Or, in my case, dropped in walls in desperation when I found out the drywall crew was coming the next day and I hadn't finished the CAT 5 runs. I dropped several into locations where I thought I might eventually need them . . .
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I use Unifi network switches and APs and generally like them quite a bit. I have very few wired devices. I had always been one of those "let's wire everything possible" types, but honestly when I moved I to my new house I installed two ceiling mounted POE powered WAPs and called it done. The only stuff hardwired are those two WAPs, the equipment in the rack, and the stuff on 10Gb Ethernet in my studio.
On WiFi, I have about 50 devices on a dedicated IOT network.. these are plugs, rachio, printers, appliances, nest stuff, some esp32 projects, etc. I have 4 high bandwidth streaming devices (Android TV Chromecasts) on a separate network for streaming devices, and then up to a dozen wireless devices on a private network (phones, laptops, iPads, etc). Everything works great so I have completely lost my "need to run cables to everything" ambitions..
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Slightly off-topic but I'm keeping an eye out for omada hardware. Would you recommend avoiding this and sticking with UniFi?
/ runs
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I have no experience with most of current WiFi systems out there on the market today. My personal background has been with Zyxel, Netgear, Linksys, ASUS, and now UniFi.
My recommendation against most WiFi Mesh systems stems from the fact that many users run into significant issues when using them with home automation systems. Throughout the last 10 years, I have seen many posts in multiple forums where WiFi Mesh systems were the root cause of issues.
The TP-Link Omada system looks like a clone of the Ubiquiti UniFi platform. I have no experience with it, nor have I seen any reviews of how well it works. Does look interesting, though!
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Whatever you do, just do not let some installer come out and sell you some Araknis garbage. Their stuff is awful.
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What Z-Wave devices did you have? I have a solid mesh of about 50 Z-Wave devices and have never in my 3 years of having Z-Wave devices had a switch fail to come on.
Could you explain further? What would use a single button pico for?
I have had 3 Eero 6 Pro and 2 Eero 6 for a while now, and itās been working well. The setup is very basic but you can get a subscription for more.
They also integrate Thread and act as a border router. I activated this feature about a month back and I have just confirmed that it works with Hubitat. I wasnāt able to setup my first device on it, but my second is working.
I have multiple Zigbee and Z-Wave networks in the house and havenāt noticed issues related to the Eeros.
Note that even though it provides a mesh network, I have each of them hard wired.
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A few of my neighbors have/had Eero. My issue with them is you cannot tweak advanced settings. For most this isnāt an issue and probably a selling point.
My main gripe is Eero is using 40MHz channel width for 2.4GHz and there is no way to change that. So this was causing interference for me and my one of my UniFi APs and zigbee network. Fortunately I was able to convince one neighbor to move off of it that lives closer to me.
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I have no experience with Eero and can't offer an opinion on this product.
To start with lighting, I have used Lutron for several years now. It has been bulletproof and I've had absolutely no issues with it. I also like the integration with HE. Although expensive, it is possible to order custom engraved Pico remotes. This is great for custom automation routines. These don't even have to control a Lutron device (when used with HE routines). I've got one 2-Button Pico remote that turns on/off a Z-Wave outlet. My Lutron devices consist mostly of Caseta Pro products, which offer additional flexibility with more types of lighting and neutral/no-neutral issues. Lutron is expensive, but honestly, you get what you pay for. I phased it in gradually as finances permitted.
My network equipment is entirely Ubiquiti. I'm big on hardwired devices, where able, especially for streaming, security cameras, access points and any other high bandwidth applications. I've had very few issues for the most part. Some of those, I believe, are because I tend to install updates that are not yet classified as general release. It's quite reasonable to expect some issues with this practice, but it's a choice I made and not a requirement of their equipment. At any given time, there are about 85 devices on my network, roughly 35 of which are WiFi. Throughout the house and garage, I have 4 access points, all capable of WiFi 6. Many of their AP's can be installed in a mesh configuration as well, so physical network wiring may not be necessary, just my preference.
My Zigbee network is increasing in size, although it is predominantly Z-Wave with about 7 and 80 devices respectively. Z-Wave is a nightmare when devices are installed in metallic boxes (used extensively in Canada, although now changing toward non-metallic). None of my Lutron devices have ever had a problem in a metallic box.
So, for me, it's HE, Lutron and Ubiquiti all the way. All meshes are solid and I rarely have issues.
I had Eero, and my myQ garage opener could never connect. I replaced it with a Synology router and myQ now works, I thought the Wifi module on the opener was bad.
One other thing I didn't like about Eero is I couldn't block a device from the Internet without blocking it from my network. I have Wifi cameras running on Blue Iris and I don't want them exposed to hackers. Synology allows me to keep them local.
I really like my Synology system, just works all the time.
Oh my!! Super curious how they mesh together and their performance. I really dislike that the Orbi's I have loose half the speed on the meshed device despite the dedicated backhaul.
Well then, I am pretty sure you'd be disappointed with the UniFi Express if you wirelessly meshed them together. Gonna lose some wireless bandwidth for sure.
However, if you use a wired backhaul between the nodes, performance would be great!
Interesting discussionā¦
I am personally interested in Synology and Asus routers as they seem to strike a good balance between advanced features, good wifi performance, and easy of use (especially parental controls!) Havenāt decided on one yet. I use Peplink, which is completely overkill for a home. Itās highly customizableā¦ perhaps too muchā¦ but Iām sick of all the config work required to implement parental controls that other routers make so easy.
I am new to home automation and have only been playing with C8, some tuya and z-wave stuff, for a few days. But, I have always heard great things about Lutron and would love to try it out. Does Lutron use their own communication protocol? Is a bridge required for Hubitat to work with Lutron devices?
Lutron is proprietary, and works at 434MHz (Clear Connect Type A). Apparently they have a newer version as well, Clear Connect Type X operating in the 2.4GHz band. I believe the equipment people are using with HE is the original Type A. To integrate with HE, you need a Lutron Bridge PRO. The standard version will not do the job.
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The lutron hub pro is MORE expensive than a C8! What gives?!!
Anyway, when the C8 connects to the lutron hub, would Internet access be required for the two to communicate? Because the reason I got the C8 was to keep as much control locally (inside the LAN) as possible (except a few things with Alexa/Google/Siri).
Some amazon reviews mention that home assistant now works with the non-pro lutron hub, only āpicoā buttons are not supported. Will that be the case with Hubitat?
Communications between Lutron hub and HE is via local telnet. Very fast. And yes, Pico's work great.
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The PRO is the only one that allows LOCAL.
The nonPro does cloud, and Hubitat has no integration for that scenario.
Within the Lutron system, a single-button pico can't be programmed, which is why (they said) they won't build one - they're not interested (which I completely understand) in having to field customer service calls from people like us. 
Outside of the Lutron system, here's an example:
This is a switch gang next to the door to our Lanai. On the right is a standard Lutron dimmer, controlling the main lights; on the left is a Pico, turning on and off a Group of Zigbee outlets out there (using Basic Button Controller).
I would dearly love (and WAF would reward) being able to replace that two-button "on and off" Pico with a single-button model that matched the standard Lutron appearance, having that button press do a simple toggle of the outlets (again, via Basic Button Controller, or a Basic Rule).
Alas, 'twill not be, unless some inventive soul 3D-prints a Pico retro-fit kit.
