How to select the right device for my installation?

Hardware
1

I have a new HA-installation with Z2M and SLZB-06 coordinator.
Now I want to buy some temperature/humidity sensors with display.
How to find sensors that work with my installation?

I read that most devices work directly with standard Z2M, even though the product page says it needs p.ex.a Tuya or Aqara Hub to function.

So how to choose good sensors that works with Z2M and HA?
Whats the indications to look for?
P.ex. this one ( https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006008236792.html )
Will it work without an additional Tuya Zigbee Hub or Tuya Multi-mode Gateway?

Thanks.

2
3

Pick one of the devices on this list (sorry, couldn’t filter out those without a display).

You can use them directly in Z2M without an additional Tuya hub, even if the listing says you need it.

4

“Easy”:

  1. Don’t buy anything that mentions Tuya without very careful research
  2. See (1)
  3. Be careful with Sonoff, and any older OSRAM stuff
1 Like
5

Thanks. I just waded thru the list. Would be great, if there would also be a link about where these devices are available and an approx. price, this would make research and sourcing a bit easier.

Another question about Tuya. I saw that there are many cheap Tuya devices, p.ex. in Aliexpress, but who might not work without a Tuya hub.
Now from a financial point of view, could it make sense to still get a cheap Tuya hub and then attach cheap Tuya devices to it?
Would that be feasible?

6

You could always get a known working non display sensor and setup e-ink displays where you need them that refresh on the data that is sent to them from the sensors for a more custom setup if there is nothing that fits the needs out of the box and is easy to integrate.

In the case of Tuya based devices if they state they are wifi then they are the ones that need to talk back to the cloud services to work through the tuya/smartlife app accounts when not setting up a localtuya/tuyalocal configuration or trying to reflash them to allow local only control.

If they are tuya zigbee there is a higher chance they do allow direct and localy only setup to your instance.

7

Short answer - No.

Longer answer - why would you do that? It makes no financial or practical sense and will just add complexity.
You’ll end up relying on a cloud solution instead of using the Z2M / SLZB-06 combo you already own which runs fully locally.

8

Lots of people have tried, but that’s a pointless task.

  1. What’s available in country A at price B may not be available at all in country X, or may be available but at price Y
  2. Availability and price changes all the time, are you going to dedicate a few hours a day to keep a list updated? No? Nobody else will either.

Sure, Tuya is cheap. Tuya is also a pain in the ass and you’ll probably replace at least half of what you buy. Some stuff will work, some won’t, some will half work, some will work with their cloud API but not with HA…

As I’m fond of saying: Buy cheap, buy twice. Buy Tuya, buy thrice.