So I recently purchased the Zooz zwave multi relay Zen16 and it worked great. Most of my Hubitat system is zigbee and Lutron and this was my first zwave device. The device to hub was maybe 30-40 feet and through one wall. It worked perfectly for a while.
I’m considering moving my tech pile of gear into a closet in a central area of the house. I moved the router and the hub, but now my relay won’t work. Best guess is about 80-100 feet and going through 2-3 walls. Since this is my only zwave device, is this too far? Do I need other devices to act as extenders? Should I disconnect it and try to reconnect it to my hub?
That’s probably near the limit that will work. Lots of variables though, not just distance - materials The walls are made out of (an old home with lead paint), items in the room, other things operating on a nearby frequency, etc. if it stopped working I’d say get a repeater.
Theoretically, you may be OK: in open air, Z-Wave range estimates are around 100 m (328 ft). See the Z-Wave FAQ. Indoors, your range will be less due to walls and other obstructions, though how much is hard to predict and depends on construction, positioning, and other factors. This same FAQ recommends a repeater every 30 ft, but your experience may vary.
Personally, I'd probably add another repeater somewhere in between (most powered devices are repeaters; you do not need to get anything specifically marketed as one; your ZEN16 itself is a repeater, for example). But you can always just try it and see.
Me? Not really. Most powered Z-Wave devices are repeaters, and I don't worry about it too much. If you don't have a specific need for an additional powered Z-Wave device but want some flexibility to actually get some (possible) use out of it in the future, a Z-Wave plug is an easy option. There are a few dedicated Z-Wave repeaters on the market (Aeon 6 and 7 Extender, Dome Extender, Ring 1 or 2 Extender), but you don't specifically need one of those, and that's all they do; still, some may have neat features you want besides the ability to be easily re-positioned (e.g., the Dome can be USB or mains powered; the Ring has a battery backup and reports when it loses AC; some can be screwed into the outlet if you don't trust others to not remove it because they don't know what it is).
What I would avoid at this point is a non-Plus Z-Wave repeater. This would be a 300-series or older device. If you buy new, that would be hard to find nowadays. If you want a bit more range, it's possible the 700-series would get that in real life (it does in theory), but the Aeon 7 and Ring Gen 2 are 700-series (aka Z-Wave Plus v2), as are a few real-world devices you can find like the Inovelli Fan/Light Switch (LZW36-SN) and probably others, though if you're in the US I can't name any off the top of my head. Soon, I'm sure.
If you are on a C-7 hub I would get the Ring Alarm Extender V2... Good repeater, battery backup, and you get an AC power outage indicator as a nice added perk (since it reports when it is on battery versus mains power).
I wouldn't recommend it for any non-C7 hub though as it really requires S2 to work 100% correctly.
Other mains powered devices will act as repeaters. If you want simply a repeater for your single z-wave device and do not plan on adding more, then get a pack of two aeotec repeater 6 for around 50$. That's going to be your best deal. I have 3 of them to strengthen my mesh and they work well. Then you can use them as needed if you are expanding your mesh in the future. Just move them where you need to and run a repair.
I’ve got a couple of Aeotec Extender6 units and a couple of Aeotec SmartSwitch6 units and am pretty sure the Extender6 units allow for a greater range.
It’s purely subjective as they’re used in different places but it seems that way.
FYI : I put one of the Extender6 units inside an outdoor PowerPoint on the rear of the house to provide some signal out to my pool pump shed. About 10m from HE hub inside the house.
Z-waves just weren’t getting out of the house reliably without it.
Would work when the rear bifold doors were open but then would be flakey when they were closed.
Now it’s been solid through summer and winter.
I’ve got a SmartSwitch6 Tucked up on top of the fridge also providing USB power for a Wyze PanCam and that unit only just connects to the HE hub which is about 5m from it.
It’s true that many things can screw up the signals.
