The SONOFF one is not UL listed. Not sure if that should be a deal breaker. And the CloudFree one is WiFi based. Not sure if zwave/zigbee is the way to go.
Any recommendations on which one should I go for? Do you have any favorites?
It depends what your needs are… I can share my own story and experience…
I used at the beggining (2 years ago) TP-Link smart plugs, but I moved away from TP-Link (very expensive if you want to install a lot of plugs) to use Sonoff Smart Plugs (S26 and R2 with 4 channels)… Since I am willing to record also the consumption of the equipments, now I started (two months ago) to use Meross Smart Plugs (model MSS310) and Shelly’s … Meross are low price and Shellys a little bit more pricy (but can be incorporated in wallbox) and are able to report power consumption… All are working via Wi-Fi… Sonoff, Shelly and Meross can be managed on the LAN (no need for the cloud but some can work with the LAN and/or the Cloud like Sonoff)…
Integration for Sonoff: Sonoff-LAN and for Meross: Meross-LAN both can be installed with HACS… For Shelly’s it is part of HA Core…
I try to use in wall receptacles anywhere I can, just for a cleaner look (imo). I like to go with either Zigbee or Zwave just to cut down on unnecessary wifi traffic impeding my streaming, etc.
So I have 4 Honeywell Z-wave receptacles. Would recommend these.
I needed more, but cant find the Honeywells anymore. I bought a Leviton one to try out. I like it, but only thing I dont like is the top receptacle is the Z wave controlled one, but on all the honeywells, the bottom is z wave controlled. I also liked how you inserted the copper wire into the honeywells more. Seemed more solid.
I think Jasco is the company who made the Honeywell. They also make them for Enbrigthen. This may very well be the same as the Honeywells I have. I simply didnt order this one at the time because it wasnt Prime shipping.
For temporary needs or instances where replacing the in-wall receptable doesnt make sense, I use Innr zigbee outlets. I have 4 of these and cant complain.
I have a Ministon Z-wave outdoor outlet. No issues here either.
How do your ZWave outdoor plugs do for a connection? I had a wall plug about 50’ away from my HA on a Rpi with Antec stick and it kept dropping the connection, found it very difficult to pair and impossible to unpair things. One of the reasons why I try to stick to Zigbee, but don’t see an ourdoor zigbee plug that isn’t crazy expensive…
When the plug is sitting on the front porch to control the christmas lights, its roughly 30ft away from my Nortek stick. But there are Z wave light switches between the stick and the outlet that may create a mesh.
In the yard, its probaby 50ft away, with no other z wave device between the stick and the outlet.
While both basic Zigbee and Zwave specs ‘say’ 100’ is the max range that’s under clear line of sight with no obstructions. (Yes new additions to the spec such as ZWave Plus and Zigbee 3 add to the range, I’m talking basic spec right now.) Both Zigbee and Zwave use different radio spectrums so your experience may vary. Zigbee rides on top of the 2.5 Ghz radio spectrum which is also used by 2Ghz WiFi - and where I live it’s saturated - making Zigbee very difficult for me.
Personally I use both and when planning I use 25’ as max range for both networks. In American balloon framing construction I find I NEVER get more than 40’ through walls and studs and things and then I just cut that in about half. Using this I’ve never had something drop without an issue in the network (rogue device beaconing, or a repeater died for some reason)
I am only using them as a temporary solution, but after a bit of frustration I was able to add 12 Sonoff S31s to HA without flashing. I did a pull-the-plug test on my internet and they still function without talking to the mother ship.
Having never used zigbee or zwave, I found this video basic, but informative:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8-VNIQQiQE
Video Summary: I think zwave would win in most applications if you are willing to pay the extra price. Zigbee sounds like there maybe a bit more incompatibility issues, but looks like the protocol is well supported and the devices are cheaper. Wifi is probably the easiest, but will be the most noisy on your network. Isolate it on it’s own wifi radio and it should be relatively painless?
I like to try different swtiches, plug-in outlests, etc. every so often just to see what works and what doesn’t. I still use my old Insteon ISY 944i controller with a bunch of Insteon wall dimmers that I have yet to replace. I’ve been trying Z-wave, WiFi, etc. I have found YoLink to be very impressive with it’s crazy (1,000+ feet?!) range, so if you have issue with connectivity, definitely give those a try. They are relatively inexpensive. I have found the build quality for some of their wall switches isn’t the greatest, but their battery operated motion sensors and water leak sensors are like magic— years of battery life for their water sensors. The LoRa chips in these things are super power efficient and have extreme range. I recommend the water leak sensors to just about everyone since they are pretty inexpensive and can totally save your home from catastrophic water damage. Just place several around your home, under sinks, next to water heaters, under your fridge. Super simple to set-up and can be added to HA fairly easily via Integration. I will be trying their wall dimmer next. EVAlogic Z-wave plug-in modules also work well for me, but nothing comes close to the range of the YoLink gear, so I’ve been slowly replacing old gear with them.
Hi,
i’m very new to HA, and was thinking on buying Innr Zigbee Smart Plugs. i have a Hue bridge for zigbee. the description page where i wanted to buy these plugs says the Hue app doesn’t support the energy consumption function of these plugs.
but is the data from these plugs available in HA? (i figure the Hue app just doenst have a ‘layout’ to present this data, but it might be available for Home Assistent anyway?
thank you,
