Xmas special on Aeon Labs Z-Wave gear at www.smartthingnz.co.nz

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SumnerBoy

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#188941 10-Dec-2015 15:51

Hi all,

We are having a bit of a Xmas special on some of our Aeon Labs Z-Wave gear, running from now up until Xmas Day.

Head along to http://www.smartthingsnz.co.nz/store/ to check out the deals.

You can grab a Z-Stick + Multi Sensor/Recessed Door Sensor with a decent discount and make a start on your home automation project now.

Any questions sing out.

Merry Xmas!
Ben

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#1448234 10-Dec-2015 15:57

Meant to say there is limited stock at these prices, so first-in first-served!

chevrolux

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#1448320 10-Dec-2015 18:03

Sweet. Just moved in to a new place and want to get in to some home automation.

I want to start with the lighting so I was looking at those Fibaro dimmer modules. Something I really want to sort out is the light in the toilet. I want to make it so that if you walk in when it's dark the light comes on at a dimmed level. So was thinking those 'Multi sensor' things would do the job.

So to get started would the shopping list just be a Z-Stick, some dimmer's and the multi sensor?

Also, which multi sensor do you recommend? Aeon Labs? Or Fibaro?

I intend on controlling everything with OpenHAB.

SumnerBoy

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#1448402 10-Dec-2015 21:45

Hey Chev,

Yep your shopping list looks good. You will need something to run openHAB on and plug the Z-Stick into, but I presume you have that covered? A RPi2 is a great starting point if you don't already have a home server or NAS.

But yes, once you have a Z-Stick and openHAB you have the beginnings of your Z-Wave network. From there you can add nodes and devices to your hearts content, up to about 230 I think is the limit!

Both multi-sensors are very good. I have had a couple of the Fibaro ones installed for about a year and they have been great. They are only the size of a golf ball so are very discrete - especially once you disable the LED ;). The are very sensitive to movement, can't think of them ever not triggering when expected, and the battery life seems to be extremely good (I have disabled the light reporting for example as I don't need that and only have them *waking up* to report battery levels every 6 hours).

I have just installed one of the Aeon Labs MultiSensors in the nursery and so far it has been equally impressive. I wanted to monitor humidity which is about the only difference in terms of features between the Fibaro and the Aeon Labs. The other thing the Aeon Labs MultiSensor supports is an external power supply, via mini-USB, whereas the Fibaro is battery only.

So they are both great little units. The Aeon Labs is probably slightly bigger but not by much. Tough call between them, although with the special we have on currently I would probably lean towards the Aeon Labs.

Do you have LEDs in your toilet or just normal incandescent lights? We have some of the new Fibaro Dimmer v2s arrive in the next few days which are supposed to work a lot smarter/better with LEDs, supporting both leading/trailing edge dimming. However if you have standard lights in there the v1 version of the dimmer (currently in stock) will be just fine, and will be a little cheaper than the new version.

Happy to answer any questions if you have any!

Best regards,
Ben

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#1448435 10-Dec-2015 22:45

Sounds great! Yep will just run up a new VM to run OpenHAB on for now. Thinking going forward will separate it out to an RPi so that it can stay with the house if we ever move or whatever.

Order has been placed. Looking forward to playing with it all!

SumnerBoy

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#1448436 10-Dec-2015 22:46

Order received - cheers!

Will get it out with the courier tomorrow so you should get it first thing Monday morning.

Enjoy!

SumnerBoy

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#1451450 16-Dec-2015 11:37

Our sale has just been extended to most of our Fibaro stock as well. Check em out - there is strictly limited stock available at these prices so get in quick.

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qyiet

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#1454356 21-Dec-2015 11:17

Hey SumnerBoy I'm in the process of moving my current HA setup over to a Samsung Smarthings Hub
(my poor ninjablock has died, and I never really got off the ground with OpenHAB)

I'm going to need some new motion sensors, I was wondering what your thoughts were on the Aeon Labs multisensors vs the fibario motion sensor.

Warning: reality may differ from above post

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#1454369 21-Dec-2015 11:34

Hi Qyiet,

I'm curious to know if your SmartThings Hub is an AU/NZ frequency one (from the original Kickstarter campaign, before the Samsung buyout) or is it the new Gen 2 model with US or UK frequencies?

This will also likely influence your decision on sensors too.

Cheers!

SumnerBoy

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#1454387 21-Dec-2015 11:51

Hey guys,

Yep, what frequency is your Smart Things hub Qyiet? We only stock AU/NZ devices.

In answer to your question re. the motion sensors, it is very close. The two major differences are that the AeonLabs has a humidity sensor and can be mains/USB powered. The upside of the Fibaro (IMO) is that it is slightly smaller and more discrete. It is the size of a golf ball and can be mounted in the corner of a room making it very inconspicuous. The AeonLabs is small as well but is square and just seems to have a little bit more *presence*.

They are both great little sensors however. I think you would be very happy with either - I have a couple of the Fibaros and they are great. I just recently installed one of the AeonLabs in the babies nursery and it is equally good.

Unfortunately the Xmas sale has proved quite popular and the last of the Aeon Labs sensors went out the door this morning. We still have a few of the Fibaros but they are running pretty low as well now. We won't be getting any more in before Xmas sorry!

Fire away if you have any other questions.

Best regards,
Ben

qyiet

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#1454409 21-Dec-2015 12:06

SilentOne:
.. an AU/NZ frequency one.. or is it the new Gen 2 model with US or UK frequencies?

First up, excellent choice of name.

Second, it's a Gen2 that I ordered from Amazon US, TBH I didn't check the Z-Wave frequencies.

Amazon did ship it direct to NZ, but apart from that is there a good way to tell?

SumnerBoy:
...differences are that the AeonLabs has a humidity sensor and can be mains/USB powered...

What sort of battery life do you get out of the Fibaros?

SumnerBoy:
Unfortunately the Xmas sale has proved quite popular and the last of the Aeon Labs sensors went out the door this morning. ..

I wouldn't count that as unfortunate.. thats a good thing :)

Warning: reality may differ from above post

SumnerBoy

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#1454412 21-Dec-2015 12:11

The battery life on the two Fibaros has been excellent. I installed one in my ensuite in June 2014. It is configured to only *wakeup* every 6 hours and only reports motion and temp, i.e. no light or tamper reporting, and it is still reporting a battery level of 100% - i.e. 18 months on! Pretty damn impressive if you ask me!

What tends to happen with these devices is the battery drain/reporting is not all that linear. Once they start dropping the drop quite quickly, but still 18 months and still going strong is pretty good.

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#1454420 21-Dec-2015 12:19

qyiet:
First up, excellent choice of name.

Haha cheers, great minds and all that!

qyiet:
Second, it's a Gen2 that I ordered from Amazon US, TBH I didn't check the Z-Wave frequencies.

Amazon did ship it direct to NZ, but apart from that is there a good way to tell?

It will likely be the US version which means it will only talk with US sensors. You'll need to be aware moving forward that the US frequency for Z-Wave overlaps with AU/NZ Cellular frequencies so may cause interference.

I've contacted two people over the last year or so who have ordered the US Gen1 unit for use in NZ and had no issues / conflicts with the frequencies but it may be worth noting.

Very interested to see how you get on, big fan of SmartThings, just wish they'd do AU/NZ frequencies :/

qyiet

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#1454430 21-Dec-2015 12:28

SilentOne:
It will likely be the US version which means it will only talk with US sensors. ... US frequency for Z-Wave overlaps with AU/NZ Cellular frequencies so may cause interference.

Yep, it's the US version

SmarthingsAPIsite:

Hardware Version

hub v2, US customer Rev E

At the moment I've only connected some zigbee/tcpip devices to it, and had not noticed any issues with cellular devices. Well thats going to cause some fun and games, but better to know before purchasing something expensive only to discover it won't go.

Warning: reality may differ from above post

russelo

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#1474570 19-Jan-2016 13:12

SumnerBoy, I can see that the Aeon Labs MultiSensor 6 is out of stock at the moment, when will it be available?

I started playing with OpenHab during the Christmas break and now I'm hooked.

SumnerBoy

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#1474820 19-Jan-2016 19:19

Sorry Russelo, dealing with a family emergency at the moment. Was supposed to be back in the office yesterday but currently looking like I will be out of action for at least another week.

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