I believe I've read on here that people using Leviton mains powered devices do have similar positive results as those of us using the Aeotecs......you will just need to check and make sure those devices support "beaming" that seems to be the main need.
In the portal.hubtat.com click on the hub you are linking, you will have each user create their own account
and then link their accounts to the hub you want to control with their home/away/etc.
Each powered device will repeat, as you spread them around your property you're extending the range of your z-wave mesh. The nice thing about Z-Wave is you can pair anywhere in range of the mesh. You don't have to put them in range of the hub, which is important when installing wired switches and plugs.
The topics of presence and modes is an entirely different topic. There are many ways to manage them both. I'm probably not the guy to advise on either. I don't use an away mode.
This is true, however the zwave signal in the C-5 hubs is significantly weaker compared to that of most platforms they are migrating from, with securely paired devices (locks/garage doors) MANY users have numerous issues when trying to pair these devices no matter how many "repeaters" they have. As those "typical" repeaters are repeating the weaker signal and is only really noticeable on those devices I mentioned above as numerous dropped communication issues occur.
The devices recommended to @b00st4ddicted not only repeat the signal but they also AMPLIFY the signal thereby eliminating the dropped communication issues, and AMPLIFYING your overall zwave mesh signal and range
You guys are all awesome for the detailed replies. I forgot to mention that I have Ring Alarm and Ring Doorbell Pro. Are these native for Hubitat? If not, it's not a big deal, Ring app is pretty well made and I am ok with using it, but how about the door contact sensor from Ring Alarm? Can these be integrated into Hubitat? Thanks!
They are not "native", I don't have them but search the forum for them users may/may not have gotten them to work.
I don't use home/away modes either. This is the one big problem yet to be solved in the home automation space. If you rely on phone presence, there are lots of things that can and do go wrong. Other solutions are lacking.
You have to be willing to have your phone GPS on all the time, which kills batteries and if you have to put up with Google (and others?) tracking you all the time. I work in a building that is pretty well shielded, and my phone will go dead in about an hour if I left GPS on all the time.
With phone WiFi, most Android devices shut off the wireless after a time to conserve battery. Once the Wifi is off, it thinks you are gone. I believe the iPhones do this too?
There hasn't been a low cost commercially available bluetooth or RFID tag system that integrates with home automation hubs or at least not one I have been able to find. This seems like it would be a no-brainer to build, there are low cost tags available.
Z-Wave hates being unhooked from the network, and won't automatically reconnect.
There are a couple Zigbee presence sensors (Iris and Smartthings?) that are not readily available now if they ever were very common.
There was (is?) whole home presence trackers (was it Happy Bubbles or something like that?) but it was something like $800 per floor of your home, which for most of us is a no-go. I don't know if it ever integrated with any hubs either.
None of this takes into account how you would handle vehicle presence, which is another related issue.
The Hubitat app works OK for presence, with the limitations listed above. I used a combined presence app that like the name implies, takes GPS and WiFi and "adds them up" to try and deduce if someone is home.
I second this recommendation.
P.S. I moved here from Wink.
Great explanation of why home/away modes are not a good idea!! I tried geofencing and reply on phone several different times and none of those times are accurate at all! The combined presence app, is that the actual name of the app?
I use the Life360 integration which has never failed so far in over 4 months in switching the home/away
There are three combined presence apps I am aware of. There are probably more if you dig around on the forum.
They all have differences and I ended up trying all 3 of these. They all worked fine, but the jwetzel version fit my needs the best.
Thanks for the suggestion! Is this with the paid plan or the free plan?
I use the free one
What's the range of the Aeotec Range Extender 6? Thanks!
My recommendations if you are using them to keep locks communication from dropping off I would say a you need one aeotec very close to the hub (most important) then an aeotec by each lock you have and if the distance between the hub and lock is over say 30 feet I would recommend one in between for each 30 feet (you can try without this and may be fine, but if still intermittent drop offs occur I would add this).
As far as using for non-locks devices I have a contact sensor outside about 125 feet from one of my extenders and the contact sensor works without issue, so at least that far.
Dumb question, and I can't seem to find this answer through google. My living room light can be controlled at 5 locations. Can I just install 1 smart switch to make the roomful of LEDs smart or do I need to installed 5 smart switches? Thanks!
I used the Lutron Caseta and Picos to do this. It was the easiest way that I could find. Warning: this will download a PDF http://www.lutron.com/TechnicalDocumentLibrary/0301710a_Caseta%20Advanced%20Instructions.pdf
The Zooz switches also apparently can be wired as a 3-way or 4-way.
http://www.support.getzooz.com/home/
This is totally dependent on which "smart switch" you use....some require a semi-smart switch on the other devices, some only one and the others can be dumb switches, and brands like lutron you can do one, and replace the others with cheap pico remotes...
Thank you! Excellent advice.
I've had a Wink 2 for a year, and we just got our new Hubitat Elevation yesterday. I completely agree on the app control for lights - the Wink app is just nicer. But we rarely used the Wink app anyway except to add new devices. We primarily have robots for light control and also Google Home for voice control. So, last night we were able to add 4 light bulbs to Hubitat, and we were able to link the Hubitat in the Google home app. The light bulbs then show up in the Google Home app, and we were able to add the lights to 'rooms' just like you can do in the Wink app. The 0-100% for the light bulb in the Google Home app has a very similar look to the Wink app. We don't have color lights, but they might also have a similar look in the Google Home app. Just fyi.
Download the Hubitat app
