I’m new to Home Assistant and have a small setup running. I have a Fibaro HC2 running since around 2011. I’m no longer happy with the possibility’s of the HC2 and therefore switching to HA. My home mostly runs on scripts, but i also have a wall mounted tablet to interact with lights, heating etc.
My question now, before continuing to build my HA setup. Is is better to have all my Z-Wave modules (around 60, mostly Fibaro) connected to my HC2 and run scripts, automation and more on the HA and via API to HC2? Or, should I disconnect all the Z-Wave devices from HC2 and reconnect them to HA directly?
Hope there are some of you who made the switch and can tell me the pro’s and con’s of having either setup. Hardware is now problem since i already own the HC2, but also a dedicated Pi4 with SSD and Z-wave USB.
Thanks,
Seyude
P.S. Don’t know were to put this question, so feel free to replace it somewere.
I believe the Fibaro integration was designed to permit people such as yourself to get comfortable with HA without immediately needing to replace your existing hub.
The zwavejs integration is very powerful, especially when using the zwavejs2mqtt control panel. Their supported device database is located here.
Z-Wave is divided into world regions and the devices & controllers need to match your world region.
If I were in your position I think I would start building some HA scripts and automation. You could them progress to moving devices to a USB stick and modify your already developed automation and scripts. This would permit you to get familiar with HA and gradually move your devices over to the new system, minimizing any household inconvenience.
According to the analytics, the fibaro integration is only used by 211 (0.3%) of HA users. The zwavejs integration is used by 8687 (10.3%) of users. You would likely get better community support using the zwavejs integration. If Fibaro decides to change their API, the fibaro integration could very possibly break with little or no advance notice. When using a USB stick, that cannot happen.
Z-Wave Device Parameters: Definitely/! See the device database. The parameters are usually defined in the manuals and listed in the Device Database entry.
I am not familiar enough with zwavejs to comment on firmware updates. As far as i know there is not a defined standard for that. If a device is working properly there would not likely be a need to upgrade firmware anyway.
Z-wave parameters are easily updated via zwave-js. Firmware cannot be. From my experience the reliability of Z-wave comes down to device support and how good your mesh is. When I moved to HA not all my z-wave devices were supported properly. Its getting netter bit I still have a Fibaro door sensor I cannot use and given the cost of these things, that is a pain.
IMO start by connecting via the Fibaro integration and see how you go. You can always move devices across one by one at a later date.
Depending on when you moved, device support in zwavejs is MUCH better than the old OZW integration. If a device is not properly supported the developers are helpful. There was one device supported incorrectly and they worked with me to get the device parameters corrected.
