I have used Home Assistant to link together all my legacy systems but if I was to start again what hardware/platform should I choose for longevity and ease of interfacing? It has taken me a year to get it all working together but is complicated and I would like to simplify it.
Should I go Zwave, Zigbee, Apple Home Hub, Wemo etc and standardise on one technology platform and if so which one? Or should I just be resigned to the fact that no one platform does it all and no universal standard has yet emerged?
Views?
For reference so far I have the folowing all working. Alexa x 5 and cloud, RFX433 via RFXtrx Switch, 433Hz motion sensors, Byron Home Easy switches and plugs x 12, WEMO x 2, Sonoff x 6 4CH Pro, Duel and basics, MQTT, Harmony Hub, Harmony Remote with SKY Q, Sony TV’s x 2, Apple TV x 2, Airplay Speakers x 6, Sonos x 1, presence detection, Ipad wall mount control with HA Dashboard, Itunes integration, Spotify, Raspberry Pi Zeros as sensors linked by SQL server and read by HA for temp, humidity, power consumption etc.
PS I couldn’t have done it without BRUH Automation and DrZzs videos. Thanks
Personally I don’t think there is one platform that stands out as being the best or one that is even ready prime time yet.
In my experience Zwave with home assistant feels very beta. It works (most of the time) but you will probably have to troubleshoot a fair amount of issues. I know I do.
Zigbee isn’t yet fully integrated with Home Assistant yet, I think it’s soon to be released.
I have found Wifi device to be the most stable. My Wifi lights, switches, power plugs give me far less headaches that Zwave or Zigbee. The one drawback I can’t seem to shake is the power consumption of these devices. Wifi sensors either require hard wired power or have a short battery life. If you don’t need any sensors such as door, windows, motion sensors Wifi gets my vote.
Hope this helps, again these are just my experiences. I am sure some with disagree or have very different experiences.
I’m with you on wifi over zwave. Faster and way more reliable.
This isn’t a problem if you like DIY (and you don’t mind long update intervals).
I have a bunch of ESPhome sensors using the Wemos D1 mini board where I have power available.
I use the NodeMCU-32S for remote battery powered sensors as this board has a superior sleep function. I have mailbox and gate sensors each running off a single 2200mAh Li battery and 3.5W solar panel. The battery monitor sensors never drop below 4.16v. These sensors don’t have to wake and report more than once or twice a day though. And while it is summer I have run the numbers and there should be loads of capacity available for winter.
I have kept my ZWave network simple with only switches and ‘wall warts’. Mine are rock solid. I have a couple of ZWave thermostats that work if you control them through HA, but HA doesn’t get updated state when you change on the panel itself.