Hi guys, I have in my home automation the following:
-Isy : controlling my insteon devices (lights, outdoor switches, water leak detector, auto shut off valve.
-sonos
phillips hue
My initial goal is to use more automation and better dashboard by jumping onto home assistant.
But the more I think about it, the more I see less options for insteon and isy (even if they are supported from what I can see). I am also over insteon, it doesn’t respond all the time and has some issues that I am used to live with. I am considering another system (maybe lutron) . What would you recommend that works best with home assistant?
My goal is to replace my dimmers, outdoor switches, water leak sensors and shut off valve.
Lutron is great, I really like it. It does have its own hub though which is only used to talk to its stuff. You can’t talk to its end devices directly from HA and its hub can’t talk to non-Lutron stuff since it uses its own protocol (not zigbee or zwave). And it only does lights and blinds, no sensors and shut off valve options. So you’d end up having a lutron setup where HA talks to the hub and it talks to the lights and then some other setup for the water leak stuff. Dunno if that bugs you but something to think about.
Another option you should consider is simply going pure zwave or zigbee. You don’t actually need to buy into a particular company’s ecosystem with that route. You just buy a zigbee or zwave stick, plug it into the HA device, and setup HA to be able to talk to it. Then you can buy pretty much any device you want that uses the protocol you choose for communication and have it talk directly to HA, no hubs and no vendor lock-in required.
If you choose Zwave, take a look at ZwaveJS or ZwaveJS2MQTT for setup instructions and info on what devices and zwave sticks are supported. ZwaveJS is the main option HA is investing and pushing these days for Zwave so I would definitely go that route for HA integration over other options.
If you choose Zigbee there’s a few options for HA integration. I personally use Zigbee2MQTT and really like it but you do need an MQTT broker in between. If you prefer a more native integration with HA then check out ZHA or deconz. Also note that each has their own list of zigbee usb sticks and devices they support in their respective docs.
Thank you so much for your answers.
Yes I prioritize reability over costs.
I have no problem if Lutron is using a hub and HA has to talk to it, I already have Philips hue hub and will add it to HA.
If I use Lutron hub, would that add a delay in the switch responsiveness?
I have no problem having different brands, as long as I can use it all in same scenes for my automation scenarios. I believe that’s where HA can be strong, bringing different brands together and make it talk as if it’s only 1 solution.
Zwave could also be an option, If you have to choose between Zwave and Lutron starting from scratch?
From my reading, Zigbee could be harder to integrate sometimes.
Also, would it be a viable option to still use the insteon dimmers in HA while I am slowly integrating the other brands?