@JahFyahh - I still haven't managed to et round to it. I've been really busy since this project and its still hectic here. I'm sure i read a few reviews somewhere, here or google. Not sure.
@DirkB19 Think you will get another advantage by changing as well - must be a lot easier to monitor the MQTT messages when topic clearly shows the difference.
@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.