Just wondering if there's anything I should watch out for, I'm not looking to bridge SmartThings. The faster I can get off this mess they made with their conversion to the new platform the better.
I already have my Ryobi garage door opener on HE.
Do I need WebCore, or is the HE rules engine powerful enough to replace that? On ST I needed WebCore because they dumbed down their automation engine so much I couldn't do the most basic of tasks easily.
Also, a lot of my switches are older Jasco/GE switches. I've read some issues about polling and slow response. Can I get some input on that? I really don't want to replace a ton of non zwave+ switches.
Lastly, my condo is about 1200sq feet. Do I need multiple HE hubs and where is the recommended placement? As centrally located as possible?
Many people find the automation apps in Hubitat, including Rule Machine, sufficient. Others like what they can do with WebCore. In the early days of Hubitat WebCore was discouraged due to performance impacts. It has since been vastly improved and, I believe, those concerns have been eliminated.
The GE/Jasco switches are sometimes hard to exclude. Also, GE/Jasco is bad about making changes within a model number. Make sure you have the exclude procedure and the hard reset procedure for those switches. If they are not Z-Wave Plus you may need a poller. Be careful with the poller as it can seriously impact the performance of the hub.
It's not size, so much as the materials used to construct, that constrains range. I would think you would be fine with one hub but that's just a guess.
I've just come over from ST after 6+ years so I share the feeling on the last 2-3 of mass market appeal.
I thoroughly checked out every aspect as I have a lot of varied things, DSC, 65 WebCore pistons, older Z-Wave switches, Life360, Chromecast, ActionTiles beta tester etc.
Everything works quite well so far except for my older Fibaro temp probe sensors.
I knew that HE doesn't care for older Z-wave switches so I am changing all to the new GE Enbrighten. I find the app pollers don't really work that well.
I removed all my Zigbee in-wall switches so ZB is only for sensors in my network now.
I have a lot of Xiaomi so these repeaters HAD TO GO and I put in 2 Ikea Tradefei repeaters which are proven to work.
WebCore has just have a whack of updates here so I just ported over my pistons. I have used the various apps for automation but I prefer WebCore as it's a solution for everything you can imagine whereas the apps have bits of this and that without exposing the massive underbelly for people who want complex rules.
I moved from Smartthings recently, take your time. Expect a good few days of tinkering to get to the same level that you once were at. When you're there you will be able to explore and automate so much more with better and more complex automations. You will love it.
It has been about 7 weeks since my conversion, so here is my fresh assesment:
Anything to watch out for: nothing really stands out, except for getting over the UI differences. Since you already have your garage door opener on HE, this should not come as any huge surprise.
Rules / webCoRE: Rule Machine seems sufficient, but I lack the patience to start yet another learning curve. Rather than spend weeks asking folks "how do you do this thing that already works well for me in webCoRE", I just enjoyed the beauty of local pistons cranking away.
Older Z-Wave: I don't have old Jasco switches, but I have piles of Vision and eVolve modules. The biggest hassles were hard-wired modules that had to be moved closer to the hub to exclude/include. The two biggest headaches in my network are both Z-Wave+ (RSM2-PLUS relay and Inovelli LZW42 bulb).
Placement: Giant asterisks for any complicating factors, one hub should be no problem.
If I can contribute anything, it would be “it’s all about the mesh”.
Seeing that you are already with ST you probably know this already.
I have an older home built in 1921 with slats and mortar except for what I have added on. The only hub C5 is located centrally and I have at least one Zigbee repeater in every room. Plus a garage 100ft from the house with indoor and outdoor lighting plus garage door stuff. I don’t have a lot of zwave stuff but 2 repeaters keep everything working. Everything works great and the rule machine is great for what I need. This forum has saved my a## many times. Don’t hesitate to ask questions. Good luck on the changeover.
Massive webcore fan. If you've got a few pistons, it's worth editing them to make use of device variables so that it's easy to transfer without needing to edit a stack of broken device references one by one. Huge help.
When you create your tile in your dashboard you make it "dashboard link" and then select the dashboard you want to link to. I think once you start playing with the dashboard app in HE, you will see what I'm talking about. The hardest part of making dashboards is moving the tiles around to get the placement right.
