Hate to be a newbie with Hubitat...but need some q's answered

[ts1234]

Ex SmartThings...went to Homeseer for several years now and have issues with locks...want to look at Hubitat. I have over 100 devices and almost 400 rules in HS4. Transitioning will not be easy.

So, a few things I'd like to know first. All are simply yes/no hopefully. I don't care about hard to set up...just stability.

1. Do you need the remote access account for geofencing to work from the iPhone app?

2. I see a lot about Nest thermostats on the forums...and I know that was just forced over to Google. Will my Nest thermostat work with Google Nest via Hubitat?

3. With HS4 my Schlege BE469X's can differentiate between turning the deadbolt and z-wave or keypad access. It's the only device I've added on my C8 so far and when looking at rules I don't see that those options for a trigger. I see it in my log.

Back Door BE469NX was locked by thumb turn [physical]

Can I make a trigger for this?

4. Can you control the LED's on Homeseer Dimmers with Hubitat?

5. Can you control a Harmony Hub/Remote?

6. Can you control Marantz receivers?

7. Can you trigger events off weather...like forecasted highs/lows and current temperature?

I'm sure I'll have more q's...but that's all I can think of now...THANKS!!!

[Equis]

@ts1234

1. Do you need the remote access account for geofencing to work from the iPhone app?

No. I use Android, but presence based on the geofence is not a paid feature.

@ts1234

7. Can you trigger events off weather...like forecasted highs/lows and current temperature?

Yes, I have a couple automations that use weather as conditions (not triggers) but I don't know of a reason you can't use them as triggers.

Your other questions might be answered by searching the community, but others will likely chime in here in 3.. 2.. 1..

[rlithgow1]

@ts1234

Do you need the remote access account for geofencing to work from the iPhone app?

No but with the built in geofency can be persnickety. A lot of people use life 360 integration or apple homekit integration for geofencing.

@ts1234

I see a lot about Nest thermostats on the forums...and I know that was just forced over to Google. Will my Nest thermostat work with Google Nest via Hubitat?

Yes but it's kludgy and you need to pay a one time fee to googles API

@ts1234

Schlege BE469X's can differentiate between turning the deadbolt and z-wave or keypad access. It's the only device I've added on my C8 so far and when looking at rules I don't see that those options for a trigger. I see it in my log.

You can use logged events. Note: Make sure your locks have firmware 7.10 or better. Anything below is a crapshoot pairing with a 700 or 800 series z-wave chip because schlage doesn't release firmware updates...

@ts1234

Can you control the LED's on Homeseer Dimmers with Hubitat?

@SmartHomePrimer

@ts1234

Can you trigger events off weather...like forecasted highs/lows and current temperature?

Yes... Depends on integration . For that I have a Tempest weatherflow.

Also please read this post. It will help avoid some of the gotchas.

Are you new to home automation or Hubitat or coming from a different platform such as SmartThings, Vera, or Wink? This may help!

Just throwing this out there. It may or may not be a help and I'm sure many others will contribute to this thread. Here are a few things to start you off. Z-wave Devices: 1: You do not need Wink/ST/Vera etc. to exclude your existing z-wave devices. Hubitat can do the exclusion for you. (Make sure you turn off your old hub first!) In most cases this is sufficient before pairing. Sometimes though you may need to factory reset the device. Non Plus z-wave devices may have to be included/excluded …

[SmartHomePrimer]

@rlithgow1

@ts1234

Can you control the LED's on Homeseer Dimmers with Hubitat?

@SmartHomePrimer

@rlithgow1 My dimmers are Insteon, not Homeseer, but the answer to your quesiton @ts1234, is yes. Since Homeseer dimmers are Z-Wave, there is a driver available for the HS-WD200+ and WX300 dimmers. You'll just need to Exclude them from Homeseer so you can Include them in the Hubitat Z-Wave network.

[rlithgow1]

I was thinking of Insteon

[ts1234]

Awesome thanks! That was a lot of help!

One more q on Nest. Is that with the Google SDM API app? I've just barely looked at it but it looks like you need a developer login?

[bill.d]

@ts1234

Google SDM API app

Yes, just follow the directions from the developer including pay $5 to get into the developer area. As a bonus you can then set up the Gmail calendar integration that works well too.

[ts1234]

Is there any chance there is a way to get to all the functions of Homeseer dimmers?

IE All 5 taps?

Or send the documented z-wave settings to the switch for things like local and remote dim rates etc?

[ts1234]

THANKS for the help!

[jtp10181]

@ts1234

Is there any chance there is a way to get to all the functions of Homeseer dimmers?

You would need a custom driver. I would start with this one: [RELEASE] HomeSeer HS-WX300 Driver (dimmer and switch) (it says on the post it should work for the 200+ as well) @bertabcd1234 makes top notch stuff so I am sure it works well.

[rlithgow1]

@ts1234

Is that with the Google SDM API app? I've just barely looked at it but it looks like you need a developer login?

Correct, that's where the 5 bux comes in at. But honestly I just bring mine into hubitat with an Ecolink firefighter. Since the nests are all tied together I only really need one.

[ts1234]

I’m not sure I follow that…can I add one of those and then control my thermostat somehow natively in Hubitat?

[hydro311]

@ts1234

I’m not sure I follow that…can I add one of those and then control my thermostat somehow natively in Hubitat?

Are you asking about the Ecolink Firefighter? If so, the answer is no -- it's just a passive device that listens for smoke/CO alarms (from any dumb/smart smoke detector) and relays that info to HE. It's just a way to make any smoke detector "smart" in the sense you get alarm info incorporated into HE.

A Zooz Zen55 is a similar such device.

[ogiewon]

@rlithgow1

I just bring mine into hubitat with an Ecolink firefighter.

@ts1234

can I add one of those and then control my thermostat somehow natively in Hubitat?

I believe @rlithgow1 somehow thought you were talking about Nest Protect smoke detectors, instead of Nest Thermostats…

[rlithgow1]

Sorry I was thinking best protect not the thermostat. (Thermostat sucks though, get a Honeywell t6 pro z-wave)

[ts1234]

Thanks but fine with Nest...it's a huge share of the market...don't understand limited support..

[jtp10181]

I have a Nest 3rd Gen with two extra sensor pucks, works great. Got it long before Hubitat.
The Google SDM integration works fairly well. If you try and make a lot of changes from the hub all at once the API can get throttled. So not great for constantly fiddling with the temperature. If you just want to make a few rules to change states it should work good.

[jameslslate]

Blame Google.

[ts1234]

I know from using Nest with Homeseer you have to space changes out or you see an error come back in the log. I just add a "wait" of 30 seconds between things like setting it to HEAT and then to 70 degrees.

Speed really doesn't impact setting a Thermostat...so I'm fine.

[jtp10181]

You should be good then. Its a bit of work to setup the Integration but the dev has great instructions. You will find that Hubitat is focused on local control and does not typically provide cloud integrations. Luckily the community is great at filling in the gaps.