NZ WiFi Lightswitch Solution

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premiumtouring

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#231852 16-Mar-2018 12:15

Hey team,

Just moved into a brand new house build where the house is 95% perfect. The only thing that is a bit annoying is the architect put hundreds of light switches everywhere including some which have two-way control. From what I can tell the whole house except some external downlights are LED. What I'm really keen to do is upgrade/retrofit all of the light-switches with WiFi (local network) controllers - so that they can be remotely or manually controlled. Later if they can be integrated into Home Assistant, that's a bonus, but for now, the focus is controlling the lights wirelessly.

So, has anyone done something similar recently? Any recommendations? I'm open to getting a controller but after reading some warnings about frequencies and importing units, don't really know where to start anymore. I don't want to be investing in the 'old' way if there have been recent improvements or developments that I should be spending a bit more to use instead.

Thanks for your help.

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Geek
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Fusion Automation

#1978580 16-Mar-2018 12:28

Hey,

This type of solutions is our bread and butter. We are currently working on a project and we’re using the Wulian system as the customer has some budget restrictions. If you call me we can discuss few other options like Aeotec and Zipato.

We also have a showroom in Auckland where you can see some of our products in action. Please visit our website www.fusionautomation.co.nz

Cheers,

blakamin

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#1978587 16-Mar-2018 12:47

Actual wifi is rare for approved switches in our part of the world.
Z-wave is an option, but you can only use Australia/NZ versions as the frequency is different to the rest of the world.
ZigBee is another option that's getting more popular due to hue hub, harmony remote, and voice activation with Google home, Amazon echo, etc.

hio77

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Lizard Networks

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#1978600 16-Mar-2018 12:52

Nzengsaif:

We also have a showroom in Auckland where you can see some of our products in action.

i may just be tempted to take you guys up on this.

any reason you opt for zigbee rather than say, a esp implementation?

as a side note, i really dislike dealer only pricing on websites...

#include <std_disclaimer>

Any comments made are personal opinion and do not reflect directly on the position my current or past employers may have.

premiumtouring

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Ultimate Geek
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#1978605 16-Mar-2018 13:04

Has anyone got any experience with this company selling Zigbee Lightswitches in Australia?

http://www.3asmarthome.com/products

Looks like they could be the solution, keen to hear thoughts!

Nzengsaif

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Geek
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Fusion Automation

#1978606 16-Mar-2018 13:06

Welcome to visit us any time

From our experience the ZigBee/Z wave solutions are more solid. This is likely due to the mesh nature of the communication network. It doesn’t depend on strong signal from wifi which needs exsiting infrastructure.

Apologies about the login required to view prices. It’s a requirement from some of our channel oriented suppliers.

maxeon

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#1978672 16-Mar-2018 14:35

I have been using WiFi (built-in) switches since 2016 and had very few problems with them.

One was faulty out of the 50 I purchased and used across 2 houses. They have replaced it.

More details here. The website is Lanbon.cn - and they were certified in AUS / NZ to be used. The new ones support Alexa and Google Home. My current ones need firmware upgrade manually to be able to support voice control. However I have a few 3 gang ones new still as spare if you want to buy.

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rogercruse

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#1978742 16-Mar-2018 15:48

I would love to replace all my light switches with ZigBee dimmer switches that I could control using my Echo.

Some single switches (one light with one switch)
Some are double switches (two separate lights)
Some are two-way switches (two switches for one light)
The hall light has three switches to control it.

I'm guessing that I'll need a suitably fat wallet to fund that lot!

Also, your website says 'by appointment only', but you're saying 'any time'.... Can I visit over the weekend?

davidcole

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#1978750 16-Mar-2018 16:00

I'd be doing Zwave - this is what it was designed for. Put the receiver in behind the switch, keep the existing switches there, and you can override it via app/home automation software/rules.

That is what I have done....but I've main concentrated on outside lights and are doing some of the inside. At between $99 and $139 per receiver it gets expensive. But:

It's certified 240v NZ/AU gear.
It's standardised with the zwave alliance.
The existing switches can stay
Its designed for retrofit (mesh and no extra cabling needed).

Previously known as psycik

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Nzengsaif

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Fusion Automation

#1978758 16-Mar-2018 16:36

In terms of the budget it’s really going to depend on what you need done and if you can install it yourself or we need a sparkie. In general we can work with budgets.

blakamin

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#1978854 16-Mar-2018 20:46

premiumtouring:

Has anyone got any experience with this company selling Zigbee Lightswitches in Australia?

http://www.3asmarthome.com/products

Looks like they could be the solution, keen to hear thoughts!

Don't... Just me, but I trust them as far as I can bowl them. They had a cert pulled because it was dodgy... they have new ones now, but yeah... even their logo is a ripoff of google home.

Oh, for wifi switches, wifi routers often have a device limit... How many switches are you replacing? Chances are you'll max your device limit on domestic wifi gear.

richms

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#1978856 16-Mar-2018 21:02

Also the backview of the switch is something to look at. All the "US" wall box sized ones I have seen with the screws on the side have hit onto the plaster ring or flushbox, screws so poorly sized that when you have 2 bit of 1.5mm in the terminal the head hangs out so far that it wont even fit into their own ring that goes on the wall, and in general are clearly designed by someone with no idea how things fit in the wall in either the US or AU/NZ.

Big bang and skidmarks on the wall from the one I tried when it connected onto the gib bracket when shoved into the wall. As they are not earthed, it has the possibility of making the gib bracket and mounting screws live, and I doubt that they would pass the finger test on the mounting screws for when that happens.

Richard rich.ms

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lchiu7

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#1978979 17-Mar-2018 11:35

richms:

Also the backview of the switch is something to look at. All the "US" wall box sized ones I have seen with the screws on the side have hit onto the plaster ring or flushbox, screws so poorly sized that when you have 2 bit of 1.5mm in the terminal the head hangs out so far that it wont even fit into their own ring that goes on the wall, and in general are clearly designed by someone with no idea how things fit in the wall in either the US or AU/NZ.

Big bang and skidmarks on the wall from the one I tried when it connected onto the gib bracket when shoved into the wall. As they are not earthed, it has the possibility of making the gib bracket and mounting screws live, and I doubt that they would pass the finger test on the mounting screws for when that happens.

I can related to that. I tried using these to control lights

http://www.insteon.com.au/INSTEON_Micro_Relay.html

Had a sparky install it and watched him curse as he tried to fit it in the switch cavity. Insteon works using RF and also I think powerline pulses so theoretically should be distance safe.

But I am going to remove it when I get the chance because

- the switch never worked the way it should (it is supposed to detect the physical position of the wall switch so you can use either to control the light. For me if I turned the physical switch off, then Insteon could not turn it on. Maybe that was a wiring error on the part of the sparky?

- Alexa and Google support only worked if I used a Raspberry Pi to run HA Bridge since the 240V version of the bridge never got the firmware upgrade to support those devices.

I have since moved almost entirely to Hue which does limit the bulb choice but at least it works.

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

rogercruse

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#1978996 17-Mar-2018 12:12

Nzengsaif: Hi Rogercruse, Yes you would need to let me know so I can meet you there. I’m not always there. But yes this weekend is fine, I can do tomorrow morning if that suits. Give me a call on 022 244 4483

In terms of the budget it’s really going to depend on what you need done and if you can install it yourself or we need a sparkie. In general we can work with budgets.

Met up this morning, had an interesting discussion about home automation solutions for my home and agreed on Z-wave dimmers for three of the rooms in my home. With the option to do further rooms as my wife allows.

I will need to get my OpenHAB setup working - installed it years ago on my NAS but never really used it - before I can install the dimmers, so be prepared for lots of stupid questions regarding OpenHAB.

networkn

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#1979026 17-Mar-2018 14:24

Nzengsaif: Hey,

This type of solutions is our bread and butter. We are currently working on a project and we’re using the Wulian system as the customer has some budget restrictions. If you call me we can discuss few other options like Aeotec and Zipato.

We also have a showroom in Auckland where you can see some of our products in action. Please feel free to call us on (09) 3900 299 or visit our website www.fusionautomation.co.nz

Cheers,

Not sure if this is a problem for you or not, but your website is exceedingly slow for initial connection. Not sure who your host is or what the issue is, but initially I thought it was down.

Nzengsaif

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Fusion Automation

#1979047 17-Mar-2018 15:52

rogercruse:

Met up this morning, had an interesting discussion about home automation solutions for my home and agreed on Z-wave dimmers for three of the rooms in my home. With the option to do further rooms as my wife allows.

I will need to get my OpenHAB setup working - installed it years ago on my NAS but never really used it - before I can install the dimmers, so be prepared for lots of stupid questions regarding OpenHAB.

Nice catching up with you. OpenHAB is a great software. Binding Dimmers is fairly easy, first install the dimmer and bind it with the Z wave stick as discussed, then downloaded OpenHAB's latest version (Currently V2.2) and install it (I recommend fresh install). you then need to download the Z Wave binding package

https://openhab.ci.cloudbees.com/job/openHAB2-Bundles/lastSuccessfulBuild/org.openhab.binding%24org.openhab.binding.zwave/artifact/org.openhab.binding/org.openhab.binding.zwave/

Unzip the package in your addon folder (all files)

that should do it. to check if its done bundle:list and it should show:

195 | Active | 80 | 2.3.0.201803101457 | ZWave Binding

after that, I went into PaperUI, added the Z Wave stick then searched for devices

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