Where to buy zigbee devices in 2023? Just starting my home automation journey

Forums › Gadgets, robotics, home automation, electronics (including wearables) › Where to buy zigbee devices in 2023? Just starting my home automation journey

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#3018673 8-Jan-2023 21:03

Infrastructure is ethernet everywhere you can. Gateways and the like can an will change with technology. I've been doing building automation for a long time and protocols have changed and will change again. Large scale automation moves much slower than home automation but what we were doing 15 years ago is different to what we do today.

If you go for open protocols (zigbee/thread/mqtt etc) and well supported platforms you'll be ok and have an upgrade path in the future.

ianganderton

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#3018781 8-Jan-2023 22:21

So I think its probably worth summarizing where I'm up to with the useful help I've had here so far

I currently have a Echo 4th gen and an echo dot 5th gen. I brought these in the sales as a way of dipping my toe in the water. I'd seen a video giving me the heads up that the have Zigbee and Matter already built in so were a good option for learning.

I purchased some TP-Tapo and TP-Kasa wifi bulbs and plugs and they have worked pretty well

I'd watched a load of videos and learnt that using Home Assistant means that its possible to keep all the automation infastructure 'in house' and not reliant on any cloud based solutions that may go off line at any time. This made sense. I saw the Home Assistant Yellow, read the blurb and it seems to make sense to go with a product that is designed for the software I'm looking to run - placed order - tick

I've been putting some time into thinking what it is I'm looking to achieve and as a result I've got a bit of a shopping list forming

I've got a UniFi UDR on its way along with a couple of G3 Instant cams to experiment and learn with

I purchased some Phillips Hue bulbs, a Phillips plug and a Phillips movement sensor. Messed about linking those directly to the Echo's both using the app and not using the app. I've created some simple routines with different activations and learnt some stuff in the process

Today I've placed some orders on Ali Express

Broadlink IR Blaster to operate the heat pump and old LG Hom-Bot. Pretty sure this is WiFi not Zigbee but I think it doesnt need the cloud to operate. The Broadlink product seems to have a good reputation

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000223680571.html?spm=a2g0o.order_detail.order_detail_item.4.2157f19cXwXxc1

I've ordered a pack of 8 of these Aquara ZigBee action buttons. The brand again seem to have a good reputation and plenty of happy customers leaving reviews. In some cases these will facilitate 'manual' activations for things like room lights

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003800570955.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.5.21ef1802rH5fIH

Another part of the home automation project is a MoeBot I have on its way.

https://robotmylife.co.nz/product/moebot-s5/

Home Assistant integration maybe possible https://github.com/Whytey/pymoebot

So currently I'm looking to have the following automated

The grass cutting and vacuuming, I love how well robots do these simple tasks little and often. Everything ends up being always done rather than needing doing, everything stays constantly done!!

The Heat pump automated by both by time and temp plus with remote access so I can monitor/change it while I'm away.The aim is to both ensure a comfortable home for humans to occupy but to have it turned down when humans arent there to reduce energy usage

The living/dining/kitchen lighting is currently horrible. With a full phillips hue dynamic scenes integration it should end up being pretty cool for a variety of needs including scenes set for things like task, cooking, movie nights, quiet nights reading, entertaining and dining. I'd like to automate the blinds curtains too, I've had them in the past and they work really well. This will have activation options including Alexa, Google assistant (via Android TV?), HA app (maybe HA voive in 2023) or activation buttons on light switches

Im not sure how much I'll automate other lighting but the IKEA TRADFRI looks like the most cost effective reliable Zigbee option (when I have friends near by the Sydney store)

4 security cameras with no cloud subscription needed and easy remote access monitoring

Think thats where I'm up to in my plans. If nothing else its certainly and interesting project 😎

Handle9

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#3018782 8-Jan-2023 22:26

Have fun. It’s an interesting hobby and you can do some fun and practical stuff.

You’ll make mistakes, everyone does but don’t sweat it ;)

ANglEAUT

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#3018824 9-Jan-2023 07:18

ianganderton:

So I think its probably worth summarizing where I'm up to with the useful help I've had here so far

...

Think thats where I'm up to in my plans. If nothing else its certainly and interesting project 😎

You don't mention window & door open/close sensors. I believe these are required to properly run your AC / heat pump.

You also haven't mentioned presence & motion detection. Knowing who is in the house & where can also be used for automations.

Please keep this GZ community vibrant by contributing in a constructive & respectful manner.

ianganderton

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#3018828 9-Jan-2023 07:40

ANglEAUT:

ianganderton:

So I think its probably worth summarizing where I'm up to with the useful help I've had here so far

...

Think thats where I'm up to in my plans. If nothing else its certainly and interesting project 😎

You don't mention window & door open/close sensors. I believe these are required to properly run your AC / heat pump.

You also haven't mentioned presence & motion detection. Knowing who is in the house & where can also be used for automations.

You are right.

I haven't mentioned them but I have thought about motion/presence sensors a bit

I've got one phillips hue motion detector so far and I'm looking to experiment with the motion detectors in the security cameras and Echo devices that also have presence detection. I was also thinking about using wifi connection for working out which residents are in the house, everyone has a phone and I believe i can get it out of the UDR. I'm aware none of these seem as reliable as specific presence sensors.

Door and window sensors and heat pump control - good point! I hadn't got that far in the thought process

In what ways are your using presence and motion sensors?

What kind of rules are you using for door/window sensors and AC?

timmmay

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#3018846 9-Jan-2023 07:53

You can do presence detection a variety of ways, that revolve around your phone. Your router can tell HA if you're in the house, or the HA app can do the same. You can integrate HA with Life360. You can merge the results of all of those. I haven't found a perfect solution yet. I personally wouldn't want sensors in each room, and it's not something I'd suggest anyone do straight away, wait until you're more comfortable with HA first.

Obraik

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#3018978 9-Jan-2023 13:11

Just to add some clarification:

Matter is the application layer, similar to say MQTT or HomeKit.

Thread is the networking standard and is the competitor to WiFi, Zwave, Bluetooth, etc.

Matter + Thread combined in a device is the equivalent of Zigbee.

Matter is independent of Thread though. It will work on both Thread, Wifi, Bluetooth and Ethernet networks. As mentioned, a device needs both Matter and Thread capabilities to be the equivalent of a Zigbee device (ie, low powered and fast) but generally, if it's something that has a battery and released in the last few months it should have Thread support too. Just make sure it's not Bluetooth only.

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#3020073 11-Jan-2023 14:29

How deep does the rabbit hole goes....

Very good advise on here so far, so only 2c I can add is that try and stick with one brand per protocol, especially when using HA. HA can get overwhelmed quickly if you are not running it on a decent enough system and more brands also means more integrations that you need to run and try and talk to each other.

Aquara is pretty reliable and I run a few of their sensor through a conbeeII stick and Deconz integrations.

I have about 80 devices now running through HA, including car battery monitors, my dishwasher etc xD

Note on local/cloud - Alexa can not do local voice recognition without a hub and even then requires the cloud to talk to HA - get at least one google device as this can be set up locally.

Also looking at getting a dedicated tablet mounted somewhere in the house for family control - my wife doesnt like the voice control so much, so prefers buttons still.

My current projects include power and water consumption monitoring and cameras.

On presence detection, as timmmay mentioned, per room presence detection is not ideal - I did away with it as it caused more issues then anything else and there was no real benifit. I currently only use rules and automation for geo locations - ie if I am away from home but the wife is at home, everything remains, if we are both away then certain sensors get disabled/enabled (door/window sensors, etc.).

A good one is an automation that will tell you if the inside of your house is hotter then the outside, so instead of turning the AC on, it will prompt me to open windows.

There is so much you can do! this is only the start ;)

Tinkerisk

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#3020219 11-Jan-2023 18:29

Keep an eye on the standby power consumption of smart devices that are connected to the mains. A voice assistant or smart speaker can consume tens of kilowatt hours of standby power per year.

- NET: FTTH, OPNsense, 10G backbone, GWN APs, ipPBX
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ianganderton

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#3020305 11-Jan-2023 21:50

Silvrav:

How deep does the rabbit hole goes....

Very good advise on here so far, so only 2c I can add is that try and stick with one brand per protocol, especially when using HA. HA can get overwhelmed quickly if you are not running it on a decent enough system and more brands also means more integrations that you need to run and try and talk to each other.

Aquara is pretty reliable and I run a few of their sensor through a conbeeII stick and Deconz integrations.

I have about 80 devices now running through HA, including car battery monitors, my dishwasher etc xD

Note on local/cloud - Alexa can not do local voice recognition without a hub and even then requires the cloud to talk to HA - get at least one google device as this can be set up locally.

Also looking at getting a dedicated tablet mounted somewhere in the house for family control - my wife doesnt like the voice control so much, so prefers buttons still.

My current projects include power and water consumption monitoring and cameras.

On presence detection, as timmmay mentioned, per room presence detection is not ideal - I did away with it as it caused more issues then anything else and there was no real benifit. I currently only use rules and automation for geo locations - ie if I am away from home but the wife is at home, everything remains, if we are both away then certain sensors get disabled/enabled (door/window sensors, etc.).

A good one is an automation that will tell you if the inside of your house is hotter then the outside, so instead of turning the AC on, it will prompt me to open windows.

There is so much you can do! this is only the start ;)

I think I'm going to be referring back to this thread for a while. Lots of details that feel like they will make a difference.

Love the outside inside comparison, thats smart

ianganderton

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#3020306 11-Jan-2023 21:53

Tinkerisk:

Keep an eye on the standby power consumption of smart devices that are connected to the mains. A voice assistant or smart speaker can consume tens of kilowatt hours of standby power per year.

Just googled it and at first pass it doesn't sound bad at all. This is US pricing not NZ, I'll do a price comparison

https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-much-power-is-your-alexa-wasting-while-its-sitting-there-doing-nothing/

I was wondering if its worth having my Echo on a smart plug so it can be turned off when there is no one in the house. With that first pass it doesnt seem like it would be worth the cost

Tinkerisk

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#3020328 11-Jan-2023 23:09

Amazon Echo (1. Gen.) 2,9 W 25,4 kWh

Amazon Echo (4. Gen.) 1,9 W 16,60kWh

Amazon Echo Dot (2. Gen.) 1,7 W 14,89 kWh

Amazon Echo Dot (3. Gen.) 1,6 W 14,02 kWh

Amazon Echo Show (1. Gen., Disp. off) 3,0 W 26,28 kWh

Amazon Echo Show (1. Gen., Disp. on) 5,1 W 44,68 kWh

Apple HomePod 1,6 W 14,02 kWh

Apple HomePod mini 0,6 W 5,42 kWh

Apple TV 4 (4. Gen.) 1,4 W 12,26 kWh

Apple TV 4K (5. Gen.) 1,2 W 10,51 kWh

Apple TV 4K (7. Gen.) 1,1 W 9,64 kWh

Raspberry Pi 3B+ 2,8 W 24,46 kWh

A smart plug does draw power as well (with wifi ones more than zigbee). Having 3 Echo Shows with displays on is ~150 kWh/yr.
Each hue/tradfri bulb is another 2,63 kWh/yr. It may not seem like a lot, but everything together with the smart speakers, gateways, etc. will be quite a lot just for standby.

timmmay

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#3020338 12-Jan-2023 07:07

@Tinkerisk suggest you edit your post with the link to where you found it, and whether that's per day / month / year.

Tinkerisk

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#3020340 12-Jan-2023 07:57

timmmay:

@Tinkerisk suggest you edit your post with the link to where you found it, and whether that's per day / month / year.

Can‘t edit anything, I found it in an email addressed to me and that‘s per year.

timmmay

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#3020342 12-Jan-2023 08:09

Tinkerisk:

Can‘t edit anything, I found it in an email addressed to me and that‘s per year.

That's odd. I have an "edit" button at the top right of all my posts.

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