Newbie Getting Started with Zigbee Automation

Configuration Zigbee
1

Hi, I am completely new to home automation.
What i did recently was to order zigbee motion sensor and zigbee socket plug alonsige a standard zigbee gateway from china. Used smart life app to set a scene and it works.

Now the challenge i see, the scenes that you create are not that powerful.
As i can code myself pretty well (python, C, C++), so i would like to start learning in this area.

What i wanted to ask here, is there some sort of Zigbee receiver that i can plug into a raspberry pie or my online server in home, that is running some sort of Zigbee SDK that i can program myself.

So i code my own logic when to trigger the light or when to switch it off based on input from other zigbee devices/sensors. Can Home Assistant setup support here?

If so, what is the best way to start? What hardware setup i need to order before i can start doing this. Appreciate your support.

Thanks,

2

http://www.zigbee2mqtt.io
for dongles:
https://www.zigbee2mqtt.io/guide/adapters/

3

Ah thanks a ton for the spot on answer.

4

One related question here. If i use the Zigbee LAN Adaptor shown on the link you shared, that means i can have many reveivers (connected to my ehternet) that i can all connected to RasberryPI for better reception? As i have ehternet sockets in each room so i can setup 2-3 zigbee receivers all conencted to same Zigbee2Mqtt server. Correct?

5

A Zigbee network consists of a coordinator and Zigbee devices (lights/switches/sensors/…)
A zigbee devices can only be connected to one coordinator (dongle/gateway/bridge)
But if you flash them with router software, yes (although it is useless to buy ethernet connected devices for that)

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6

There is also HA’s native zigbee integration “Zigbee Home Automation” or “ZHA.”

I run both ZHA and Zigbee2MQTT. They each have pros and cons. Like @francisp I prefer z2m (reasons listed here).

I would encourage you to get two coordinators and experiment with both side by side. Once decided, the second coordinator can be re-flashed with router software and added to your zigbee mesh.

You sound like you might be interested in some lower level tinkering, so be sure to look at the ZHA Toolkit addon while evaluating ZHA.

For z2m, I strongly recommend a TI cc2652p based coordinator.

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