I searched the community for Z-Net and couldn't find anything related to what I need. I have 4 aotech repeaters and the range is not good enough. I need a Z-Wave over IP solution like the HomeSeer Z-NET Remote Z-Wave Plus Interface. Does Hubitat work with this device or any similar devices?
1 Like
Why don't you simply get a second Hubitat Elevation (take advantage of the July 4th sale!), and then use HubConnect to seamlessly run automations using devices connected to either Hubitat?
BTW, this would also cost about half as much as Z-Net.
I have thought of that, and it is a good suggestion. I am unsure, however, about migrating to new hubs. Hubitat does not support low level Z-Wave radio ID spoofing to make migrating to a newer version of the hub easy. I would have to re-pair every device with multiple hubs (Edit not one to all I realize).
Would it be easier if the devices were all on extenders?
You'd run into the same issue with using a single Hubitat and a zwave extender. Upgrading to a new hub would still require exclusion and inclusion.
And FWIW, it is possible that zwave migration to a newer hub will be made more facile in the future.
Thanks for your thoughts. In the end I'll probably need 10 hubs (with at least 8 extenders each) to get the coverage I need because of so much brick. This is not a residential install, so that's why it's so big.
So, any HubConnect limitations? 
Follow up on the HubConnect thread that I linked to. I know of people using 4 hubs.
I've never used this HomeSeer product, but from the description, it appears to be just another Z-Wave radio you can add to your system: it doesn't "extend" the existing radio in your hub/controller but is rather an additional radio you can add to your system that happens to be accessible over the LAN and thus usable anywhere where your LAN could connect the two. It's also about twice the price of an new Hubitat hub, at least the US version at current sale pricing. 
What you'd get with a second Hubitat hub is about the same as what you'd get here, except the "remote" Hubitat is actually a full-fledged hub you can use on its own (if you want) and not just a LAN-accessible Z-Wave radio.
Z-Wave is limited to 4 hops total, which with ideal conditions would give you about 200 meters of distance. With less than ideal conditions like brick, that would probably go down, though compared to something like Wi-Fi or Zigbee, the lower frequency will probably fare better (though if you were using Zigbee instead, you'd get more hops to work with, I think usually something like 15). The Aeotec Z-Wave repeater is supposed to be both an amplifier and a repeater, so it may work better for that purpose than "regular" Z-Wave repeaters, but your luck will still depend on distance and building materials, etc. Since you are apparently covering a large, non-residential area, I might suggest considering whether Z-Wave is the best option. Without knowing your actual situation, it's hard to suggest alternatives. (But if you also have a large number of devices, keep in mind Z-Wave is limited to 232, and I doubt most users come anywhere close to that.)
As for HubConnect, as stated, you can read more in the thread on that subject. But I've read every post and don't think there are any "hard" limits. I'm one of the four-hub people, though I only have three of them using HubConnect right now (actually still is four if you count ST, I guess). In most cases, you'd want to install the server app on one hub, then add server "instances" for each of your remote hubs (for which you'll need to install the remote client app on each of those hubs). You could also split up your hubs however you want. One of my hubs that is a remote client for my "main" hub is also a server for another hub (which the "main" hub does not talk to directly and which I wanted to eliminate from the chain of events between those two). There is also the built-in Hub Link/Link to Hub apps, which aren't quite as powerful as HubConnect but are natively supported code, in case limiting custom code on your hubs matters.
So...there are options. I'd consider whether this is really the best choice, but if it's just another hub or few, I don't see it as being much different from the HS radio above.
1 Like
Thanks for you input. I should have mentioned that I do have an IT background and have read the specifications for both Zigbee and Z-Wave (hence the 4 Aeotec repeaters implying 4 hops). Just to save your typing... Not that I don't appreciate the effort!
I don't think the device limit will affect my installation but that brings up a question I hadn't thought of.
Does HubConnect put all the Z-Wave devices on the same mesh or does each new hub allow for an additional 232 devices?
HubConnect allows you to "connect" one or more devices of any type from one hub to another hub over the LAN. The underlying protocol does not matter, nor does HubConnect know--HubConnect is just another app on that hub with subscriptions to that device's events. (By the time anything on Hubitat gets to an app, underlying protocol should be irrelevant; it's the job of the device driver to abstract all that away from the user.)
I guess the answer you're looking for is that each hub would allow an additional 232 devices (which I assume is also how the HomeSeer device works; I think you're fixated on this idea of "combining meshes" or extending a Z-Wave mesh with something other than Z-Wave itself, e.g., a LAN, which doesn't work with either device/platform).
Lol. I'm actually not fixated on anything. I'm seeking understanding of a new platform's implementations of HA technology.
I need to have control over several or one Z-Wave mesh. In the case of HubConnect on Hubitat Elevation, I'll be controlling several Z-Wave meshes.
If HubConnect abstracts the devices then before sending to the controller hub then we get both features, extended control and increased device count under one central control interface.
Yes each hub would have independent zwave meshes. HubConnect allows you to join each of those hubs into a centralized access point to control each of the devices on each hub.
2 Likes
That is pretty much what HubConnect does.
2 Likes
This topic was automatically closed 365 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.
