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Educate me on Z-Wave
Posted on 8/4/17 at 1:29 pm
Posted on 8/4/17 at 1:29 pm
So I have a 2300sqft one story ranch style home that was built in the 70's. It has since been updated over the past few years but I am planning on implementing smart technology into the home.
I am looking at swapping out all of my light switches for z-wave switches. I have a few questions that may help me figure this out:
1. I understand zwave is a mesh network technology whereas each zwave device will try to route through the nearest zwave device to get to the controller. But should I place a repeater in the farthest parts of the home in order to strengthen the rf signals?
2. I am looking at using a wink2 hub.....should I look at other controllers or hubs such as the vera, smart things, etc. controllers or hubs? Any pros or cons of each?
3. Has anyone used OpenHab or one of the other DIY Home Automation software suites? If so, what are you take aways?
I am looking at swapping out all of my light switches for z-wave switches. I have a few questions that may help me figure this out:
1. I understand zwave is a mesh network technology whereas each zwave device will try to route through the nearest zwave device to get to the controller. But should I place a repeater in the farthest parts of the home in order to strengthen the rf signals?
2. I am looking at using a wink2 hub.....should I look at other controllers or hubs such as the vera, smart things, etc. controllers or hubs? Any pros or cons of each?
3. Has anyone used OpenHab or one of the other DIY Home Automation software suites? If so, what are you take aways?
4
Posted on 8/4/17 at 2:54 pm to lsufanintexas
Don't need a repeater. The zwave devices will work as a repeater.
I use a rapberry pi with homegenie (open source software). You'd need a zwave dongle. Recommend the zwave stick from aeon labs. I like homegenie. Simple to use interface but also allows to create code in C, python, or Java.
I use a rapberry pi with homegenie (open source software). You'd need a zwave dongle. Recommend the zwave stick from aeon labs. I like homegenie. Simple to use interface but also allows to create code in C, python, or Java.
Posted on 8/4/17 at 4:13 pm to lsufanintexas
Wink/SmartThings/Iris, etc. are essentially all-in-one HA hubs. They have all the radios built in to them to work with the most possible devices regardless their connection type. Not just Z-wave. If you go that route, you wouldn't be looking at an open source solution.
Like mchias said, you shouldn't need a repeater in a home that size. You would only need a repeater if you are CAD wanting to turn on your pool pump that is on the back side of your property.
If you get any devices that are battery powered, make sure you stock up on the battery it uses and make sure whatever hub you get can report and alert on how much charge the battery has.
Unless you know some programming languages, you may want to stay away from open source. Most will give you some basic functionality with the GUI but the more advanced things they can do are done with scripts and programs. I hear the newest version of OpenHab is more GUI based but I haven't played with it at all. I also second HomeGenie. It's has a really good, clean interface. Also, check out Domoticz. I've been using it for quite some time now and have found some really neat things it can do.
Like mchias said, you shouldn't need a repeater in a home that size. You would only need a repeater if you are CAD wanting to turn on your pool pump that is on the back side of your property.
If you get any devices that are battery powered, make sure you stock up on the battery it uses and make sure whatever hub you get can report and alert on how much charge the battery has. Unless you know some programming languages, you may want to stay away from open source. Most will give you some basic functionality with the GUI but the more advanced things they can do are done with scripts and programs. I hear the newest version of OpenHab is more GUI based but I haven't played with it at all. I also second HomeGenie. It's has a really good, clean interface. Also, check out Domoticz. I've been using it for quite some time now and have found some really neat things it can do.
Posted on 8/5/17 at 6:49 am to lsufanintexas
Lutron > Zwave for lighting
Posted on 8/7/17 at 9:52 am to lsufanintexas
So I've got my first few zwave light switch/dimmers installed this weekend and also built out a raspberry pi 3 with Home Assistant installed.
Home Assistant will take a little bit to get used too to understand how to actually make it do things that are worth while.
I haven't done electrical work in a while and I'm having fun relearning it rather than having to hire an electrician to install these simple switches.
All in all it has been fun and I look forward to starting a new hobby.
Home Assistant will take a little bit to get used too to understand how to actually make it do things that are worth while.
I haven't done electrical work in a while and I'm having fun relearning it rather than having to hire an electrician to install these simple switches.
All in all it has been fun and I look forward to starting a new hobby.
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