Decided to start with Hubitat, instead of ST. First up is to control outside carriage lights, to come on at sunset and go off at sunrise (just on/off). Thinking z-wave. Can anyone suggest lowest cost quality switches?
Hub will be in upstairs hall closet with router and modem. Router is MuMIMO, 4 hardware ports available, VLAN capable. Will put Hubitat on it’s own VLAN.
What country are you in? Many devices are only available in certain regions.
Welcome to Hubitat! Consider your mesh first. It's best to start close to your hub and work away. If you put a switch way across the house, it may not be reliable without something in between. Although there are certain things you want to automate first, don't sell yourself short by putting too much distance from your hub right away.
that being said, I use z-wave switches in everything. I started out zwave mostly so it just turned out that way. zigbee can be just as reliable, but be careful of the problem devices documented here. A simple search for something you're considering will give you great insight.
Atlanta, GA...U.S.A.
There is a need for two switches; one pair of lights is on porch, the other pair brackets the garage doors. They are on the main floor. The hub will be in the hall closet in the center of the house, one floor up. Stick built house. If it were direct line of sight, one switch would be about 20 feet away and the other maybe 30. It has been a number of years since I installed the timers; but, I am very confident that the have neutral lines. Neither are on 3 way circuits.
If you’re looking for Z-wave, there are three main companies, IMHO... GE/Jasco, Inovelli, and Zooz. Just be sure to buy their latest Z-Wave Plus product lines (not the earlier Z-Wave not plus stuff.)
I personally have pulled out all of my Z-wave switches and dimmers and have installed a complete Lutron Caseta system that handles all of my switches, dimmers, fan controllers, and Pico remotes. This solution does require the Lutron Caseta SmartBridge Pro2 hub to integrate with Hubitat. Only the Pro edition supports the Telnet interface that Hubitat uses for local connectivity over you LAN to the SmartBridge Pro.
The Lutron solution is really nice and “just works”, all the time, every time. Caseta also has native integration with Hubitat, SmartThings, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Logitech Harmony Hub, Apple HomeKit, etc... So, once the system is set up, you can integrate it with whatever system(s) you see fit without having to ever worry about un-pairing devices and re-pairing them with a new system.
Something to consider...
Thank you. You confirmed what I was thinking about GE and Inovelli. What do you think about Honeywell?
I’m starting slow and low cost, as we are still evaluating the pros and cons of automation. Drivers are the bothersome timers on outdoor lights, need to monitor water leaks (water heater, laundry room), and (it’s funny) it will make for easier answers when my family asks what I want for Christmas or birthdays.
They're OEMed by Jasco (same as GE).
I've been watching the Inovelli line. They have a non neutral version out. You have to buy an additional piece to balance the load if you don't have a neutral, but it's zwave. I use the GE/Jasco switches, but mine are two years old. I'll leave them for now because they don't cause issue. If you do have communication issues, consider purchasing a z-wave plus or zigbee (depending on your mesh) wall plug until your mesh gets more stable. In the end, you'll find something worth doing with the plug once you don't need it. I automated my garage door with mine. Always something that can be done.
Good to know!
Yes, I am keeping in mind ways to strengthen the mesh, if necessary. Something fun and interesting to help build interest in adding more bells and whistles.
Don't rule Zooz out. I have a few of their switches and they work well with Hubitat.
Also want to point out that Zooz and iNovelli have representatives who are active on the Hubitat community. AFAIK, GE/Jasco/Honeywell do not.
Tagging @agnes.zooz @anon89238910
Well, that adds more value to Zooz and iNovelli!
I know, right! I love finding new things. My husband wasn't on board with automation at first. His directive was "I'm NOT going to do a dance for a light to turn on and I'm NOT going to ask a dot to turn it on for me." I've strived to adhere to this edict. Our house seemingly interacts with us on just about every use case. Even going to bed relies on normal activities. He love it now. Keeping the HAF at top notch is very important!
That is what I am hoping for. Sunrise/sunset on outdoor lights has gotten lukewarm response. Water leak sensor appears to have improved outlook. I just have to get things going seamlessly and on budget. My son in law has been adding automation & my daughter loves it!
If you want some very reliable devices to help build out a strong Zigbee mesh, at low cost, you may want to consider the following Iris v2 devices which work great with Hubitat...
If I can offer any words of encouragement, I'd say this: Sit down and consider how you interact with your house. Motion and contact sensors are key in this for me. Search for iris in the forum. There are some sellers on ebay with very reasonably priced lots recommended here. Once you start paying attention to your habits, you can plan your integrations accordingly. My outside lights turn on 1 hour before sunset and turn off when we go to bed and back on if we rise before sunrise and off one hour after sunrise. I use rule machine for most of my time sensitive automations. I like to add restrictions that simple lighting doesn't always include. A rule of thumb is not to over complicate it. KISS is a great method in your rules. Don't use a sledgehammer to drive in a finishing nail. Also, modes is key. I use 4 -> home, quiet time, night and away. Quiet time is for when one person is in bed as not to wake them with lights and such.If you have any questions, feel free to reach out.
You will make mistakes along the way. Don't be surprised to find a few things in a bottom drawer that didn't work out as you hoped. I would say most of here have varying sizes of drawers. If you go slowly and choose wisely, dropping by here to test your theory here before purchase can help making the drawer useful for other things.
My husband wasn't on board with automation at first. His directive was "I'm NOT going to do a dance for a light to turn on and I'm NOT going to ask a dot to turn it on for me."
Funny, my wife said the same thing.... My objective is to never hit a light switch, and use echo for odd things like mode changing to nighttime and wakeup.
Things should just happen.
I completely agree and represent that comment! I've got mode changes completely automated. Even going to be is handled by an automated Qi charger. I love automation!
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