Assistant, navigate to Settings → Automations & Scenes
Click the three-dot menu (⋮) in the top right corner
Select Edit in YAML
Paste the copied YAML code at the bottom of your automations file
Adjust the entity_id values to match your specific miner entities
Click Save
The new automation(s) will appear in your automations list

Alternatively, you can create each automation through the UI and manually configure the triggers, conditions, and actions based on the examples.

Configuration

Required Inputs

Input	Description
Miner Entity	Your miner’s power switch
Thermostat Entity	Your HVAC thermostat
Stage Sensor	Entity that reports which heating stage is active

Optional Inputs

Input	Default	Description
Stage 1 Delay	30 sec	Wait time before turning on miner after Stage 1 call
Shutdown Delay	60 sec	Wait time before turning off miner after call ends

Wiring Considerations

Traditional Thermostat Wiring

Note: Our recommended thermostat is a Venstar T7900 for its ability to be controlled via local APIs without the need for Cloud interface or third party servers

Standard HVAC wiring:

W1: Stage 1 heat (becomes miner via HA)
W2: Stage 2 heat (remains wired to furnace)
Y: Cooling
G: Fan
C: Common (power)

Modification Approach

Disconnect W1 from furnace control board
W1 now only signals Home Assistant (via smart thermostat)
W2 remains connected to furnace
HA controls miner based on W1 signal

This is just an example. Please consult an HVAC professional for your specific system.

Example Configuration

automation:
  - alias: Control switch based on upstairs thermostat heating
    description: Turn switch on/off based on active heating state
    triggers:
      - entity_id: climate.thermostat
        attribute: hvac_action
        to: heating
        id: heating_started
        trigger: state
      - entity_id: climate.thermostat
        attribute: hvac_action
        from: heating
        id: heating_stopped
        trigger: state
    conditions: []
    actions:
      - choose:
          - conditions:
              - condition: trigger
                id: heating_started
            sequence:
              - action: switch.turn_on
                data: {}
                target:
                  entity_id: switch.avalon_q_power
          - conditions:
              - condition: trigger
                id: heating_stopped
            sequence:
              - action: switch.turn_off
                data: {}
                target:
                  entity_id: switch.avalon_q_power
    mode: restart