I’m still getting up to speed on Z-wave controls and have what is probably a dumb newbie question. Basically: how do I use Home Assistant plus Z-Wave JS UI to set up some peer-to-peer “associations” between Z-wave devices that allow basic switch controls to work even if the Home Assistant is offline? It sounds like this is supported by the Z-wave protocol but I can’t figure out how to configure it and would appreciate any advice.
I’m trying to accomplish 2 things, specifically:
I’d like to use 3 Zooz ZEN77 switches in a 4-way configuration. Today I have 1 light and 3 wall switches, any one of which can switch the light on or off, or dim it. I’d like to replace these with three Z-wave switches that do the exact same thing… but can also be controlled remotely. However I’d like to make sure that the basic local on/off/dim functionality to work even if the Home Assistant host and Z-wave master controller are offline. In this case my understanding that one of the switches should actually function as an electrical switch and the other two will basically be remote controls that happened to have their power source hard wired. (But I’d like for them to send their messages directly to the master rather than, e.g., having the Home Assistant server “listen” for a button push on the remotes and if it detects one, then applying some sort of automation roles that trigger sending an on or off/etc. signal to the master.) I believe this involves using Z-wave “groups.” How do I set this up in Z-wave JS UI? Theseseem to be the right instructions but I don’t know how to follow them. E.g., “set parameter 15 to value zero”. (Where in the Z-Wave JS UI is the option to set numbered parameters?)
I’d like to use another Zooz ZEN77 switch to control a Zooz ZEN04 smart-plug. Again, I’d like on/off to work even if the home assistant server and Z-wave master controller are offline. I’m assuming in this case that the ZEN77 wouldn’t actually be functioning as a “switch” in the electrical sense – just basically a remote control that happens to be hardwired to power – but when it’s pressed I’d like it to send its signal directly to the smart-plug rather than needing intelligent processing by the Home Assistant server and it’s Z-wave master controller.
It sounds like “Z-wave Associations” are intended to do this exactly, but I’m trying to find instructions to actually configure things this way. Can anyone point me in the right direction?
To setup associations in Z-Wave JS UI just click the groups tab under the node settings. Then Click ADD. Setting up associations is kind of like setting up automations logic wise. With an automation you have a trigger and action. With associations your trigger is determined by the group you select.
For example any device added to group 1 will automatically turn on and off when my zen52 turns on and off. The target node is the device you want control. In my case I selected my smart plug.
Thanks so much! I think that makes a lot more sense.
Any ideas how to do some of those more specialized configurations/controls that are apparently required for ganging switches (e.g. setting parameter 15 to 0)? Is that something that I have to find a way to issue a 1-time command “set parameter” to the device? Or is it a configuration parameter that has to go into a JSON file somewhere? Is there any way to do it via Z-Wave JS UI?
In the configuration section above each setting you should see text that looks like this [2-112-0-2] LED Indicator. Here’s what each of those values mean.
2 = the node I’d number of the device in the network
112 = the command class ID number
0 = the endpoint
2 = the parameter number
FWIW, while you may be able to do this via direct association and it does have the distinct benefit of continuing to work when HASS is down. I’ve switched all off mine over to using HA automations. This is because usually I want to add conditions to the control,
if the room is already bright don’t turn the light on
turn the light off only after multiple motion sensors report the room is empty plus a 1 minute delay
when I turn off the light to the garage stairs also turn off the garage light
if I tap the up button twice do not automatically turn the lights off
@PeteRage Thanks. Good points. I agree the logic could be much more sophisticated with Automations, but I really want to avoid the situation where a family member can’t get something as basic as a light switch to work in the expected way something when I’m not available to troubleshoot.
I was hoping to take a layered approach: use Associations for basic control like “this switch turns this light on and off” and “these three switches all control the same lights” and Automations for more sophisticated things like “automatically turn this group of lights on at certain times or when certain conditions are met”. If all of Home Assistant dies, etc., I would still be left with a house with functional light switches and am no worse off than if I had kept the mechanical lightswitches… but I now have the ability to add convenient Automations if I want…
