Develop Smart Heater

To develop a product on the Tuya Developer Platform, you need to define product functions, select and customize device panels, develop embedded firmware, and perform a production test.

Step 1: Define product functions

You can set functions for a product, including standard functions, custom functions, and cloud functions.

A product function is the abstraction of a feature that is provided by a smart device. You can use product functions to describe the features and parameters of smart devices. Based on the product functions, the Tuya Developer Platform generates things data models in the cloud to connect to and control the smart devices. This makes product functions and data interactions easy to understand.

Data point (DP) data type

Tuya Developer Platform allows you to define functions with six data types, including Boolean, value, enum, fault, string, and raw. For more information, see Data type.

Standard data point

DP name	Identifier	Data transfer type	DP type	Required	Remarks
Switch	switch	Report and send	bool	No	/
Target temperature	temp_set	Report and send	value	No	The value range depends on the functional design of the heater.
Actual temperature	temp_current	Report only	value	No	Report the detected temperature changes, and sync the heater display with the value on the app panel.
Working mode	mode	Report and send	enum	No	Customize the value based on the standard enumeration values.
Level	level	Report and send	enum	No	/
ECO mode	eco	Report and send	bool	No	/
Child lock	child_lock	Report and send	bool	No	/
Swing	shake	Report and send	bool	No	/
Anion	anion	Report and send	bool	No	/
Lighting	light	Report and send	bool	No	/
Countdown	countdown	Report and send	enum	No	1. After the countdown on/off is set, the remaining time of the countdown must be updated every minute (n=n-1) during execution. 2. When the remaining time of the countdown is 0, the heater executes the specified logic and reports the countdown as 0. 3. If the heater is manually turned on or off in advance, the countdown must end automatically, and report the countdown and the remaining time as 0. 4. The countdown can be configured to only shut down the device.
Remaining time of countdown	countdown_left	Report only	value	No	/
Fault warning	fault	Report only	bitmap	No	/
Working status	work_state	Report only	enum	No	/
Actual power	work_power	Report only	enum	No	/
Weekly schedule (six daily periods)	week_program_5	Report and send	raw	No	Set up six periods every day. The MCU-based development is required. It consists of 168 bytes. Note 1: Submit a service ticket or use the Tuya Developer app to contact Tuya’s project manager. Note 2: For more information, see Weekly Schedule.
Weekly schedule (mode)	week_program_6	Report and send	raw	No	Select the mode of device timing. The MCU-based development is required. It consists of 168 bytes.
Weekly schedule (custom)	week_program_7	Report and send	raw	No	Select the temperature. It can be set to a switch, mode, or mode and switch combo. This is a cloud timing feature. Note: You can choose either this feature or the timing of cloud functions.
Weekly schedule (switch)	week_program_8	Report and send	raw	No	Select the switch. The MCU-based development is required. It consists of 21 bytes.
Weekly schedule (temperature)	week_program_9	Report and send	raw	No	Select the temperature. The MCU-based development is required. It consists of 168 bytes.
Temperature unit conversion	temp_unit_convert	Report and send	enum	No	Specifies the default temperature unit.
Target temperature in °F	temp_set_f	Report and send	value	No	It is used with temperature unit conversion.
Current temperature in °F	temp_current_f	Report and send	value	No	It is used with temperature unit conversion.
Timer	Cloud functions	/	/	No	1. It can be used as a weekly schedule with up to 30 timers. After configuration, the logic will be stored on the module, and the module timing of the device will be controlled by the module clock. After successful configuration, the feature is available in case of network disconnection. 2. The timer only has a switch by default. You can add the mode and temperature. 3. It can be configured as timing in the cloud only. You can choose either this feature or the weekly schedule (custom) week_program7.

Custom function

You can add custom functions that are not supported by standard functions. For more information, see Custom Function.

Advanced function

Advanced functions support cloud timing and jumping page. For more information, see Advanced Function.

• Cloud timing: allows you to implement the schedule feature without embedded development.
• Offline notification: shows a notification on the app when the device is offline.
• Jumping page: enables navigating to another web page, such as an online store and user guide.

Step 2: Configure a panel

After the function definition step, you can configure a favorite app control panel for the product. A panel is a GUI-based program that runs on top of a mobile app to control smart products. For more information about panel configurations and development tutorials, see Design App UI and Panel Development.

Step 3: Design hardware

Hardware development consists of hardware design and embedded development. The MCU SDK is often used to develop a heater product.

Hardware design reference

Generic design

No.	Design type
1	Hardware Design Reference

Module selection

No.	Protocol type	Supported module	Hardware design reference
1	Wi-Fi and Bluetooth combo	WBR3 recommended	WBR3 Module
2	Bluetooth Low Energy (LE)	BT7L recommended	BT7L Module
3	Zigbee	TYZS7 recommended	TYZS7 Module
4	LTE	LZ201-CN recommended	LZ2x1 Series Hardware Design Guidelines

Step 4: Perform embedded programming

Embedded programming is classified into MCU low-code development and TuyaOS development. In this step, you must implement device integration and business programming.

MCU SDK

As one of the most popular methods, the MCU integration solution enables products with built-in microcontrollers to connect to the cloud and become connected. Tuya provides one-stop IoT development services including the three essentials for typical IoT products, namely network modules, mobile apps, and cloud services. With Tuya’s MCU SDK, all-in-one mobile apps, and control panels, you can focus on application development simply, connect your product to the Tuya Developer Platform easily, and benefit from the cloud services quickly.

For more information, see MCU Low-Code Development.

Smart heaters can be developed based on multiple protocols, including Zigbee, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth combo, and Bluetooth mesh. For more information, see:

• Wi-Fi Common Solution
• Bluetooth Common Solution
• Bluetooth Mesh Common Solution
• Zigbee Common Solution

TuyaOS

Built on top of the RTOS, Linux, and Non-OS, TuyaOS is a distributed and platform-agnostic IoT operating system.

With a standard kernel at the core, TuyaOS is designed to tackle the heterogeneity of platforms, systems, and protocols in order to enable quick and reliable integration, interconnection, and interoperability.

The tiered and plug-and-play architecture design allows you to quickly tailor a solution based on your hardware resources hence reducing the cost of development with high cost performance. The efficient remote procedure call (RPC) mechanism and proprietary data point (DP) protocols make communication across protocols possible and easy.

Specifically, the following types of devices can be connected:

• Wi-Fi SDK Development
• Bluetooth SDK Development
• Bluetooth Mesh Chip SDK
• Zigbee SDK Development

Step 5: Configure the product

In this step, the following settings are involved: firmware updates, voice capabilities, multilingual settings, device notifications, device pairing, smart scenes, quick toggle settings, product knowledge, and product manuals. Based on these settings, global cloud services are employed to promote a personalized user experience. You can update these settings and make them effective immediately without the need to deliver the devices again.

Particularly, multilingual settings, device pairing, voice capabilities, and smart scenes require precision and localized management based on the target user locations and the specific pairing methods and device features.

For more information, see:

• Update Firmware

• Use Voice Platform

• Configure Multilingual UI

• Configure Push Notification

• Configure Pairing Information

• Configure Scene Linkage

• Enable Toggle

• Use the Knowledge Base Management Tool

• Product Manual Management

Step 6: Flash firmware and authorize chip

Flash the device with the firmware and Tuya’s license to connect the device to the cloud. Tuya provides a variety of flashing and authorization methods for you to choose from according to different development stages.

• Wi-Fi devices
• Bluetooth devices
• Zigbee devices

Step 7: Test the product

Before your product can be released on the Tuya Developer Platform, you must submit a product test report. To test the product, you can download and run use cases, use Tuya’s Cloud Test app, or subscribe to Tuya Test Service.

Download and run use cases

For certain product categories, you can download use cases from the Tuya Test Service page, run the use cases, and then submit test reports.

Cloud Test app

Tuya’s Cloud Test app is provided with multiple test modes for you to accelerate troubleshooting based on functional modules. This enables all-in-one tests for the device status and interaction link.

For more information, see Cloud Test App.

Tuya Test Service

For more information, see Tuya Test Service.

Step 8: Release the product

In this step, you can release your product.

Next steps

Pass product certifications

A product must pass certain certifications before it is permitted to be sold. By virtue of its rich experience in the implementation of smart product solutions, Tuya provides multiple hardware product certification support services. You can select the required service based on your product type and certification requirements. For more information, see Product Certificate.