Part 2: Add Telegram Integration to Your Node-RED IoT Dashboard

Welcome back! In Part 1 , we built a real-time dashboard that displayed live temperature and pressure data from a BMP180 sensor using Arduino and Node-RED.

In this Part 2 tutorial, we’ll take it up a notch by integrating Telegram with your dashboard. After this, you’ll be able to send your bot a simple message like status, and it will reply instantly with the latest readings. It’s a lightweight, secure, and mobile-friendly way to access your sensor data anytime, anywhere.

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What You’ll Add

A Telegram bot that responds to live commands
Command: status returns temperature and pressure
Secure mobile integration with your Node-RED flow

Step 1: Create a Telegram Bot

Open Telegram and search for BotFather in the search bar
Send the command /newbot
Choose a name and username (must end in bot)
You’ll get a token like:
```
123456789:AAH...YourBotTokenHere
```
Save this — it connects Node-RED to your bot
Click the link to your bot and press Start

Step 2: Install Telegram Nodes in Node-RED

Go to Node-RED → ☰ menu → Manage palette
Click the Install tab
Search for: node-red-contrib-telegrambot
Click Install

Step 3: Update Your Flow

Here is an updated flow from part 1.

Drag in these nodes:
- telegram receiver
- 2 function nodes (label them as you like)
- telegram sender

Paste this code into the function node between the sender and the receiver:

let cmd = msg.payload.content.toLowerCase();

if (cmd === "status") {
    let temp = flow.get("latestTemp") || "N/A";
    let pressure = flow.get("latestPressure") || "N/A";

    msg.payload = {
        chatId: msg.payload.chatId,
        type: "message",
        content: `🌡️ Temp: ${temp} °C\n🌬️ Pressure: ${pressure} hPa`
    };
    return msg;
}

return null;

Make sure earlier in your flow, you're storing the latest values. You can attach the other function node after the JSON node to store the values with the following function:
```
flow.set("latestTemp", msg.payload.temp);
flow.set("latestPressure", msg.payload.pressure);
return msg;
```

Step 4: Test It

Deploy the new Node-RED application by clicking Deploy.
Open your bot in Telegram
Send: status

You should get:

🌡️ Temp: 25.3 °C
🌬️ Pressure: 1012.9 hPa

Why This Matters

This gives you real-time monitoring from your phone — no VPN, no cloud needed. You can also expand this with commands like set alert, turn on light, or log values over time.

Whether you’re doing smart agriculture, home automation, or industrial monitoring, Telegram bots + Node-RED is a powerful combo.