This is probably something that others have asked about, but in my searching, I didn't see anything the community that specifically addresses my scenario. So, here's what I'm trying to do:
I have a property that does not receive any ISP service (no fiber, cable, dsl, satellite, etc.). I want to install an HE on the property and control a series of lights and other devices via Zigbee or Z-Wave. I have a spare Wifi router (Airport Extreme) that I'd like to use to connect to the HE via IP address when I'm physically at the property (just a WiFi network, no internet access) and do not need access when I'm away.
Is there a way to accomplish this? Again, I don't have any WiFi-dependent devices and have no need for cloud/remote access. I can even physically connect to the HE via hardline if needed.
Open to suggestions!
EDIT: There are also a series of Hue bulbs connected via a Hue bridge, which is connected to the HE via a wifi network...
I assume you meant WITHOUT internet access, as the property will not have internet connection. It can have a local wifi router, but no internet access.
I built a C-5 for my parents a little over a year ago for their house which didn't have Internet at the time. I had my Dad setup a Hubitat account on the portal then I logged onto that account at my house and setup his new hub and updated it then shut it down from settings and brought it up there. I also brought him an old Linksys router I had laying around that I hadn't used in years and set it up for DHCP and WiFi and hooked his hub to it. It all worked great without Internet however the time kept getting off by days each night, they may have fixed that by now but at the time I had a PC there that was on all the time with cameras attached so I setup an NTP server on it for the hub to get its time from using the NTP community driver.
At the time it was used to control a light with Sunset/Sunrise and alert via a Gen5 Aeotec Doorbell with custom mp3 files when there was a water leak or one of the garage doors or shed door got left open for 10 minutes or more after a certain time.
They've since gotten Internet and the hub does more now but it did work well for them once we got the time issue addressed.
Okay, great. So, to clarify, I'm not really concerned about running the automations. I'm more concerned with being able to access the hub via a local wifi network and also have the hub communicate with other devices (such as a Hue bridge and Lutron Caseta...) via connection to a common Airport extreme...
At the risk of asking an obvious question, what's a "C-5"? Everything else you mentioned makes sense (assuming they've addressed the time sync issues). By chance, did you have anything else connected to the HE, such as a Hue Bridge or a Lutron Caseta Pro 2...?
Yes you can do that. This has nothing to do with internet, but you should reserve an Up in the router for the hub so you will always be able to access it at the same IP (the hub does not support static IP).
However, you should set it up with internet access at first so you can ensure you have the latest updates for the platform and the Z-Wave radio. After that you can run it completely off-line without internet.
Okay, that's great. So, I can set up DHCP reservations with a static IP in the Airport Extreme itself (which I do for the HE at my house). So, that answers that question.
Agreed on initial setup. I will do that for sure.
Any thoughts on the impact for the Hue Bridge or the Lutron Caseta hub?
One thing about Hue bridge though, they work offline only after first connecting to the internet. If it loses power it will have to first connect to the internet before it can be used offline again.
This is nothing to do with the Hubitat Hue integration, this is the way the Hue bridge works.
Hmm. That’s unfortunate about the Hue hubs needing internet to reconnect after a power outage. That property does get power outages relatively often, which would be a real inconvenience.
Most people, myself included, have a Hue bridge simply because we want to keep zigbee lightbulbs off the main hub where all our other devices are so that they don’t mess up the mesh network for devices that are not lightbulbs. So the obvious answer if you have no Internet is to use two Hubitat Elevation hubs.
However you can alternatively use Sengled bulbs which do not repeat, so they will not interfere with other devices on the Zigbee network. Just be sure to include mains powered Zigbee devices like outlets so that there’s a healthy mesh network since the Sengled won’t even repeat for themselves.
Also if you lose power frequently you will want to put a good UPS on the hubs. They will not do well if they’re constantly losing power without being shut down properly.
This hasn't been my experience--I have been able to use my Hue Bridge after a power outage when my Internet connection was not yet up. Sometimes the Hue app has problems discovering it (though as far as I know that should theoretically work too), but local control (once the app does find it) or LAN integrations like Hubitat's have always worked for me. They will, of course, need to be on the same network.
