@ozrex,
I don't want to assume your knowledge level. However the truth is that you will probably need to put together different bits and pieces from various threads in order to come up with your own custom solution (the A/C interface (IR) part, the battery part, etc...).
Maybe it is worth it to create your own new thread, or maybe you want to keep researching / trying on your own a little longer first. The latter is admirable, and is the way I usually do it, too. Some times to a fault in my own case. Don't suffer along in silence if you are struggling to find the information, make a thread instead. If it becomes too difficult you may give up. We all need some small successes along the way to keep motivated and keep it fun.
Probably best to create a new thread (I don't want to derail this one too much) but something you might want to look into is OpenMQTTGateway. I use it for my 433mhz, but it also supports RF, BLE, LoRa (and perhaps others in future) all on the same gateway! To me that was the way to go... And so far has been flawless for me.
