I've got a bunch of wifi plug that were made by iHome that were my first Home Automation purchase. Unfortunately, these have been very flakey lately and I'm on the prowl to replace them with someone new. I've looked around on the forums and seen a few recommendations for zigbee plugs but I have a network of 40 z-wave devices, so I was hoping that I could just add on to my z-wave network. The iHome plugs that I have are nice and compact and also have a remote, which is very useful. Any thoughts on what I should replace with?
Most Z-Wave plugs should work with Hubitat. If you want to be extra sure, you can look at the official list of compatible devices (hint: you can sort on any column, including "Device type," to make this easier--look for outlet or, confusingly, switch, where some also seem to be classified though that includes light switches as well). I'd pick one that works well for what you need, whatever those criteria may be: rated load, size/appearance, price, etc. I haven't heard horror stories for most Z-Wave plugs (except the Dome plug that might have an open neutral issue...), so most things you pick would probably be fine. I can tell you what I have (the Zoo ZEN15 heavy duty outlet, ZEN20 power strip, ZEN25 dual outlet, and a discontinued Inovelli dual outlet...plus lots of Zigbee outlets like the SmartThings and Ikea outlets), but that's by no means a suggestion for you--these are just what I could find for good prices that met my needs, which may be different from yours.
And don't worry about the remote: you have Hubitat, so you can pick any button device that works with the hub to control your outlet. I'm actually not aware of any Z-Wave or Zigbee switches that come with a remote (except the Ikea one that doesn't work for this purpose) anyway. For button device suggestions: it's Zigbee, but the SmartThings Button is relatively cheap. For Z-Wave, there is the Aeon WallMote, NanoMote, and Hank button devices. You can also get creative and use something else to automate these things--motion sensors, contact sensors, automations based on time or other conditions, or even manual control via voice or Hubitat Dashboard instead of a button. Zigbee will probably give more (or at least cheaper) options here than Z-Wave, and if you want a ton of button devices, you might consider Lutron Caseta (or RA2) with Pico remotes--the Smart Bridge Pro is expensive, but Picos are so cheap it may balance out in the end.
(And don't be afraid of Zigbee; I'd say most people have a mix of both types of devices, and plugs would be Zigbee repeaters so a good way to build your network if you add other Zigbee devices later. Z-Wave is certainly fine for this, too--maybe take a look at a few compatible plug and see what you're willing to go with based on what you can find?)
2 Likes
Welcome Alex! I'm sure you'll get good recommendations. Most of my controls are Zooz switches/dimmers vs. plugs but like @bertabcd1234, I have a ZEN15 that I like a lot. The plugs I do have (predating getting HE) are TP-Link HS105. Although these are Wi-Fi, I believe they're controlled locally using @djgutheinz's community driver. I used to have an ancient X-10 system that had a compact 16-button remote that I thought I'd miss. But, I have several Alexa devices and they are even easier that finding and using a remote. Good luck!
1 Like
The Aeotec ones I’ve got are great but they’re usually expensive. I got mine when they were on sale.
This topic was automatically closed 365 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.
