I’ve been successfully leveraging many of Third Reality’s Zigbee devices and they work great but there are a ton of other “brands” that can be had for much less. For sensors like door contacts, if there any benefit in me paying $20+ CAD for a sensor vs $6 via AliExpress for some generic Tuya device?
I’m trying to be fiscally responsible as I convert my home.
Similar question for more “complex” sensors like presence, PIR, temp and humdity…etc. Is there a benefit to using an Aqara or Meross vs others? I realize reliability may be hit or miss but for a couple cheap sensors, may not be an issue if they have to be replaced twice as often as others.
Brand sensors are generally better engineered, since they need to compete on quality instead of price.
The differences might not be obvious right away, like a cheap device not reconnecting to another node in the mesh, when its present node dies.
It can also be a higher power usage on cheap battery powered devices.
And there is usually no support at all on the cheap devices, so bugs are not fixed and new features are not added.
Yes, you also need to consider downtime to get a replacement shipped out to you once you have automations up and running and you’re used to the device as part of your daily life.
Also, apart from fiscal responsibility, there’s the environmental responsibility of trashing a non-functional device which uses the same resources as a more reliable device.
I would suggest to compromise and choose a brand which is well regarded, but not overly expensive. I have had a great experience with Aqara stuff and consider them on the higher end of the scale with prices leaning towards the middle of the scale, especially if you order from Ali.
Note that others have had issues with this brand, as can be seen by a quick search on this forum. I’m blaming it mostly on routing devices, since there are known devices which do not play well with Aqara.
Either way, I suggest you order a couple of their door/window sensors and see how well they get along in your network. Even if you run into issues, there’s plenty of hacks you can do with these if you repurpose them as something else with a more stable connection.
Zigbee devices from aliexpress ard generally oke and does work out of the box but people tend to buy the cheapest ones they can find. And then blame it on chinese crap.
Go with some middle of the road priced device and you will be very lkely on the safe side
From personal experience and testing many different Zigbee devices throughout the years…
Stay away from Tuya ZigBee devices. They are inexpensive for a reason. They are very generic designs usually made by one or two OEM manufacturers, then multiple companies slap their logos on them. The firmware is very crude/elementary with only minimal parameter controls enabled. From my experience, I have yet to see a firmware upgrade/improvement for any of the Tuya based ZigBee devices I’ve owned.
First example: I have some of those Tuya/Zigbee temp sensors that use AAA batteries, I wanted to try these since the temp sensor will be going into a freezer and alkaline batteries hold up better in that environment. Normally I use the Aqara temp/humidity sensors that run on lithium button cell batteries. I took both models, airtight sealed them, threw them into the freezer. I tracked the measurement data from both units. The problem with the Tuya model is that there are no parameter adjustments, the firmware is so crude that the temps are reported on a fixed 5-minute schedule. The Aqara models report whenever there is a significant value change (like 1 deg). Not reporting for 5 minutes is not acceptable, especially if you are trying to detect whether someone left the freezer open or you’re trying to control an HVAC system.
In the pic below you can see how the Tuya based device trails the Aqara device (which is very precise) and it never reports/sees the true peaks and valleys.
Second example: I bought one those new Tuya mmWave PIR sensors because they’re cheaper compared to the Aqara name brand sensor. Big mistake. Once again, minimal parameter support, the biggest issue is the Zigbee reporting. The device literally floods your Zigbee network with messages. And there’s no way to change the reporting cycle or tune it on the device. Had to remove it from the network.
In the end, you get what you pay for. I’d rather spend slightly more for a relaible home automation system rather than tearing my hair out trying just to save a few bucks.
@JohnBeMe coudn’t disagree with you more. I have nearly 100 zigbee devices and majority of them are tuya based, but I have also xiaomi, aquara and some others. All I have is just Chinese devices.
They are working more then fine. Temperature sensor can be calibrated if you want to.
Mmwave senosr is a bit rundamental but it can do its job very well. It is better to build it your own using esphome but I bought a few because I need stand for it and don’t have 3d printer to do it all by my self.
As I said, tuya or other Chinese brands are mostly perfectly fine for everyday usage.
Just don’t go and buy the cheapest one you can find.
All sensor have lithium batteries that can last at least one year or more depending on sensor usage.
Now if someone want to spend x2,3,4,5 or 10 more be my guest.
I want because I think that I can spend that money more wisely.
You actually didn’t disagree with me, you simply stated your own “general” experience with no specifics.
Temperature sensor can be calibrated if you want to.
I know it can, that’s what I did in my example graph I displayed, calibrated the Tuya based sensor to they highly accurate Aqara. I never stated calibration was a problem. But I did state the crude 5-minute reporting cycles are a problem in certain use-cases.
Mmwave senosr is a bit rundamental but it can do its job very well. It is better to build it your own using esphome
So you just stated the Tuya sensor was in fact crude… then admitted it was better to build your own.
I can only share my experience as I don’t have any other.
You stated that tuya devices will “literaly flood zigbee network” and that is untrue, at least in my case. If this is the case my zigbee network or at lest part of it should be unavailable on daily base. And this is not the case.
Yes if I compare it to the ones I build my self using esphome. That doesn’t mean that those sensors cant detect illuminace or have adjustable parameters for detection.
The bottom line is don’t buy the cheapest, but also don’t go with the most expensive ones you can find. Because more than often those expensive ones doesn’t give you the value for money nor the most cheap ones.
This is becoming pointless because you are not carefully reading what I wrote. I did not say “all tuya devices will flood the network”, I stated that specific mmWave sensor would.
The bottom line is don’t buy the cheapest
That’s impossible to do with Tuya Zigbee devices… because they are literally based on the same reference design and just rebranded with logos/companies. Whether someone pays $5 or $10 for a Tuya temperature sensor it doesn’t matter, the underlying design is the same.
You don’t seem to comprehend the discussion is about Tuya based Zigbee devices, not all Zigbee devices in general.
