Hi
I have around 40 odd Xiaomi zigbee devices split over 2 gateways (2 separate Zigbee networks).
I have 4 Xiaomi Zigbee sockets (these act as routers 2 on each zigbee gateway) and these are placed strategically around the house to assist the very far reach sensors.
The gateways have been restricted in reaching the internet and i use the built in device pairing service of HA to add any additional devices.
My setup is very stable and the battery life of the sensors so far is around 10 months and going strong.
I have tried the Zigbee2MQTT project but found the range of the CC2531 even with 4 additional CC2531 setup to act as routers very limited and would not cover anywhere near area of my house the 2 gateways could, the software itself works brilliantly and the project team very forthcoming with assistance.
The biggest issue with Zigbee is it overlapping frequency with WIfi which can cause interference but there are some posts on here about how to minimise this.
I did the opposite I replaced the wireless switches with wired. A couple of HA failures with wireless switches in the living room did not help the WAF . To make matters worse while jabbing the failed switch multiple times , and explaining to me in anglo-saxon that nothing in the house was working , the switch started working again, turning the tradfri lights on and off multiple times and resetting them !!
Which switches did you use sorry?
I’m looking into fitting a sonoff (tasmota) into the ceiling pendants for my fixtures with multiple lights in (cheaper!) but was looking for a good option for controlling them.
Do you have a photo of your install?
I’m still playing with the idea of RF or Xiaomi, if I can fix my whole switch debacle by going Xiaomi then I am all for it!
Also it seems Xiaomi is the better option for temp/humidity…
How long is delivery to the UK from sites like Gearbest/Ali?
I’ve seen people commenting that it takes a month or two but those people seem to be based in the USA, was wondering what it was like for us in the UK?
IN the UK you will need the no neutral version of switches as you will have no neutral wire in wall socket (normally) . These come in single and double switches . Check carefully before ordering as they also have switches with neutral wire as well.
Delivery is a lottery. I have had a number of orders with Gearbest some have taken 2 weeks other 2 months. I tried to speed up delivery and used a known carrier . Delivery was quicker but they charged me VAT on delivery.
Xiaomi switches only support on and off. no dimming. Combining smart switches and smart bulbs is difficult as when you remove power with the switch the smart bulbs are off so they lose connection with the hub or wifi.
One option is to replace the wired switch and bypass the switch making a permanent on . Use the wireless switch as blanking plate and control the smart bulbs directly from HA . See above not a fan of this solution as it will fail, also leaving the circuit permanently on feels unsafe. Also there is a tiny lag when pressing the switch , a bit like when lip sync is slightly out on Netflix , you notice its not physical.
I use smart switches with smart bulbs , if HA or in my case the Xiaomi hub or Tradfri hub fail , the switch is still physical and will turn power off and on regardless the state of any home automation . The bulbs will turn off and on
The problem is when the power is turned off and on on smart bulbs they will not react to any commands from HA until they re-sync . This is a real issue , I have sensors which determine if the light bulbs are in sync and will delay commends to change the state of the lights until they are ready. see
@Coedy
I use both the ones @lonebaggie listed for the wireless one i have drilled out 2 holes on the back plate so it fits the standard 1 gang UK switch to cover the original wires so my smart bulbs stay on all the time and not be accidently switched off
However… if your only after on/off control with sonoff’s why not just wire your existing light switch up to GPIO 14? i’ve done that with a couple and it works really well.
For delivery what @lonebaggiesaid. I’ve only ever had one item not turn up though Ali Express and got a full refund with no issue.
Thanks for the links, I’m having a read through this link as a possible way of having my Tradfri’s play nice with my Nursery “Eyesaver” automation (if after 7pm and before 8am when I turn the light on at the switch = lowest brightness and warm white)
Because at the moment it can take 10+ seconds to change to the new state (sometimes never) after I turn the light on.
I always though it was just the Tradfris being lazy, It looks to be that I didn’t take into account the fact it needs to resync after having the power turned back on at the switch!
That makes sense! Would be great for the nursery and other rooms where I have smart bulbs fitted. I’d just need to hope that home assistant doesnt crash (again…) as currently I always have the option of flicking the dumb switch on and off to force the bulb on. If I blank it off with the wireless switch I loose that option…
Yeah I got my wires crossed. That was my actual plan for my dumb bulbs fixtures, I got excited and threw them into the equation for the whole wireless switch thing…
Good to know that while delivery is hit and miss time wise it’s a manageable delay
The Sonoff firing off GPIO14 thing, would you trust this in a bathroom?
I thought it would be a good idea seeing as your then taking live mains voltage out of the picture for damp/wet hands on a lightswitch but I am concerned about the sonoff and humidity levels in the roof void above a bathroom…
The Tradfri lights will remember the last setting they were on before power was cut. So you will need to activate your automation when the bulb is discovered “on” by HA with your preferred light settings when power is restored. That way they will always work consistently
Edit: just remembered ordered a couple of xiaomi door sensors from ebay about £10 pounds each , delivery from UK ? for next week ? more expensive will let you know if arrive OK
I have my automations (through the editor, not via Yaml) set as a state change from ‘unavailable’ to ‘on’ OR from ‘off’ to ‘on’ and I get that delay.
So if I take off the “from” part and just have it watch for the “on” command that should speed things up slightly I’m guessing?
I am using various Xiaomi sensors in my flat (Xiaomi Buttons, Motion sensors, Door/Window sensors, temperature sensors). It’s been 1 year already that I haven’t changed any batteries.
I don’t think you can speed up the delay. You need to work with the bulbs . I would suggest you default the bulbs to the “eyesaver” settings when ever the bulbs are turned on. Have another automation that gradually fades up the bulbs brightness if they are outside the eyesaver time limits and fades down when they are in . That way most of the time when you switch the bulbs on, they will be in right settings and the delay to react to the brightness is masked by the fade up and down. Need to be careful you have a method you can override the automations with the dimmer switch when you need to find the toy that been thrown out of the cot
The Sonoff firing off GPIO14 thing, would you trust this in a bathroom?
I thought it would be a good idea seeing as your then taking live mains voltage out of the picture for damp/wet hands on a lightswitch but I am concerned about the sonoff and humidity levels in the roof void above a bathroom…
I have one in my bathroom because its on a pulley switch. I managed to fit the Sonoff inside the ceiling rose without the its case and cut the button on it down. Its a bathroom light fitting so i guess IP44? its been there for 6-7 months now with no issues.
So if I take off the “from” part and just have it watch for the “on” command that should speed things up slightly I’m guessing?
I had the same issue using yeelights and doubt it will make any difference. Your waiting for the bulb to boot and connect to the gateway. This is why I personally focused on optimising my HA install so i could replace physical switches with remote switches so the bulb can stay on all the time completely removing the delays. Oh and also carefully thinking about which lights I could live without if HA did fail
I’m currently using a Hue Bridge for lights and an Aotec Zwave stick for zwave devices. I decided early on I would like to keep as few devices as possible on actual wifi. However this route is a bit expensive. I’ve been using UL listed zwave in wall outlets and switches. Electricity makes me nervous, not sure how important the UL listing is, but it makes me feel better. I see people put Sonoff devices in the wall and I don’t want to do that.
I’ve messed with Sonoff but again, so many devices on wifi. I’ve seen Xiaomi devices but never paid much attention. I’m starting to see the appeal. I wouldn’t mind using them for all battery powered devices since I want a bunch of door/window sensors and flood sensors.
I may have missed something, so I want to make sure I have it right. I would need a gateway, the sensors, and possibly a couple of wall plugs to act as routers for devices that are further away. Xiaomi also reports battery which is a big deal for me. I looked at the zigbee2mqtt guide but looks to require a bunch of extra hardware to get it working. I only have a single free USB port on my rpi left. I may prefer to go the gateway route. I may have missed it, but what gateway is everyone using?
