A few months of research (currently zero home automation) and I’m ready to buy. However I wouldn’t want to be “that guy” that gets a smart plug and then say “this stupid thing doesn’t work” not realizing I’m missing other hardware equipment to make it work!
The plan is to start with “1” smart thing then expand to dozens or hundreds? I know home assistant isn’t “required” but from all research it appears the way to go long term.
Please confirm hardware required for 1st device:
Home Assistant (most likely Home Assistant Green Hub) as the “Home Automation Brain”.
Probably lean z-wave initally and adjust in future as needed. So in that case a z-wave…“hub”, “device”, “thing”??? not sure the name but I have heard this one a few times (Zooz 800 Series Z-Wave Long Range S2 USB Stick ZST39 LR). Is this compatible?
So plug in Home Assistant Green using CAT 5 network cable into my router and the Z-wave USB thing into back of Home Assistant and…it then it should “see” the plug? yes/no? Probably lots of trial and error but at least from a hardware standpoint am I missing anything?
I think it is an extension cable the is thought of here.
USB3 ports are known to cause interference with the radio sticks, so the general advice is to move them away from the USB3 ports with a 30-50cm USB extension cable.
There are three main protocols in home automation. WiFi, Zigbee and Z-wave. As you travel down this rabbit hole you will inevitably have devices on all three.
That said- you NEVER have to buy the manufacturer’s “controller” or “hub” regardless of what it says on the product box.
Zooz calls it a “stick”, but the official term is “Z-Wave USB adapter”. Or “dongle” among friends. The Zooz 800 series is a good one. Z-wave is a good start.
Yes, the high data rate of USB3 generates harmonics in the 2.4GHz band, but Z-Wave operates in the 900MHz band, so this is not really an issue here. (Separation from the host computer to a Zigbee controller is recommended).
Almost any Series 700 or 800 Z-Wave device will work with the Zooz Series 800 stick. But the switch you linked to seems expensive to me. My preferred protocol for smart switches is Zigbee and the Zigbee Switches I buy from Amazon only cost $10 each. (But you will need a Zigbee dongle).
You will need to pair the Z-Wave device with the stick (dongle).
Home Assistant Green is not a hub. It is the host computer with Home Assistant installed. Power users here will use a MicroPC like the Intel NUC ($100 used on eBay) because it can easily be expanded with more RAM and SSD storage.
And, while we’re on recommendations- unless you absolutely, positively cannot live without color control, don’t buy smart lights. Except for color there is nothing that a smart switch with a cheap, dumb bulb can’t do.
When I was where you are, I bought a USB stick which supports both Z-Wave and Zigbee. At the time it was sort of a coin flip which I’d try first. Zigbee won, mostly because the hardware was cheaper. In the 5+ years since, I’ve never had a reason to go back and give Z-Wave a try. Technically, I’m sure it works great. But why pay more? I think the best argument in favor of Z-Wave is that it doesn’t share the 2.4GHz band with WiFi, so less chance of interference if you’re in an apartment building or town house.
Here’s the thing to know about Zigbee: Most mains-powered devices (like smart plugs) also act as repeaters, and the devices will self-organize into a reliable mesh network. If you find one area doesn’t get a good signal, pop in a smart plug half-way between there and an area which does.
And the thing to know about WiFi: Most devices require you to use the vendor’s “cloud.” Part of HA’s philosophy is local control, which you give up when everything is funneled through some remote third-party servers. Then there’s the whole privacy thing, not to mention reliability and the risk of the vendor going out of business or starting to charge a subscription fee.
All Excellent infomation! I didn’t know about the space recommended between z-wave USB stick and the home assistant box. Any good recommendations? I’m in U.S.
I’d recommend a mini “NUC” computer with N100 or better cpu. I’ve seen them for under $120 with 8gb ram.
Zooz stick, connected via a usb extension cable, should work fine. I’d also recommend the Zooz ZEN04 plug since they’re both good quality and discounted through the end of the day for Zooz’s Spring Sale.
One thing to keep in mind is that the plug you linked doesn’t have any power/current/energy monitoring functionality.
This is fine for just switching lights, fans, etc. on and off, but at one point in time you’ll want to monitor not just on and off states, I promise - I’ve been there myself
One thought: Skip the Z-Tech and don’t invest in any hub/stick stuff just yet
Use what you have now! You probably have alrrady a WiFi router/AP so just go the easiest way and get yourself a device/plug running ESPHome
For example something from www.athom.tech
Then, after your first steps see how it fits (complete ownership and full local control included ) - maybe you find out that you don’t even need to build a new infrastructure from ground but can use what you already have
I have three in my house right now. Using the Zooz Z-wave dimmer smartswitch and $2 bulbs from Amazon.
Not necessary for Z-wave. Not a bad idea because the USB connector on the host computer is somewhat fragile, but not necessary. (Zigbee, on the other hand…)
Agreed that ESPHome is the way to go if you’re going WiFi for end devices. Off-the-shelf devices pre-loaded with ESPHome have only (relatively) recently become available, and they’d be a good option. You might want to check the price compared to Zigbee stuff.
The other thing most of us like to do is keep the IoT stuff segregated from the rest of the LAN, or at least assign static IP addresses for them. So there’s some network administration overhead there. Plus there are limits to the number of devices some home routers support. Not a big deal, just more balls in the air. Zigbee devices create their own isolated, mesh network automatically.
More than a dumb switch and smart bulbs. Unless the switch is controlling a room full of can downlights.
Another advantage to the smart wall switch and dumb lights is that the bulbs don’t have to be powered all the time, and the wall switch works just like any light switch. It’s Grandma-proof.
I am not saying the solution with a smart switch is a bad one. It might be the best one for the situation.
Just that there are pros and cons for the different solutions.
My advise, since you are starting from zero: Just stay away from all Tuya WiFi based devices (Tuya Zigbee based devices are OK though). Else you will not be totally cloud-free and always be dependent on the good-will of Tuya (i.e. you will have to beg them to extend your trial-period every six month within your Tuya developer account. Otherwise those WiFi devices will eventually cease to work, no matter whether you have switched to Tuya Local or one of its forks).
) - maybe you find out that you don’t even need to build a new infrastructure from ground but can use what you already have 