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Why is r/zigbee and r/zwave so lame?

Posted on 6/27/18 at 9:23 am
Posted by CAD703X
Liberty Island
Member since Jul 2008
78161 posts
Posted on 6/27/18 at 9:23 am
Where do people go to talk about these standards. With all the devices out there using these protocols I would think there would be a little more interest.

I get it, this isn't super exciting stuff but the home automation industry is really taking off these days so i'd think there would be a little more conversation.

r/zigbee: 161 readers, 3 online
r/zwave: 1,969 readers, 14 online
Posted by mchias1
Member since Dec 2009
808 posts
Posted on 6/27/18 at 9:45 am to
what are you looking for with the devices/protocols?

everything i read on zwave (or zigbee) is at specific home automation hub websites. i've learned a bit on specific zwave devices and setting them up through home-assistant or smartthings forums.

for devices, i just troll amazon or aeon labs to see what new devices are out there.


the other problem is mostly the non-tech crowd are drawn more to wifi devices. until the companies promote the ease of installation for zwave devices (zigbee is too picky as far as interoperability), i don't see zwave getting to be mainstream.
Posted by CAD703X
Liberty Island
Member since Jul 2008
78161 posts
Posted on 6/27/18 at 9:54 am to
quote:

drawn more to wifi devices


i fricking hate this. i want to move to 100% local control and zwave allows me in theory to be completely off the grid. wifi implies API by definition and will never be part of a holistic HA solution because the only way you can control it from a 3rd party 'hub' is by allowing access to the API via interwebez.
This post was edited on 6/27/18 at 9:55 am
Posted by mchias1
Member since Dec 2009
808 posts
Posted on 6/27/18 at 10:09 am to
i 100% agree. i use zwave for almost everything i have. so far i have my LED over my kitchen cabinets controlled over my wifi via MQTT. But MQTT is controlled locally and not over the internet.

since i moved away from my Pi as my controller i lost control of my garage door. looking to add a wifi MQTT device for it. can pick up a $5 D1 mini (uses ardiuno code) to make this happen.
Posted by mctiger1985
Baton Rouge
Member since Oct 2009
3693 posts
Posted on 6/27/18 at 10:37 am to
quote:

. i want to move to 100% local control

You've heard of Hubitat I assume then?
Posted by CAD703X
Liberty Island
Member since Jul 2008
78161 posts
Posted on 6/27/18 at 11:28 am to
quote:

since i moved away from my Pi as my controller i lost control of my garage door


you can't buy those linear zwave garage openers? thats what i have for mine right now.
Posted by CAD703X
Liberty Island
Member since Jul 2008
78161 posts
Posted on 6/27/18 at 11:34 am to
quote:

You've heard of Hubitat I assume then?


these 'pop up' companies scare me. i feel like its 2 guys in a business park incubator that may not be around in a year.

not that i'm defending wink here, but when i jump i want to make sure the water is deep enough that i don't break my neck.
Posted by mchias1
Member since Dec 2009
808 posts
Posted on 6/27/18 at 11:36 am to
quote:

you can't buy those linear zwave garage openers? thats what i have for mine right now.


I could, but i already have a discrete relay to act as the button and a zwave tilt sensor on the door. $5 is better than another $40+. i just need the new device to control the relay.
Posted by TigerWise
Front Seat of an Uber
Member since Sep 2010
35113 posts
Posted on 6/27/18 at 3:00 pm to
quote:

Where do people go to talk about these standards.


They just hire somebody to make it all work. Ain’t nobody got time for that.

quote:

want to move to 100% local control and zwave allows me in theory to be completely off the grid.


So nothing in your house talks to the cloud ?
Posted by bbap
Baton Rouge, LA
Member since Feb 2006
96018 posts
Posted on 6/27/18 at 3:14 pm to
quote:

r/zigbee: 161 readers, 3 online
r/zwave: 1,969 readers, 14 online



man i hit up some pretty boring subreddits but i dont think i've ever gone to this extent, and I'm all about HA.
Posted by CAD703X
Liberty Island
Member since Jul 2008
78161 posts
Posted on 6/28/18 at 8:14 am to
quote:


So nothing in your house talks to the cloud ?


well sure it does but that doesn't lessen my desire for all local-control of smart devices. just like i moved netflix in house (aka plex), i'd like for my lights to stop asking an edge server in hong kong if its ok to dim them 10%.
Posted by TigerWise
Front Seat of an Uber
Member since Sep 2010
35113 posts
Posted on 6/28/18 at 11:30 am to
Was curious since a lot of your doodads require the internet.

quote:

like for my lights to stop asking an edge server in hong kong if its ok to dim them 10%.




My panelized lighting doesn’t do that.
Posted by CAD703X
Liberty Island
Member since Jul 2008
78161 posts
Posted on 6/28/18 at 11:42 am to
quote:


My panelized lighting doesn’t do that.

neither does zwave when using a hub that doesn't have a cloud-dependency.

quote:

Was curious since a lot of your doodads require the internet.


not when you look at what i have. i've got between 200-300 smart devices now..the VAST MAJORITY of which are zigbee and zwave.

i do have the occasional wifi device (like honeywell thermostats and alexa) but i could update those and give up alexa if i had too
This post was edited on 6/28/18 at 11:44 am
Posted by LSUdoubleE
New Orleans, LA
Member since May 2010
23 posts
Posted on 7/4/18 at 5:10 pm to
I've noticed the same thing. I just set up Home Assistant in a Docker and am jumping into home automation with Z-Wave devices first. If it goes well, I may port over my pool automation system I built.

I mostly stick to r/homeautomation, r/smarthome, and r/homeassistant.
Posted by mchias1
Member since Dec 2009
808 posts
Posted on 7/4/18 at 6:27 pm to
Did you set up home assistant or hassio? If you set up hassio I recommend checking out node red for your automations. I found it easier to create complicated automations over using the yaml files.
Posted by LSUdoubleE
New Orleans, LA
Member since May 2010
23 posts
Posted on 7/5/18 at 10:57 am to
I did the regular Home Assistant docker since I am not running it on a Raspberry Pi. I saw a demo of Node Red and it seemed cool. I may end up using that if the YAML becomes too frustrating.
Posted by mchias1
Member since Dec 2009
808 posts
Posted on 7/5/18 at 1:25 pm to
You don't have to be on a Rasperry pi to run Hassio. I have a linux vm that I installed docker and hassio.

if you decide to give hassio+node red a try i recommend using korylprince's version. it's a smaller install than notorious'.
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