The locksmith is trying to persuade me to purchase the BE-TECH K35 touchscreen lock with both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, claiming it's better than the Yale Assure Lock 2. What are your thoughts on this? Which one would you recommend?
Here is the link to the Chinese brand BE-TECH: BE-TECH Smart Deadbolt K3S.
The other smart lock I am considering is the Schlage Encode Plus.
Thank you!
Hey,
I’m curating a list of smart home automation ideas, and here are 15+ ones (and still counting).
What do you think?
smart home automation ideas.png
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The smart home trend is dramatically evolving with at least 69% households in US owing at least one smart device.
So how could they ease your work and life?
I gathered and asked 15+ smart home professionals a same question:
“What’s your most favorite automation (ideas) for smart homes that is improving your life?”
Let’s check their ideas:
(source: https//www.leadsrating.com/security-cameras/smart-home-automation-ideas/)
Routine Checking Smart Curtain and Blinds Smart Interaction Smart LED String Lights Turn Outdoor Water On/Off Automation NFC Tags Automation Remote Control and Scenes Smart Interoperability Reducing Your Home Cleaning Job Light Control Automation Smart Blinds Light Management Adjusting Natural Light Automation Seamless Connectivity Simple Switch Bot Changing My Overall Everyday Process
The promise of "all available devices will be supported" gave me hope for including more Zigbee devices into to my home as Vera was not a good option for Zigbee devices.
Despite the support for new devices is extremely slow, the implementation of Zigbee has a lot to wish for and it seems a low priority at Ezlo I managed to include 22 of my 23 Zigbee devices as generic. But after 2 years of devices still missing attributes and randomly/every controller reboot loosing connection to the controller and had to be power cycled to connect again, and some even dropping off the network completely without any reason, I decided to give up.
The positive outcome of all this:
I bought a Sonoff Zigbee 3.0 USB Dongle Plus and installed Zigbee2MQTT and never been happier.
Suddenly the pairing were no pain and took a few seconds per device, all my devices were recognized, all capabilities of the devices were exposed and it never misses a signal to/from a device ever.
I'm surprised how stable and configurable my new setup is. I can set device parameters, offsets, send messages handled by the bulbs them self like effects, broadcast for groups, transition time for power on/off. I can handle debounce for MQTT messages, do OTA firmware update on devices and much more! Most of this is probably standard for the common branded hubs like Hue etc but I never had one so this is new to me.
A big plus for me is the MQTT part of Zigbee2MQTT as I'm migrating as much as possible to MQTT.
My Ezlo Plus is now serving as a modified WiFi access point to my network and only have the VistaCam 1203 Doorbell still connected for evaluation. Time will tell if I ever move my Z-wave devices to it.
Conclusion:
I could really recommend both the Sonoff 3.0 USB Dongle Plus and Zigbee2MQTT to anyone going the same path!
So cool to find the forum of all the banned vera gurus!
I've had a Vera Plus for about 6 years now, and have had a fairly problem free time with it compared to many other stories. The last years have however been lacking in progression in many fields i'd like to explore, so now i'm looking closely at Openluup.
Other systems have been tested as well, but i find that the community and plugins made for vera is kind of special, and something i'd like to contribute to as well. (getting older and not wanting to change to new stuff probably plays a part too!)
So, my stab at opeluup starts with an HP Chromebox 1 i got for free. Its a fairly powerfull thing, but as google wants to sell new ones, its now EOL.
I wiped it clean and installed debian, as it seems to be the closest thing to raspberry which many use for openluup.
Openluup installed fine, and i got the vera bridge working fairly well by bothering ppl at the vera forum with questions. Its now running OK, but there seems to be an issue with Icons?
f0e29622-0397-4b84-819c-f1b632daab41-image.png
Also at the devices tab:
2892faff-a3ee-4f21-9db8-2a03f604fc74-image.png
I did the "GetFiles", and I see the /icons/ is populated, but no icons. In the luup log says that its trying to GET the icon, but returns no packages.
2020-09-15 17:04:30.818 openLuup.server:: GET /cmh/skins/default/img/devices/device_states/dimmable_light_off.png HTTP/1.1 tcp{client}: 0x55eca8d90cb8 2020-09-15 17:04:30.819 openLuup.server:: request completed (0 bytes, 0 chunks, 0 ms) tcp{client}: 0x55eca8d90cb8I do have a UZB stick on the way, but before i go down that road i'd like to be sure that the installation is stable and sound.. Do I have all the nessecary packages/background processes? I did install cjson which helped on some things..
Also fairly new at linux in general, so bear with me. 😉
Roadmap:
Get the openluup/AltUI running smoothly
Transfer Z-wave devices
Transfer 433 devices (RFXtrx plugin)
Transfer Zigbee devices (Vera or mabye ezlo plus? zigbee stick?)
more questions will follow!
In a quest to further stabilize my Vera before I'll move to Z-Way+openLuup or something else later this year (I'm tempted to go the Home Assistant route, since all my friends are here, apparently), I've spent a couple of days removing HTTP calls from the system and I'm now fully using the UDP sender @akbooer has written in the past, to push all variables (and custom events/request as well) to my MQTT broker, then to some code doing the actual work.
Responsiveness seems to be at its maximum now, and stability has improved. There's still a lot of code locally on my Vera, but it's mainly doing variables comparison/scenes, while all notifications and heavy logic are now running in my linux box.
So, maybe, not insisting on the sockets and just use the same UDP server is the way to go for me.
My Home Automation Journey
Well here we go. A slow, considered migration from Vera to something (I hope) more reliable.
Hopefully we'll end up with a decent documented process for people as right now I'm still not quite clear 🙂
Starting point:
I have a 'mature' Mios set up running on an extrooted Vera Plus with roughly 100 devices, both physical and virtual
Integration with Alexa both voice control and TTS
iPhones for Geolocation
Volumio devices for music playing around the house.
I have no user defined scenes, all automation is run from Reactor.
My impetus is final dissatisfaction with the quality of UI7 software delivery and operational rigour (for full disclosure I am a senior IT Operations leader with circa 20 years experience delivering properly stable systems, so I probably have un-realistic expectations 😄 )
So initial steps:
Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (I think this is my 5, and 6th Pi in total. I may have a problem) Raspbian OpenLuup VerabridgeThat I think is stage 1
C
...but I now only have house mode scenes left on Vera. All other automation is by Reactor and Switchboard / Alexa routines.
WAF may be low tomorrow if it doesn't work 😄
C
I am a Electrician. I installed hundreds of smart devices for others prior to having my own home automation. In 2013 I bought a new house and decided to make it smart. I did some homework and settled on Z-wave and VeraPlus.
My installation comprises of
25 Z-wave dimmer/switch inserts
3 Z-wave door sensors
10 sonoff devices(basics,TH16 and Mini) ,
4 Tuya(lamps and RGB strips) ,
6 shellys(connected to motion sensors and 2 controlling dead DIY bolts )
3 Amazon Dots(gen2)
2 Broadlink (RMPro's)
4 DIY RF Venetian Blinds
2 Multi button DIY remotes
1 NVR
1 Network drive/Media server/ftp server.
1 smart thermostat heating and hot water
4 wired 240v/battery Aico smoke and heat detectors (connect to zwave via Relays)
1 robot hover.
1 Siren
Node-red server running on android.
Testing openluup on android.
Automate App running on andorid Boxes/phones.
All tv's are connected to android boxes.
No windows PC.
Debian running on android box.
Plugins Reactor, AlexaTTS, Switchboard and Virtual HTTP Switch.
I can control all of my devices from anyone of these platforms Vera/OpenLuup, Node-red, Automate(phone/tv box) or Alexa.
All devices have a standard/manual switch for anyone to control, and can be controlled even if my VeraPlus stopped working or internet out. My system is stable and may get a luup reload every couple of weeks.
None of my sonoff's or tuya have been flashed. I found Shelly very late into game and will be using these more now i found them, as they offer local control.
I have some coding knowledge from the 90's, but have never worked in the industry.
Well, if I see further, it's because I stand of the shoulders of giants. I've got where I got because of the experts here. I started about 15 years ago with some really basic X10 stuff. When we moved in 2011 for some reason it simply would not work in the new house, so z-wave was the thing. Vera lite then Vera Plus.
I'm a child of the 70s. I want the car on the drive to be KITT and my lounge a cross between the bridge of the enterprise and the Lars farm on Tattoine.
Not there yet, but with about 250 devices (virtual and real) things are fun (when they work!)
The absolute killer app for me is Alexa bi directional speech. To the extent that I've walked into hotel rooms and said 'Alexa turn the lights on....'
I'm within a spit of never buying another control and doing everything via Alexa and Reactor (had to drop that in)
So that's pretty much me.
C
Let start maybe something useful for others. Maybe it will give you some idea!
Here's a summary of my setup!
I'm having :
VM#1 that runs openLuup VM#2 that runs Zway 1x raspberry that I use to connect the RaZberry board using socat/ser2net to send "raw data" to the VM#2, this setup allow me to have all my stuff in the data center in the basement while having my zwave antenna on the first floor and send back the data! A couple of pine64 and raspberry around the house, most of the pine64 are use for "smart display" around the house that show data from various source (will post picture later). I have also a raspberry that I used for openSprinkler in the "Shed" Each room in the house + Garage + on the patio is having a SONOS speaker that I use for music of course but that I use with the TTS to send some notification around the house based on the presence!For example, I can welcome people on the front door based on motion detection + IP camera motion!
I decided a long time ago that all "sensors" will be handle by the DSC alarm. Currently I'm having over 40 sensors in/out divided in 5 partition (main/2nd floor, basement, office and shed and a partition for non-alarm sensor)I connected my DSC using the DSC plugin from Vera to handle all that traffic that of course is send to openLuup!
On the zwave network, I would say that I'm having every room in/out done!
I'm using also this setup to welcome kids in the morning based on motion detection in each room and I have some time-based reminder using TTS mostly for the kids.
We also "named/called" our Home, SARAH, based on the TV Show Eureka that means "Self Actuated Residential Automated Habitat".
** openLuup handle ALL the logic, I have no scene and logic in Vera and Smarthome/Zway
More to come...
That's our main screen in the center of the house!
IMG_20200428_110740.jpg
Inside the main screen, I'm having a bunch of stuff, like 2 Veraplus, and a RaZberry and of course a pine64 for the screen!
IMG_20200428_110755.jpg
That's an uncomplete setup in the kitchen for screen #2, need to finish the "wood" part!
IMG_20200428_110846.jpg
That's the touch screen monitor in the basement, so kids can use the Sonos app to play some music in the basement! The wood part is done, need to finish some "paint"!
IMG_20200428_110824.jpg
Another transition from Vera to OpenLuup And now to HASS - PerH
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Got some work done today too.
Z-way Bridge is working well, logged in with the admin account for the moment, as the AltUI account I created shows no devices in z-way smarthome.. (this may be why i didnt get them in the last time)..
InfluxDB is running on the chromebox, saving data to an external SSD.
Decided to go for a slow migration stratergy - one by one, instead of cloning the Vera. It's about 25 units, but I figured this will be an easier transition to do while running the house..Next step is zigbee. As i've understood it, you need HASS installed to take these off the Vera? at least until Rafale77 &Co makes DeCONZ work with OpenLuup?
Not very happy with vera's support on these either, there must be better alternatives.
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For zigbee, there are multiple options.
I am personally using the zha component of home assistant and then synchronizing the ha device status and commands with openluup. It takes a bit of coding and is not a bridge per say. I have been considering moving the conbee to deconz and then write a bridge for it but never got into it due to these insane work hours I am facing now that we are working from home... I guess I should be grateful I still have a job. The way I am doing it is not very scalable but I only have 15 zigbee devices. If I had plans for more I would definitely be more motivated to create a proper bridge for either deconz or home-assistant but time... is what I am missing.
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Ok, think I'll hold a while on zigbee then.. mabye even just find an aqara hub in the mean time, I really like the aqara sensors..
That thing called "work" takes way too much time over here too, considering the 10000 projects at home.
I Migrated 25 z-way units last night, and it became evident how superior Z-way is in device handling! All but one popped in at 100% interview at first attempt, only one old wall plug stopped at 92% (but it works)..
One issue i'd like to sort out, I have a Heatit/namron/Sunricher Z-push 8 button that refuses to assiciate with Fibaro dimmer 2 and wall plug. I read somewhere that this may be because of what secure level they are included with?
Z-Push:
Dimmer 2:
Wall Plug:
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@PerH said in [Another transition from Vera to OpenLuup - PerH]
One issue i'd like to sort out, I have a Heatit/namron/Sunricher Z-push 8 button that refuses to assiciate with Fibaro dimmer 2 and wall plug. I read somewhere that this may be because of what secure level they are included with?
That is very possible:
- Many Fibaro devices are notoriously not conformal and use some exotic zwave implementations. They are problematic in almost any controller but theirs. Don't worry about the interview not completing. You can check which command class failed to complete. I am fairly sure it is the version class which has no functional impact.
- You can see that the heatit device was included with S2 security while the fibaro devices included with S0 and no security from the little logo next to the name. S2 security, for as old as it is and all the improvements that it brings has only been supported by 2 controllers... z-way is one of them. No, vera is not... I have never looked at security within association groups but I suspect that it is the problem.
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I've personally had only good experience with Fibaro, they have treated me well..
Solution was to include the switch and the dimmer "unsecure". all thats left in the interview are "security" and "security S2" interview..
Any issues to think of when using unsecure?
The heatit thing still shows as S2 in the Z-Way GUI though.. anyway, it works!..And how well it works! feels like a transition to from (a badly set up) apple device to a proper Android phone!
So much more direct control and insight to the z-wave system!All the reactors are transferred as well, and the chromebox is idling at a calm 6.7% CPU..
Regarding association in Z-way, the choice between Plain association, 0, 1 and 2 was a bit confusing, Plain was the one that worked. Anyone know what that is? This was a Fibaro Dimmer 2..
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@PerH said in Another transition from Vera to OpenLuup - PerH:
Any issues to think of when using unsecure?
Other than the fact that they are insercure, no...
@PerH said in Another transition from Vera to OpenLuup - PerH:
The heatit thing still shows as S2 in the Z-Way GUI though.. anyway, it works!
..And how well it works! feels like a transition to from (a badly set up) apple device to a proper Android phone!
So much more direct control and insight to the z-wave system!All the reactors are transferred as well, and the chromebox is idling at a calm 6.7% CPU..
Glad it's working for you and I agree with the feeling, not so much with the comparison.
To me it rather be "feels like a transition to from properly setup Android device to an out of the box iphone!" No more random stuff all over the place with half of them not working as expected... -
The reply is expected offcourse..
My imression is probably from never actually getting a out-of-the-box apple device that just works.. My work pushes them on me, and i give them to my wife..What's so unsecure about it? how could they be compromised? OK, i could just read up about it..
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Regarding security of zwave:
The issue with non secure zwave is that one could use a zniffer and figure out what your network homeid is and spoof a controller with that id and then take control of your device. This won't happen with a security encoding which requires a key exchange (and 4x the number of packets exchanged to execute the same command). I actually experimented with it, having discovered my neighbor's homeid. If it is a light switch, big deal... I don't care, if it is a lock or security sensor... that's a different story. S2 security improves both the encoding and streamlines the security key exchange making it much more efficient, effectively cutting the traffic by half... impactful when it is a battery operated device (battery life) and knowing how tight the zwave bandwidth is.
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Thanks, I'll take my chances that noone with do a hostile takeover on my living room lights.
Noticed that i have some "system error" and "Heat alarms" that is triggered on some switches/dimmers, dimmers that are running 10 watts.. no visible problems with them, so i wonder why? When will they reset?
I'd like to decipher these to full sentences, as the codes' meaning are explained in the manual.. any way to give the code to i.e. Reactor?
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@PerH said in Another transition from Vera to OpenLuup - PerH:
I'd like to decipher these to full sentences, as the codes' meaning are explained in the manual.. any way to give the code to i.e. Reactor?
If they’re available to the API that the ZWay plugin uses, then this should be possible. There is already a module in openLuup which is used for fixed text lookups (mime types, HTTP error code, ....)
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Anyone here using ZiGate USB? in my search for an easy way to a functioning zigbee system, that seems like a good solution?
ZiGate+ USB - ZiGate
ZiGate permet d'interfacer vos objets compatibles ZigBee® à votre ordinateur ou box domotique. Comparaison avec la ZiGate ancienne génération : Nouveau design et meilleure ergonomie Gère jusqu'à 200 appareils Zigbee. Plus grosse évolutivité logicielle Limite les perturbations radios ...
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I went ahead and gave it a shot. Can't really see any better ways to zigbee in openluup right now.. Vera is hopeless, ezlo plus equally hopeless (probably for years), HASS has no real bridge for interaction.. Have you looked at domoticz? That at least has a bridge plugin available?
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domoticz is similar to home assistant on the zwave side since it uses the openzwave library as its zwave controller. It is not nearly as developed as Home Assistant though and yes I installed it to play with it at one point thinking about using the existing bridge but decided, given the fact that I have only a dozen devices to bridge over, to skip the bridge and just to call the Home Assistant API manually.
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@PerH said in Another transition from Vera to OpenLuup - PerH:
Can't really see any better ways to zigbee in openluup right now..
the best solution is to write a bridge for deconz. I started to take a look at the docs, lately. https://github.com/dresden-elektronik/deconz-rest-plugin
The responses are remarkably like the Hue server's one. This is an extremely easy to integrate protocol format.http://dresden-elektronik.github.io/deconz-rest-doc/lights/
http://dresden-elektronik.github.io/deconz-rest-doc/sensors/There's also a WebSocket implementation, so real time updates instead of polling should be possible.
I've not invested into ZigBee beside a couple of Hue ligths and I'm ok with their hub (mostly because it's the only way to update the firmware), but I'm toying with this idea. In my mind, this should equally work on both Vera and openLuup.
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Sounds promising!
It would be a good thing to get access to the more broadly used code out there, it doesn't look like ZiGate is very much used at the moment..
I would like to be able to help with some coding too, but always runs into a wall trying to figure out the layer hirearchy in lua/luup/java etc..In my world, there was a fierce battle yesterday.. The RFXtrx plugin (maybe in collusion with openluup) decided to delete my 40 devices, and preventing me from setting them back up by deleting the child device list twice..
I ended up deleting all RFX files, and installing an older version (1.41). Much better! Auto-create works, I can use sensors with the correct device files, not just as binary lights..When this finally was sorted, i discovered that all z-wave devices was gone after a reboot. looking in z-wave smarthome UI, they were gone as well! just the main devices, no child devices.
No error messages anywhere. I restarted z-wayserver.service, and things fortunately came back.. -
Has anyone looked at Zigbee2Tasmota? It is supposed to work with the Sonoff ZBBrigde which looks ok and is quite cheap. The bridge seems to be easy to flash with Tasmota.
I have been playing a bit with Tasmota on ESP8266 lately for sensors and is quite impressed. It seems quite capable and stable.I have so far avoided zigbee due to the lack of easy integration into my system except a few Hue light on a Hue hub and AltHue.
The upside of zigbee as I see it is that there are a few rather nice sensors such as Aqara that could be interesting to use.
//ArcherS
