So I'm moving forward with ZigBee repeaters in the house to correct my current setup.
I've reviewed some of the Control4 Best Practices, reviewed the zigbee logging sections bases of people's support.
So there is one specific area in my house, I rather not use the Ikea plug. Is there any zigbee receptacle recommendations? Something where I can remove a standard outlet, and replace it with a Zigbee outlet?
I am not aware of any in-wall zigbee outlets from top tier manufacturers. There may be some slightly sketchy non-UL rated ones available, bit I have mostly seen Z-Wave in-wall receptacles.
Assuming you're in the USA, perhaps for this one room you could go with an in-wall Zigbee light switch/dimmer instead of an outlet? It should do a decent job as a repeater, and will allow you to control your lights in that room as well.
Yeah, the only one I knew of was Enerwave, but they've now gone all Z-Wave. Sinope has Zigbee dimmers and light switches. No outlets at this time. I think @mike.maxwell added them to the Generic Zigbee dimmer and switch drivers.
Agreed, I've been looking for months for Zigbee in wall receptacles, and all I've seen are devices no longer available, or of questionable provenance.
I'm saddened, as I Hate all the stupid plug in modules....
I do have 2 of the GE/Honeywell/Jasco Zigbee light switches, and they seem to work ok both as switches and repeaters.
S.
There are two zigbee in-wall receptacles still made.
Smartenit makes one of them. It is pretty expensive, and I don't know if it works well with Hubitat.
I don't remember the other manufacturer - but I've seen them discussed on community.hubitat.com
I remember this one now. There's something off about it.
Looking at it...it's not clear it's actually Decora compatible. It "kinda" looks like Decora, but that mounting system makes me think it's not compatible. correction -- it is Decora compatible as pointed out further down the thread! (by @aaiyar)
And...as @aaiyar pointed out...it's not clear how Hubitat compatible it is.
Questionable Provenance...or in this case questionable design....
S.
Decora compatible. Like Lutron Caseta is also Decora compatible (similar mounting system).
I’m on the fence of selling all my iris v2 motion sensors and two brand new ikea peanut plugs.
Would anyone be interested?
I personally think I want to stick with z-wave plus.
If you want fast, reliable motion sensors, Z-Wave Plus devices are going to cost quite a bit of money. Inexpensive Z-wave motion sensors are very slow to report a status change. They are fine for security alerts, but are almost useless for automatic lighting controls.
I have almost completely eliminated z-wave from my home and couldn’t be happier. My Zigbee mesh is solid, reliable, and very fast.
I second @ogiewon. My z-wave devices work, but always a little slower than my zigbee devices. I have a ton of Iris V2 motion sensors and they have been rock solid and respond very quickly. If you can place some zigbee plug in outlets strategically around the house, it will work very well. I have 1 plug in almost every large room (living room, family room, kitchen, office, master bedroom, 2 in basement on opposite ends), hidden either behind something or in a place that it doesn't stand out. An unfortunate necessity of zigbee is repeating devices, but it is also part of it's strength. Once you have your mesh working right, you will enjoy the speed. My house is 3600 between the first and second floors, and then a basement, and I have zero issues from zigbee. I did make sure my wifi router is on a lower channel and the zigbee channel I found to work well for me is 25, others like 20, all depends on signals around your area.
There's no real benefit IMO to limiting yourself to one protocol.
As @ogiewon and @jdjmailbox have pointed out Zigbee sensors work well and respond quickly. I'd also argue that they are ubiquitous and often cheaper than Zwave sensors.
I have a multi-protocol home of 3 floors, covering roughly 3000 Sq ft, stick built , Brick Faced, and I have sensors and devices all over the place, of both Zigbee and Zwave-plus flavors. Both are stable networks and I don't have devices fall off, even zigbee water sensors and the odd Samsung button with little to no user interaction.
I even have a pair of Zigbee sensors outside, without problems.
To be fair, I have quite a nmber of Zigbee repeaters, and even some Zwave repeaters for good measure!
In the end, I think one should pick the switch/dimmer/outlet/sensors that best match your specific need, and build the supporting mesh to support. Frankly, repeaters are a relatively inexpensive solution to Zigbee mesh issues.
S.
I agree. There are issues with everything out there. We have a Zigbee, Z-Wave (just two devices) and Insteon household. I use what works best, or has the features I need.
Okay, I will give the repeaters a shot.
I use the Samsung SmartThings Outlet and it's great (it acts as a repeater). Have it upstairs in my daughter's room to automagically turn off the TV at a certain time every night.
I also run Sengled Zigbee bulbs -- both color and regular dimmer (they don't repeat and that's a good thing) and Samsung motion sensors (also Zigbee)...
Does the Samsung Smartthings Outlet also report power/energy usage?
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