Abraham's hardware findings (Europe/Poland)

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Hello,

In this topic, I will post information, about hardware (so far zigbee only), that I found, tested personally, and may recommend (or not). Each post will be specific to the type of equipment.

Comments about availability, availability of elements (required batteries not included in packages), shipment time and cost, are made with assumption of delivery to Europe/Poland.

Performed tests of devices are amateur ones, unprofessional, in home conditions, and should not be used as definitive opinion, grade, recommendation. Should be used, as information for individual intepretation.

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I was looking for good quality switches, that would handle 16A load, 10A load capable switches are easier to find, but it is not enough for me. I had electrical installation designed to handle 16A, so I did not want to limit myself to 10A, by too "weak" switches.

Let's go straight to the point, to the results of my tests/findings. Finally, I found two interesting switches:

#1: Aubess, have better coverage and range, initially it covered 4x other nearby devices, most critical for me. They (other devices, not switches) had issues with communicating directly with hub. After several hours, Aubess connected to itself even more devices than initially, up to 9x.

#2: Avatto, initially it connected more devices, (6x), but only 2x nearby, (most critical for me), next 2x was not connected, it connected some devices far-away, but not all nearby.

Both devices was connected in "quick and dirty test station", in same place, there could be some minor difference in placement (+- few centimeters), that should not affect results.

Both devices according to seller's declarations should handle 16A load. I did personally load test, by connecting to them 400W hair dryer and 1800W infrared heater (in sumary 2200W, approx 10A), and keep load by 30 minutes. After that time, cables got slightly warm (35 deg C), devices got 30-35 deg C (Aubess got hotter, 35 avg, Avatto 30 avg), both devices had approx 42 deg C on connectors.

Both are easy to pair with hubitat, both have "on" state indicator, both have button used to pair and change state manually, Avatto have "beeper", that is giving sound. Both are in general fine.

#1: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003607187952.html

  • manufacturer: _TZ3000_46t1rvdu
  • model: TS0001

#2: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005558002990.html

  • manufacturer: _TZ3000_4rbqgcuv
  • model: TS0001

both are working on driver:
Zemismart ZigBee Wall Switch Multi-Gang

#3a: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004729107536.html

  • manufacturer: _TZ3000_xkap8wtb
  • model: TS0001

#3b: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005459084252.html

  • manufacturer: _TZ3000_kqvb5akv
  • model: TS0001

Both should work on driver: Tuya Zigbee Metering Plug (tested only OEM variant, current version of driver, status per day 18.07.2023), after manual selection (correction) of device driver, and after initializing device. Observed temperatures (after 30 minutes of 2300W load) are more or less comparable to previously tested devices (+- 42 deg on connectors). Power monitoring is working. This so far first (and probably only one) mini smart-switch with power monitoring. Same device is sold by few other sellers on ali-express. OEM Aubess / "No-name" have very good coverage too (looks like almost identical or slightly better than non-metering Aubess). Possibly both devices are from same factory, they look in extremely similar way, only printed information are different.

obraz
obraz3515Ă—1890 669 KB

And... looks like, that this is OEM version of that Aubess switch, even size of plastic is matching to Aubess with power monitoring, photo here:
obraz

link to Aubess with monitoring specs bellow:

Example of (working) power monitoring bellow:
obraz

Summary:
I'm rating them,
4/5 for Avatto, (due to worse and less consistent mesh coverage),
5/5 for Aubess,
5/5 for Aubess with power monitoring (or it's OEM version).

Note: identification data are given, at the moment when I tested it. Further versions of devices could have it different, and behaves in different way.

I noticed even presence of 30A switch with power metering:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005177454284.html

or without(?) power metering:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005444910065.html

But neither I need 30A, nor it will fit my installation boxes, so I'm not planning to test them, and I saw (in other link) some negative reviews about smaller one (black, with metering) 30A switch.

Other (multiple channels, certified to handle less than 16A) bellow:
#4: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005558002990.html

  • manufacturer: __TZ3000_mtnpt6ws|
  • model: TS0002

working on driver: Zemismart ZigBee Wall Switch Multi-Gang.
Designed to handle 5A per channel.

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Flood sensor:

After looking in ali-express I found few “promising” devices, and finally selected one of them, sold under Meian name.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004662495000.html

Almost there is nothing to comment. It pairs well, it do not drops-off from zigbee mesh. It detects water immediately, and it detects that water is gone immediately, too. One minor disadvantage is fact, that this device (and iAlarm clone), that it is using CR2450 battery (not included with device, need to be bought separately), a bit harder to obtain than usually used CR2032.

  • manufacturer: _TZ3000_kyb656no
  • model: TS0207

working on driver: Tuya NEO Coolcam Zigbee Water Leak Sensor.

Note: identification data are given, at the moment when I tested it. Further versions of devices could have it different, and behaves in different way.

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How can it be a 5/5 if it has troubles connecting directly to the hubitat hub? Just saying.

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No, you interpreted my text wrongly. Both are working fine, including pairing. Both are connecting directly fine. One of them (Aubess) is working better as "router", handling better OTHER devices that have issues with connection to hub, than other one (Avatto).

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Pretty easy to buy in bulk online. And there's a huge benefit to the 2450, namely, double the capacity of the 2032 so battery changes occur half as often.

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Yes, capacity is benefit. Anyway, in my country, there is a tons of CR2032, and CR2450 is available on our major auction site (ebay equivalent), from only literally few sellers, most of the offers had very unfavorable prices (several times higher than CR2032).

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I think your reviews would be more useful if you identified your geographical location.

I say this because @dstutz and I have no trouble getting CR2450 cells in bulk at a reasonable price. So I prefer sensors that use these cells.

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Good point. I will update main/first post, about that.

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I also don't understand how a device that has issues communicating w/the HE hub would end up w/a 5/5 review. Is there a typo, and you meant to say they did not have issues communicating w/HE?

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You still do not understood, even after my explanation. Both switches are comunicating well with hub. OTHER devices (not that switches) have issues, and thanks to switches acting as "routers" / "nodes", they have better comunication in mesh network. One of the switches is performing better as "router" / "node", than the second one.

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Thanks for clarifying - your original wording was not clear. :slight_smile:

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English is not my native language. I'm doing my best, but indeed, sometimes I'm not precise enough. I will re-edit first post about switches later. Thank you for pointing that out.

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For a device connected directly into my house’s electrical wiring, the most critical question for me is whether it has been independently tested by a nationally recognized testing lab, such as UL in America (there are others in Canada and worldwide).

Most (or maybe all) devices sold on Aliexpress are not.

So that’s a 0 out of 5 in my book.

Manufacturers/sellers can claim anything they want. Particularly when they are located in a country where they will never face legal or even PR consequences from consumers in foreign markets who are injured or suffer economic losses from poorly designed or manufactured electrical devices.

Respectfully, I wouldn’t consider your testing to be very reassuring re: safe use of the device.

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I will start from the end. I did not perform scientific, professional testing, only quick and dirty test, to check is it behaving in normal way, not burning immediately, can change state under load an so on.

Someone with professional meters, if had possibilities and desire to do that is highly welcomed. I did, what I may do in my conditions.

Indeed, most of the devices from ali-express do not have UL certification, including that reviewed ones. But precisely the same devices are sold on amazon, ebay, and other places, including regular shops. So it will not make difference, there will same level of risk. At least I selected that ones, which have CE, and ROHS. Aubess have FCC to (Avatto do not have).

Of course if I will have choice, and possibility to buy UL certified device, I would prefer to select such one, within reasonable price range, but even costly like [autocensored] Fibaro z-wave devices have only some less important cerfiticates like ROHS. And Fibaro is not no-name company from china...

So, in such case, I'm trying to use common sense combined with the ability to analyze data (including reviews).

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Thanks Abraham for contributing your finds! This can be a very welcoming community with everyone sharing thoughts and ideas openly.

I recently looked into this exact idea... See my thread below... I appreciate the brotherly caution many users bring to the table however...

As I looked for a 15-16 amp devices, I found these in the Amazon store... They look like they are exactly the same as the Aubess item you found on AliExpress.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09PRHHNX4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Anyway, I ordered a few of them to play with. Half of them paired perfectly and worked as described pairing as a generic zigbee switch... The other half of my order would only pair as a "device" and had no functionality. Interestingly, although branded the same, they appeared to have different firmware on them. I suspect these devices are all made by the same manufacturer and then re-branded by many different sellers...

Anyway, just wanted to say thanks for your comments!

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You’re absolutely right, it’s important for the buyer to beware even on Amazon.

CE is, as far as I know, a self-certification by the device manufacturer. So it’s of questionable value when applied to a device made in mainland China, where there is no accountability to EU consumer protection or product liability laws.

ROHS has nothing to do with electrical safety per se, but rather limits on heavy metals contained in electronic devices. That may be important for environmental or other human health reasons, but that’s a different issue.

The FCC logo on an electronic device has nothing at all to do with safety concerns. It simply means the device won’t interfere with nearby regulated radio transmissions.

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I visited your thread, and I had one idea, then I noticed, that idea is not applicable, because you need US version of hardware.

BTW: I found another one switch 30A rated, that one is really bulky. I'm updating switch post about it.

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There are two CE marks.

There is the original - "Conformité Européenne", which is the equivalent of the UL mark in the US, and indicates a product has met European guidelines for health and safety.

Then there is the CE mark on most AliExpress products, where CE stands for "China Export", and should not be taken as an indication of product safety. Both the CE marks look very similar, so it is important to distinguish between them.

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You are right about security and mentioned logos. But if I see a suspiciously cheap device, devoid of any logos, then I'm skipping it. And some companies have their own websites, on which they are providing some certification information, so it is not always a bad situation. In general, I'm sharing your concerns, but unfortunately even some major brands, as I mentioned previously, do not have security certification, or at least they are not providing them to public.

Therefore, a responsible person should have a well-designed switchboard, with properly selected protections (fuses, protections that detect sparking in the installation and other devices), both in terms of protection types and protection values. It could bring risk of fire, or other problems, to marginal levels.

EDITed: In EU wall outlets are designed to handle/pass 16A as maximum value so, using 16A rated switches will be fine. I'm not aware about values for US or UK.