Your Latest Home Assistant Project

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#3038145 17-Feb-2023 13:33

eluSiveNZ:
MonolithNZZ:

If you find the required STL files for the 3dprinted enclosure, I can print and send them to you if you'd like! Free of course.

Thanks for the offer. I do have a 3D printer, it’s in storage however (renovating house right now)
I’m planning on designing my own enclosure, so depending on how it turns out I will share the STL

I have some LD2410b boards arriving soon, would be interested in that .stl file 😀

I'm supposed to respect my elders, but it's getting harder and harder for me to find one now.

reven

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#3038149 17-Feb-2023 13:37

+1 for the stl aswell

MonolithNZZ

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#3038731 18-Feb-2023 17:44

I've just setup a few zigbee smart sockets that I bought from aliexpress.

They feature power monitoring, and work as routers. Fantastic value at $14.80 (exc tax and shipping). Integrated perfectly into HA with zigbee2MQTT.

reven

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#3038733 18-Feb-2023 17:48

I just bought 2 of these myself, were a little worried them saying 16A, and our outlets are 10A. But reviews seemed ok, maybe they just support upto 16A...

A 15A plug has a massive earth plug, and these 16A look like standard plugs.

SumnerBoy

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#3038754 18-Feb-2023 20:10

What are the benefits to Zigbee vs Wifi for these little smart plugs?

ZB - you can extend your network? doesn't congest your wifi network? anything else?

reven

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#3038761 18-Feb-2023 20:35

ZB pros

- more power efficient, so better for battery devices, but you wouldnt use wifi battery devices (well maybe if you were doing esphome devices with a battery bank).

- quicker connection, doesnt need router/ip address. but once the wifi connection is made, wifi is quicker. but what youre sending on zigbee doesnt need high bandwidth, just a quick connection.

- should work all locally with ZHA/zigbee2mqtt vs wifi device which may require more complicated integrations/cloud connections due to custom connection

My personal experience with esp32s/pico-w's etc, wifi is good. But things like belkin wemo light switches, they can be flaky at times, or slow.

The reasons to use ZB over wifi are same reasons to use zwave over wifi really

oh and theres some zigbee only devices (like there are zwave only devices), eg theres the aqara mmwave and a xiaomi wwmave sensor. some of those come in wifi equivalent, but you wouldnt want the battery wifi version

SumnerBoy

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#3038762 18-Feb-2023 20:43

Thanks Reven - I was meaning more specifically for these Aubess Smart Sockets - given they come in either WiFi or ZigBee.

I presume they have a local REST API when using the WiFi version? A bit like the Athom sockets.

I am a big fan of Zigbee, but I am just wondering if WiFi is the more robust option for mains powered smart sockets like these.

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

reven

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#3038810 18-Feb-2023 20:48

reason i went with these zigbee switches were, they can extend my zigbee network, theyre cheap, and easier to configure than wifi devices. i have a few zwave sockets, the aeotec one with usb plug (works great) 2 older aeotec ones, bad at reporting power usage so not reliable for detecting if things are on/off, but can turn things on/off. a very old aeotec one that looks like a power brick on an extension cord.

personally I'm trying to limit wifi 2.4ghz devices as much as possible, somewhat for zigbee, somewhat so i can completely ditch that range one day.

SumnerBoy

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#3038811 18-Feb-2023 20:52

Ha, I'm not selling anything these days! I have a few ZWave sockets but had a bad experience with one and I am now keen to replace them all with with WiFi or ZigBee. Trying to minimise or hopefully remove all ZWave in the new house.

Been happy with the one Athom test socket I got (to replace the problematic ZWave one), but have also been very impressed with ZigBee, particularly after upgrading my dongle to one of Tubes' POE devices, so I can locate it anywhere and not have it tied to any particular computer.

I can't see me ditching 2.4GHz for a very long time - I have that many ESP32s/ESP8266s floating around!

Good to see you back on the HA band wagon tho mate!!

reven

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#3038813 18-Feb-2023 20:55

Saw white/green logo in a home automation topic and thought you were active automation at first :p

SumnerBoy

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#3038815 18-Feb-2023 20:57

I was Smart Things NZ - but when the kids started arriving I sold all my gear to Active Automation and shut up shop.

fe31nz

1232 posts

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#3038857 18-Feb-2023 23:33

MonolithNZZ:

I've just setup a few zigbee smart sockets that I bought from aliexpress.

They feature power monitoring, and work as routers. Fantastic value at $14.80 (exc tax and shipping). Integrated perfectly into HA with zigbee2MQTT.

Are they legal in NZ? As far as I know, you can not use any mains equipment like that in NZ unless it is properly certified for NZ use. There are a heap of similar products on Aliexpress, but most of them are very cheaply built to the point of being dangerous.

MonolithNZZ

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#3038880 19-Feb-2023 08:21

fe31nz:

MonolithNZZ:

I've just setup a few zigbee smart sockets that I bought from aliexpress.

They feature power monitoring, and work as routers. Fantastic value at $14.80 (exc tax and shipping). Integrated perfectly into HA with zigbee2MQTT.

Are they legal in NZ? As far as I know, you can not use any mains equipment like that in NZ unless it is properly certified for NZ use. There are a heap of similar products on Aliexpress, but most of them are very cheaply built to the point of being dangerous.

That's a great question. In my mind these are just mains powered appliances, and I'm not aware of any standard they must comply with. If someone knows definitively then please chime in 🙂

MonolithNZZ

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#3038887 19-Feb-2023 08:44

I've found this worksafe list of high risk items that require certification prior to sale in NZ, of which the smart plug possibly falls under? It's not abundantly clear whether that applies to us as consumers though? I see many NZ based online retailers listing smart plugs for sale without attaching any such certification.

fe31nz

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#3039160 19-Feb-2023 23:30

MonolithNZZ:

I've found this worksafe list of high risk items that require certification prior to sale in NZ, of which the smart plug possibly falls under? It's not abundantly clear whether that applies to us as consumers though? I see many NZ based online retailers listing smart plugs for sale without attaching any such certification.

If you think of your smart sockets as socket strips with only one socket, you can see that they certainly do need certification under those rules. If you compare them with all the other things specifically listed in those rules, it amounts to just about anything that plugs into a mains socket and is for home use.

So if you want to use smart sockets, then you really need to buy from NZ or Australia (we have a combined certification process with Australia). NZ retailers do not normally mention certification as it is implied by them being put on sale here - it is illegal to import or sell anything that is not certified. But the importer or manufacturer will have certification available if you ask them. Except, of course, for any number of people on TradeMe who have no clue they are breaking the law. There are probably some small retailers also who have no clue and import uncertified things.

In respect of the specific Aubess smart sockets mentioned, the first thing to check is if they have insulated sleeves part way down the prongs. If not, then they are illegal to import and if found by customs they will likely be seized. The insulation of prongs is now mandatory on any new mains plugs, but ones bought before the requirement are still allowed to be used until they need to be repaired or replaced.

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