#1. I don't think any system is good enough for newbies yet. Systems that allow devices from multiple vendors typically require you to install your own drivers by copying-and-pasting code, and Z-Wave and Zigbee need some detailed knowledge to configure some devices and troubleshoot when things go wrong. Maybe if you stick to a single vendor, like IKEA, Hue, or Tuya it might be almost newbie proof.
#2. Not exactly answering your question, but my preference is to have non-IP Z-Wave or Zigbee devices rather than IP devices, as I can safely use cheap Chinese devices and not worry about them phoning home or otherwise getting hacked.
#6. I would add in-wall USB adapters to locations in your house where you might want wall-mounted tablets for viewing cameras and controlling devices, and would also add in-wall 24VAC for doorbell. (And Cat6 to these locations if you want to be future proof). Cat6/POE to any possible camera location. Ideally do Cat6 runs along your eaves so that you can move cameras around if needed. For difficult camera locations, I'd put underground Cat6/POE in your yard so that you can have cameras pointing to your house.
#7. Some of the Dahua cameras are pretty good. I have them but because they are Chinese I put them on separate VLAN to isolate them from the internet, which is hard for newbies. AFAIK in AU there's no security system that's integrated with home automation. Konnected make devices that connect your wired alarm sensors and sirens to home automation systems, but the actual alarm remains separate. Looks a bit fiddly but saves you from recharging battery powered motion sensors.
#8. IKEA make cheap rechargeable Zigbee blinds, if your windows are not too wide/high and if you are OK with the grey colour and the silver box above. I think 240V in-tube motors are tidiest. I use Rollease Acmeda battery powered in-tube motors. Slightly noisy and requires a $200 hub, but otherwise fine. Price is reasonable if you get them from iseekblinds.com.au. Cheaper chain-pulling motors are available, but they have the bulky box at the bottom of your chains.
Due to the heat, would it still be ok to use somewhere hot like the garage or shed where it gets quite warm? I was gonna use it my garage but worried those 39C days would melt or burn them.
What @psdillon said and 3,4. & 5 being all WiFi related certainly revolve around the WiFi infrastructure you deploy.
There’s been some good success reported using Ubiquiti AP’s and controllers but I’ve no personal experience there.
Also “Most” users appear to mod the cheap WiFi devices to run Tuya so as to get them into a single, more managed, state. No dialing back, more reliable control etc.
Unfortunately you’d have to look elsewhere for the suitable, maintained Tuya drivers, these days as they’re no longer represented on this forum. So modding any and all new devices you get might stray into a “too hard basket” for you.
Zigbee is definitely the easiest to setup and maintain and the device choice is only growing.
You don't need to know any code at all unless you want to create your own apps or drivers for devices.
This is years away from happening and if it does get anywhere silicon labs will probably join then. I'd say it should be avoid because the increased cost doesn't isn't justified unless you need a specific device like the Aeotec Nanos.
I have WIFI lights not switches which need the firmware changed to work with HE and have no issues. Most WIFI switches won't natively work with HE so this can create issues.
I haven't used them but somewhere in this thread it's mentioned they don't pair.
Shelly is an option as they have/are getting their devices certified for Aus/NZ..
For wifi you should look at Ubiquiti Unifi especially if you start adding wifi switches. You can create a mesh with the access points and they have a lot of different types for whatever you need. They run on PoE which makes installing them easy as you have the cat cable already installed. I have ~30 devices at any one time on my one access point and have no issues.
Can really help here but looking at Risco there home systems seems to be wireless which could pretty much be done with HE if you bought a UPS and hooked the hub and your router and had battery powered sensors to detect motion or doors/windows opening.
I use rf 433mhz blinds from aliexpress because they ran on batteries so no wiring and the ikea ones weren't available at the time.
Honestly, I've tried a few different options to control my Daikin split system and the Sensibo has returned every time. It's not perfect, but it is reliable and easy to automate the crap out of.
We built a new house and have been in for about 6 months.
Yep you’ll be fine.
I’ve got a mix of DETA wifi and Nue Zigbee switches. The Zigbee ones are much more responsive in my experience and I’d probably stick to them if I did it over again. I’ve got a good wifi system and they are still a bit laggy compared to Zigbee.
I ran cat6 to each either end of the house (the study with router etc is central) and put a ubiquity access point on each one. It works really well.
as others have mentioned, run cat 6 for cameras in the eaves, its a real hassle to do it later. I’m using Reolink POE cameras and they work alright. Not really integrated into hubitat though. I can turn motion activation on and off based on whether the security system is armed but can’t get the motion detection to trigger an action in hubitat yet. I think it could be done if I got creative.
I put powerpoints up high by the large windows so I could run a blind. It was a great move. So far I’ve used a Zigbee motor that goes inside the blind on the large ones and I’ve got a few of the chain motors too and they are ok on some smaller blinds. I wish I’d put powerpoints next to all the windows though. Gives more options than relying on batteries.
One thing I wished I planned better was the aircon. I’m not that happy with the way the zones are configured and haven’t got it hooked into hubitat yet.
sorry mate, i should of re read what you posted.
Yeah I have the sensibo V1's from the kickstarter but the mothership has turned off access and im only really after turning them on and off and knowing their status so i thought broadlink would be the cheap and easy option for this one.
I did consider a mesh, but I didn’t really do enough research into the pros and cons and in the end it wasn’t necessary. I’m still a long way from utilising the ubiquity setup to its full potential too.
What were your main problems with it? I got one a few months ago, and after some initial driver issues getting it to work (which I made a post about), it seems to do the trick. Although I've actually hardly used it at all. This summer in Sydney has been so cool that I've barely needed AC in that particular basement room.
It just behaves badly with my Daikin split system and does dumb things. Eg after every set point change it resets the fan to auto. It frequently doesn’t tell Hubitat what the current status is if it did reset the fan mode etc.
The HE driver doesn’t support any of my fan modes and the community driver needs polling to work plus extra delays.
There are other issues but I just got fed up with it.
Fair enough. Yeah, sounds like a few kinks there to work out, and it's definitely more of a one-way control system, unlike the Sensibo. If it gets too frustrating, I'll probably have to look for an alternative, but I probably won't go for another Sensibo. I have a handful of these already, but I hate the cloud reliance, and they've had their share of big downtimes over the past couple of years. I'm willing to keep trying with something like the Remotec, rather than go for another cloud-reliant device.
