I am new to home automation and am constantly discovering new information. I purchased the Hub and have set it up with a bunch of z-wave devices, everything seems to be working well thanks to the help of the community here. I recently came across this sensor when looking to keep track of the temperature in my freezer and fridge: http://www.ambientweather.com/amf007tp.html
This led to learning of a whole host of 433MHz devices. In my mind they seem to provide a very cost effective solution to home automation. Why can't I use the Hub to control them or read from them? I understand the z-wave protocol is more secure/reliable, etc. but this provides a lot of functionality for those who don't care so much for those advantages.
What would it take to support something like RFXCOM with the Hub? So instead of having just the z-wave support with the USB dongle, we would also be able to communicate with the RF devices using the transceivers. http://www.rfxcom.com/en_GB
@patrick, would you by chance have any input here? I don't see any past discussions on RFXCOM and am not sure what the rest of the community well versed in home automation thinks about it. Thanks!
I don't have enough interest to actually do this, but seems like it would be possible to write a custom app and drivers that could communicate with existing software/hardware that already can communicate with these devices, e.g., a Nodo RFLink Gateway (which I mention only because I know Home Assistant has an existing integration for this device, so I suspect it has a documented API that could also be used to create the appropriate code for Hubitat). I didn't read much about the RFXCOM you linked to above, but the idea seems similar. If it has also easily accessible/documented API, this should be possible. You'd need another piece of hardware to run this on, of course, since the Hub can't do it directly (and I know that's part of what you're asking), but something cheap like an Raspberry Pi could probably handle it.
In fact, you can sort of do this already: run Home Assistant on a Pi with an MQTT broker, the hubitat-mqtt-bridge node.js app, and the community-ported Hubitat MQTT Bridge app. Then use the RFLink integration component included with Home Assistant to communicate with a homemade or commercial (e.g., Nodo) RFLink receiver. You can send events from the sensors to Hubitat via MQTT by creating an automation in Home Assistant for the appropriate sensor events (when X on Y changes, send Z over MQTT). It's a lot of work to set up, but I suspect people using 433 MHz devices in this way expect to have to do a little hands-on work to get things right.
Thank you for the info - I looked into it a little this evening and you're right that there is a lot of messing around needed I'll have to think through the use case scenarios a little more. I definitely learned a lot - MQTT is a pretty cool setup to talk between two networks.
This would be a great product for my external window roller shutters. I am unable to use a roller blind controller like the Aeotec one due to the motor setup in the blinds.
If I had the knowledge I would look into it.
Best bet is to research what’s been done on other systems, SmartThings especially or Home Assistant. Maybe even Homebridge. Then connect with the developers and see what they might be willing to do. That is what I did with Insteon. Over time it’s evolved into an incredibly stable integration. It needs a hub and node.js server, but once it’s up and running, it is more stable and reliable than both Zigbee and Z-Wave.
So expect that you’re going to need a “Bridge” or two to get it integrated. Don’t shy away if it’s what you really want to use and you can depend on it <- That’s an impotent one. If the developers are not familiar or confident in it, you may face a greater challenge getting the driver and/app developed. No developer wants to waste their time on something that will not be reliable in the end and make them look bad. I cannot blame them at all for that.
The USB ports function only as power on the C5 hub and as a connection port for Z-Wave radio sticks for users outside of North America. On the C3/C4 hubs, one is for the Zigbee/Zwave combination radio stick and the other is for Z-Wave radio sticks for users outside of North America.
The only other use is for a special reset procedure, where a USB flash drive is employed.
Not alot of demand? I'd love it, many of us would, the 433mhz door and window sensors cost 5 buck or so, the zigbee and zwave ones cost 20 a piece. This would be an awesome way for hub owners to use low cost contact sensors and remote controls in their enviornments
Thanks a lot for this input.
Would be very great if future firmware can allow USB connection to RFXCOM module.
This would be a great addition to the box since would allow to control many legacy equipment that are managed remotely for many years: garage door, rolling shutter, alarm,...
RFXCOM is currently integrated with JEEDOM which is open source so maybe a quick win possible on this one
I'm not familiar with RFXCOM but there is a way to tie 433 Mhz sensors to HE using Node Red on a Raspberry Pi an a Sonoff Bridge flashed with Tasmota. I am a newbie to all of it and didn't have any issues following DrZzs YouTube video.
I did it with a bunch of the water sensors in video and am waiting on an order of 433Mhz motion sensors.
An idea for those looking to get 433Mhz integration is to integrate with Devmel Airsend
This simple platform is able to replicate/duplicate various 433Mhz protocol (including Somfy or Nice blinds) and can be integrated with Http Get integration (Http GET Switch driver).
You can easily adapt the driver to have various up/down/stop seamless integration.
There is a couple seconds delay when sending the command but it works very well
I'll have to think through the use case scenarios a little more. I definitely learned a lot - MQTT is a pretty cool setup to talk between two networks.
