I plan on building a metal barn about 40’ from my house that’ll need the usual smarts… Locks, lights, etc… I currently have 34 Z-wave and 16 Zigbee devices in my house.
Am I understanding correctly that to do thread/matter in the barn would require basically building another whole network from my HA hub to the barn via a new USB dongle? It can’t connect to my HA via Wi-Fi or current Zigbee somehow?
If this is the case, I guess I’m better off staying far away from this new fun sounding tech and sticking with Z-wave… as I think I can get this to reach…
Just making sure I’m not missing something here before I start investing in more tech… My brain wants to go Thread/matter but I’m starting to think it just doesn’t make sense to. Thanks
If you move to Thread as a communication layer then it is not surprising that the Zigbee and Z-wave mesh networks, which are also separate networks, do not help. But also, a metal barn might very well work like a cage of faraday and make it hard for any wireless technology to get trough.
Thread may be of advantage to you here. Because what you say is not completely true. You do not need an USB dongle. Thread border routers, unlike zwave and zigbee, can be used to extend the thread network over ethernet or wifi. (Zigbee can have an ethernet coordinator, but each coordinator is a separate network. Two or more ethernet or wifi capable Thread border routers can be part of the same network). So any thread border router with a network connection can act as a way to connect thread devices to it.
More and more thread border router capable devices emerge. A Google Nest or Streamer, an openthread esp device, a homepod, … Prices vary based on capabilities, but also relatively cheap border routers exist. You might already own a few you don’t realize.
A possible downside though that Tread and Matter are a relatively new technology. Their capabilities may be less than expected compared to zigbee or z-wave and devices are generally more expensive, at least than their zigbee counterparts.
Interesting… So a boarder router can reach my HA NUC by only being connected to the Wi-Fi network? No USB dongle to my HA NUC required? Now you have me second guessing what I do…
Yes. you just need to join its network. I started out using two Google Nest Hubs gen 2 that I already had, … and one whopping smart lock connected to it. I’m just starting and figuring out if I want more…
If I can find a good matter deadbolt I will reconsider my decision… I already know I need Inovelli switches because they can handle 300A loads… Really that’s all I need out there right now besides maybe a smart plug… Thanks! I started with smartthings but after going through the learning curve of HA it really is quite incredible.
Have you considered running Ethernet or fiber cable to the barn? I did this for my backyard garage a couple years ago and it allowed me to put some more networking gear for WiFi, computer backups, the security cameras, and a file server that would’ve challenged my WiFi (due to local interference). NOTE: I also ran electrical to my garage in one of the three conduits.
And a powered 800 series device that acts a z-wave extender.
Barn is done and I tested one z-wave device for starters and it actually worked through a steel building so I bought the rest… They seemed a little shaky at first but seem to have stabilized… I do have a 41 device z-wave network so fairly large which probably helps… Hopefully they stay stable so I don’t have to switch hardware…
I did not know such a thing existed, but it is nice to know these exist if I ever end up having an issue. I’m far enough I’m not certain things will stay stable yet… Thanks!
