I have read through many topics but haven't really found what I am looking for. I have a couple questions.
(1). For those of you that use multiple HE Hubs and/or HA what do you do for the zigbee channel interference or do you run multiple hubs on the same channel? I know there is the stance this shouldn't be done but some topics seem to suggest it happens with mostly no issue. I could use a little insight on how to move forward.
(2). Those of you that use HA with HE what do you use HA for? What is the application that HA is providing for you that HE does not?
I keep the Zigbee channels unique on all of my hubs, to avoid/minimize the chances of RF interference.
As to why I use Home Assistant…. I like the fact that I can perform a 100% local integration with HomeKit devices. I have 2 Ecobee thermostats and 2 Aqara FP2 sensors that are directly paired with HA via the HomeKit protocol. I then use the Home Assistant Device Bridge (HADB) integration to bring those devices into Hubitat. Works great! I also use HA to host Node-RED, InfluxDB, and Grafana. This allows me to collect historical data from Hubitat and create charts/displays.
Why is there a need to run multiple zigbee coordinators on the same "high" zigbee channel? As with @ogiewon, I run two coordinators (Hubitat and z2m); Hubitat is on Channel 20, whereas z2m is on Channel 15.
My 2.4 GHz mesh system is on Channels 1, 6, and 11, which will not interfere with Zigbee Channels 15 and 20.
I use Home Assistant to bring in integrations that are not directly supported by HE; these include:
The Homekit protocol is one of the items that truly had me interested in HA but by no means do I want to do a complete switch over. I am glad to heard the HADB in HE is an effective way of bridging the two systems as HE would still be my controlling system.
Do all devices connected to HA come over to HE or only some like the Aqara devices on my M2 hub via matter? Buttons, locks, etc doesn't show up via matter this way?
I already have my HE hub on channel 20 and an Aqara M2 hub on channel 15. I use the Aqara hub to control all my Aqara devices except for a couple and bring it in to HE via matter (except all devices don't come over). I had that hub before HE. My 2.4 Wifi is on channel 11. I have just the one router as my home is covered well enough with it and don't need additional points.
Based on what I am seeing I could put HA on channel 25 and they should all coexist with either fairly well or would you suggest a different channel for HA?
That was going to be my next question to you. I am not familiar with coding and such so is it difficult to install Z2M? I have watched a ton of videos but sometimes they can be misleading. I thought about just using ZHA. Does the Aqara stuff stay connected better with Z2M? I haven't had issues in HE like most people has but I have had a different approach.
Not a good idea. If you want zigbee device support under Home Assistant, might as well as use z2m. The number of devices supported is considerably larger, and development is very active.
I use HA for things that HE does not or used to not have a similar integration (like August Lock). I run all of my Aqara Zigbee devices on it as well as Zigbee mmwave devices that are very chatty.
@ogiewon and @aaiyar I don't have any plans on running anything like Node-Red or doing any extensive graphing or those type activities. It may change in the future but not now. It is mostly for the integrations such as Homekit and a few other ones.
Based on this what equipment would you suggest? I found a small PC that comes with 8/16 GB of ram 256/512 GB of memory with HA operating system already installed around the $160 to $180 dollar range. Then again I could use like a HA Green. In your opinion for entry level such as I explained what would be the best setup? I have researched and the numbers are all over the place.
I run HA in my camper on a RPI5. Runs great - just make sure you use an adequate power supply.
For the camper, I tried running it off a variety of 12V input USB power supplies, including a high-dollar high-wattage Anker car charger, and it would crash on any updates.
Edit: I just remembered that I also set up HA at my parents’ house a few months ago - on a RPI3B+ I had laying around. I don’t recommend it at this point, but the point is HA will run on pretty low/affordable specs.
This would be amply sufficient. And could run way more than just HA. I use an old Intel Mac-Mini (i5) with 16 gigs of RAM and a 256 GB drive for HA, HomeBridge, z2m, Channels DVR, Node-RED, Pi-Hole, Portainer, Uptime Kuma, and SenseLink ... and it barely has any CPU usage at all ....
Right now I am only using HA to connect an LG Washer and Dryer back to Hubitat with HADB. There is a Hubitat integration out there for LG ThinQ, but it will not keep your account connected more than a day, and it is not being supported anymore by the author.
Of course, the HA integration for LG ThinQ calls every output from the washer and dryer a sensor, which causes HADB to create a new Hubitat device with a value attribute for every piece of data from the washer and dryer, so I have like 18 devices for my washer and dryer integration since HADB translates all the sensor values into individual devices. It does work well though for status (spin speed, water temp, time remaining, dry level, all that stuff).
To control the washer and dryer from Hubitat I would need to create virtual switches and then use the HACS Hubitat integration to get those into HA through Maker API, and then do an automation with the virtual switch on the HA side to do the actions on the washer and dryer. I have the Hubitat HACS integration, but I have no need to control my washer/dryer from Hubitat, as I just wanted status updates and something to trigger when they are done.
I use a Smlight SLZB-06M. I like it because it's Ethernet and go anywhere you have Cat5 or 6. It doesn't have to be next to hub. It has wifi as an option also.
I'm using a ConBee 2 and that works very well for my Aqara/Mijia devices. I also have some IKEA, Tuya and one OSRAM Gardenspot string on the same controller. If I was starting from scratch today, I'd be tempted to try the ZBT-1, since you will get Zigbee 3.0 and Thread on a single controller $30 USD. However, I have read that some don't have good sucess with certain Aqara devices and the ZBT-1 at this time.
I also use a Nortek HUSBZB-1 from my original C-3 hub on HA with ZHA (I'm running Z2M with my ConBee 2). I use the Z-Wave half of that stick to get one of my old Aeotec v1 HEMs directly into HA. I've not personally tried it with Aqara/Mijia devices because I don't need it, but it works exceptionally well as a ZHA controller for the 6 Lutron Connected Bulb Remotes I still own and an original IKEA Symphonisk Sound controller that is hot garbage every where except on ZHA in Home Assistant. I have read that it's a decent Zigbee controller for Aqara devices. You can still get them for $43 on eBay. It's old, but nice to have since the Zigbee controller is solid and the older Z-Wave 500 controller is a solid choice for older Z-Wave devices that don't play nice with the newer Z-Wave controllers.
