I’m a HomeKit user and recently purchased the Hubitat elevation hub both for the ability to add virtual switches to the Home app as well as being able to add non-HK devices into HK. I have about 10 virtual switches that I use and absolutely LOVE the integration of Hubitat into HK!!! I now would like to start adding more affordable non-HK devices into the ecosystem. I’ve purchased some Sengled lights that I want to use in some simple automations. The virtual switches respond instantaneously but was wondering about actual devices and specifically the Sengled bulbs. Anyone have any thoughts or advice? Greatly appreciate the feedback.
P.S. this is my first time posting so if I posted in the wrong room I greatly apologize. I know how frustrating that can be. Feel free to let me know where to post topics like this and I will comply. Thank you.
For example, Sengled bulbs are fine, but do not repeat (by design). Ergo, a good zigbee mesh would have at least one device capable of repeating for every 4-5 Sengled bulbs, or more generically, every 4-5 non-repeating devices.
Finally, not all repeaters are equal. I would encourage you to find repeating devices that support the zigbee 3.0 standard. I personally favor small USB zigbee 3.0 dongles made by TuYa. They are inconspicuous, work well, and can repeat signals to multiple devices. They're also relatively inexpensive.
Following the advice above, response time should be good. Typically less than 1s.
Just make sure you get Zigbee or Zwave, A lot of manufactures make their devices in both Zigbee and Wifi versions (sometimes Bluetooth also) so its easy to grab the wrong ones.
Make sure to figure in the cost of repeaters before you make the purchase. I’m not a big fan of Sengled as there are other options that do repeat so long as they don’t get powered off. INNR makes Zigbee 3.0 bulbs, and Hue bulbs are very reliable on the Hue bridge (which is what most of my lights are). I went with Hue because I got tired of fussing with lights and needed them to just work every time.
