Hi All
Hopefully this place looks like a helpful forum as I’m quite new to all this!
I’ve had a few devices all working separately /through their proprietary apps but we’re just finishing off a large house extension and this has added to the list.
I’d ideally like to be able to view/switch a number of different devices on one screen/head end but have no idea where to start.
The devices we have/will have shortly are as follows;
Zigbee Smart Sockets
Zigbee smart switches (for lights)
Heatmiser Neo Underfloor Heating (this runs from a Samsung ASHP but that part is automatic)
Samsung VRF air conditioning (currently using Smart Things App)
Hive (2xLTHW heating circuits in the existing house and Hot Water)
Ring (doorbell!)
Hik Vision PoE CCTV
We have lots of appliances (Neff N70) which we can control remotely but not too fussed about controlling those at the
Moment)
Any help/recommendations would be appreciated!
Thanks
Adrian
I have a legacy home automation set-up running on Windows XP. the computer and software have now died.
I have written a very nice Excel VBA program to replace the software and it can run on any modern Windows system.
My only remaining problem is to output the correct signal to a USB port to trigger the wireless switches.
Has anybody done a similar exercise. Please help.
Hi All,
Kind of new to Home Automation. Started off Using Amazon Echo units and added a Samsung SmartThings hub. I have mostly been using plug in modules for turning lights on and off. I live in a very rural area where the internet goes out a lot. I eventually want to change to to a non internet Hub so things will work without needing an internet connection. But I will post with those questions at a later date.
So, the task at hand is this: I have flood lights at each corner of my house. They are currently controlled by switches at the front and back doors. I would like to add Security Cameras to each corner also. I can easily find small Wifi switches to put into the electrical box where the flood lights are located, then I can terminate the leads together behind the Decora switch to have constant power. Then I can use the constant power up at the lights electrical box to power the security cameras. I would also like to have a wireless switch to take the place of the Decora switch to be able to turn the lights off and on.
I cannot seem to find a product like this. It seems I can find the small wired in switch boxes that will also come with external smart wall switches, but the wall switches are an external box that does not fit in or cover the existing Wall switch electrical box. I can also find Wireless Decora switches that come with a remote wired in small switch box , but they all seem to be RF and do not integrate with a Smart Hub.
I am hoping someone here knows of a product that matches what I am looking for. Any help would be appreciated.
Also any recommendations for Wireless Security cameras are welcome.
Thanks for any help.
Dear Forum,
I am just starting a smart home system. I've wanted to do this for 10 years at most and really would like to get a start. What I have are a couple of SONOFF wifi relays, some 433 (Hz/mHz) switches ( not wifi ) a couple of wifi lightbulbs, and I'd like to expand wifi thermostat, leak/water detectors, garage door openers and what ever else I can think of.
In the SONOFF items I have it's a particular app, the wifi bulbs are another app, and if I do a thermostat there might be another app. My wife is not a Luddite but she damn sure doesn't want to have to trouble shoot if/why a particular app breaks down.
So in what I do understand about smart home things is that I need/want a HUB. I spent 15 years doing some programming so I do have some computer ability, though I'd prefer to stay away from HAVING to line command operate the hub.
I would like a list of HUB's that people have found to be the best. Even better are links to let's say Amazon for that hub.
Regards from Noob Smart Home,
Barry
Hello lovely people. Long time and all that. Hope you're all doing OK.
Bit of a left field one here, looking for extra eyes more than an answer and you're the most logical bunch I know 🙂
Part of our HA system is a Logitech Elite hub and remote control.
This is programmed to control my Cyrus Stereo, our TV, and HDMI switch and our Virgin V6 box.
I've been away for a couple of days. Got back this evening to (eventually) work out that the V6 box appears to be not accepting any commands from the Logitech.
Everything has been rebooted.
Logitech uses IR to control
Cyrus: Fine
TV: Fine
HDMI: Fine
Remote control uses Bluetooth to control Hub.
All commands from the Remote to the hub are executed (one might assume correctly) as the activity LED responds, and if you're controlling (say) the Cyrus, all works fine.
iOS App can be used to control Hub over the WLAN:
All commands from the App re executed (one might assume correctly) as the activity LED responds, and if you're controlling (say) the Cyrus, all works fine.
Native remote (that uses as far as I know bluetooth) to control the V6 box works fine.
V6 box refuses to acknowledge any command other than from the native remote. Remote or app provoke absolutely zero response from the V6 box.
This is annoying, but damned if I can think of any logical reason. One might assume a firmware update on the V6 box, but given that the Hub simply emulates the native remote, that seems unlikely.
I'm struggling to think of where even to start troubleshooting this, so any random thoughts would be appreciated.
My initial approach is to buy another hub in case there's a different radio set that's failed in the hub...
TIA!
C
I currently have an HVAC system in the attic - for heating and A/C. 120v is supplied to the unit to run the gas heating. A/C uses 240v. I have an ecobee thermostat...which sometimes goes offline....not often. When it goes offline, I need to turn the 120v power to the HVAC system off and then back on (the ecobee gets its power from the HVAC system). That resets the ecobee and all is fine. I spend the summer away from this house and if the ecobee goes offine..I have no current method to reset the HVAC 120v power remotely. My idea is to replace the current 120v plug in the attic with a smart plug...then I can remotely turn the 120v power off and the ecobee will reset and come back online. I use Wyze and Lutron Casita in the house currently and was hoping I could find an in-wall smart plug from Wyze or Lutron. Obviously, I don't need diming, etc...just the ability to turn the plug power on/off. I've seen some options...but one problem I have is the attic can reach up to 135F in the summer...many of the smart plugs I've seen are not rated for that temperature. Might any of you have any thoughts on a smart plug I might want to look at? I don't want to invest in anything that would require a new hub - so either WiFi based or Casita HUB based. I need 120v and 15amp ratings. Thanks in advance.
I am trying to run a reaction that turns on lights if a sensor has not been tripped for 2 minutes. Basically, when a garage door is open, turn on inside lights if nothing has been sensed for 2 minutes. My question has to do with the expression/variable for "Last Seen". The variable never gets updated over time since the last seen event never changes.
Screenshot 2024-09-02 191632.png
In the screenshot above, the reaction checks for any garage door as well as the variable called "GarageLastEntry". The expression for this variable is displayed below:
Screenshot 2024-09-02 191651.png
The problem that I am experiencing is that the variable never changes over time. I understand that this is because the "last seen" variable does not change over time when there is no activity. In this screenshot, the value shows 0.029... This can also be seen as the current value in the original reaction screenshot above. After 10 minutes, this value should be 10. However, when a garage door is opened, the variable does not get updated and thus the rule does not become true since .029 is less than 2.
When I go to the variable and click on the > icon, the variable then gets updated as expected as seen below:
Screenshot 2024-09-02 191711.png
So the ultimate question is, how do I use a rule that can use a variable such as "last seen"? Do I need to create another variable or reaction that multiplies this by 1 every minute? From what I read in the manual, a variable is evaluated every time it is included in a reaction. But this is not what I am seeing.
I also want to ask another question related to this variable. It seems like Reactor continuously deletes this variable and I have to keep recreating it? I have never experienced this with MSR so wanted to ask if this is a common problem or if my definition is causing this.
Any info is appreciated!!!
BACKGROUND
I have been using 4 x Yale Contactless Connected Door Locks for several years (they use either a rfid tag or code to enter)
I have also been using 1 x Yale L1 Door Lock on the main front door and this connects via Yale Software
Yale contacted me to advise the L1 Lock software was being withdrawn and I needed to install a Yale Access Module into the existing lock and a Wi-Fi Bridge to link it with the newly released software
ALL of the above was working just fine.
RECENT
Yale emailed to advise I should add a Yale Access Module to each of the 4 other locks as this would link with the updated software via the Wi-Fi Bridge.
They offered a deal of just £4 each for these Modules so I got them.
THE PROBLEM
I found that only 2 of these modules would slot easily into the locks - two of them bent the pins and one of those snapped the female part in a lock (I do have a spare lock but thats not the point).
Anyway, I began to set-up the two fitted Modules with the Wi-Fi Bridge and I eventually found (thanks Google, NOT Yale) that I now need 1 x Wi-Fi Bridge PER LOCK (£50 each).
QUESTION
Does anyone know of a compatible Wi-Fi Bridge which works with Yale AND can handle multiple connections (ie 5 all 5 of my locks) ?
THANK YOU
Hello,
I had an iCOMEN boiler switch that worked for many years. And I used iCOMEN app on my phone to manage it. Short time ago app started to have an error message that it cannot connect to the server, and after some time the device also stopped working.
Some of you may know that I took at shot at building an alternate geofencing solution for Vera. The core of it was system agnostic, using the OwnTracks application and AWS lambdas to track devices and keep a central data, then disseminate that to the Vera via a websocket-based plugin. It worked with other apps as well, including Tasker and GPSLogger, but of the dozen people that were testing it, most used OwnTracks.
A lot was learned in the process, not the least of which is that the success of any such solution is highly dependent on the phone and its settings. Phone manufacturers love to set things up for the longest battery life, of course, but that's usually very anti-geofencing behavior. In the case of at least one brand, it was unusable and the settings could not be modified. It was also cost-prohibitive to maintain on Amazon, as AWS grabs a dime here and a dollar there and before you know it, it added $100/month to my AWS bill, which my wife deducted from my Scotch budget. Unacceptable.
But it's quite reasonable to use OwnTracks to a local endpoint, and I could pretty easily replicate the functionality as a local application, or maybe even as an additional endpoint built into MSR's API (still separate port and process, but in the package).
So the question really is... would you do it, or would you be too concerned about the security risks associated (e.g., dynamic DNS and NAT mapping in the firewall necessary for the phone to contact the service when not on LAN)?
Hello forum instigators.
Not sure who host/runs the forum software but a couple of challenges:
The chat is not currently usable, as the scrolling is all not right and it's not possible to read chats or send chats reliably.
There are a lot of female members that should perhaps be on another forum; where they can advertise their skills more appropriately. Note: I agree it's a job, like any other.
Whoever you are - thank you for your invaluable work.
I run a B&B and am looking for a way to turn the lights off whenever a room is unoccupied for X amount of time. The guest should still be able to turn the lights on and off manually, but should not be able to disable the auto turn off feature if the room is unoccupied.
I guess I am looking for a light switch with a built in presence sensor? I guess a presence sensor would be better as if it is a motion sensor, the lights may go off unwanted if the guest fails to make sufficient movement e.g. if the guest is lying down watching a film.
Are there any products on the market that would work for my application?
Hello,
I am in search of a device capable of using Bluetooth to connect with a smartphone and serve as its primary sound source on demand. This device should function similarly to conventional Bluetooth headphones, which automatically become the phone's sound output upon activation. However, this device should differ in that it transmits the audio signal to an amplifier via a jack, SPDIF, or similar connection. Alternatively, it could be an integrated amplifier that directly sends the signal to passive speakers.
The control of this process should be manageable through an API such as MQTT, REST, MODBUS, or similar. Are you aware of any devices that operate in this manner?
The concept is as follows: upon entering the bathroom, I would press a wall-mounted switch. This switch would send a signal to the Bluetooth device, prompting it to connect to my smartphone and seamlessly continue playing the audiobook I am currently listening to. Instead of using the phone's speakers, it would seamlessly start playing through ceiling-mounted speakers.
Many thanks 🙂
Hi folks,
I currently have some cheap Zigbee hub and some Amazon Alexas running my smart home which mostly consists of Zigbee power strips and Zigbee battery powered switches.
It all worked OK originally, but now whenever I press a Zigbee switch the light in the corresponding plug switches on then immediately off again.
If I ask Alexa to turn the light on it works fine. Likewise if I switch it on from my phone.
Any ideas what the issue could be?
I've tried unplugging the hub a number of times but that doesn't seem to fix it.
I was thinking about getting a Homey Pro 2023 to speed things up (tmas the Zigbee hub seems to be really slow now as well, for some reason) but I'm not sure about that either.
Any suggestions greatly appreciated!
Looking for a recommendation:
Locksmith is trying to talk me into the Yale Assure Lock Touchscreen with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth - the original 1st generation because they said it's built better than the Assure Lock 2. Any thoughts on this? Which would you recommend?
I see Mul T Lock makes a cylinder (KW-KIDYRL) for Yale Smart Locks. Would this fit the 1st gen Assure Lock, as well as Assure Lock 2? Has anyone tried replacing the cylinder with this on either lock?
Other smart lock I was considering is the Schlage Encode Plus.
Thanks!
Hi. So when I had my house build I ran a bunch of stuff, one of which being two pairs of speaker wires to each bedroom and to 4 spots around my living room… Over the years I have used them here and there with different success.. But today they sit in my walls just unused.
I converted all the cat6 or 5e (I don’t remember) over to basically eithernet jacks. The cable coaxial well it’s there but now unused. But I was thinking there has got to be some use for two pairs of speaker wires to each room. Can I make them usb plugs? Not sure so looking for ideas.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts on this.
Kevin
Hey guys...
We are replacing the heat pump and furnace this week and I will also need to replace my nest thermostat at the same time 'cause Nest is ending the cloud thing end of the month.
Anyway, I'm looking to use the
T6 Pro Z-Wave Programmable Thermostat | Smart Home | Honeywell HomeThat's what the heat pump installer recommend BUT, using Nest I was also using it to control the home humidifier using a single wire connected to nest... but no low voltage thermostat is able to do that, I checked all of them...
So I need some help on how I can do that, to connect the home humidifier using zwave also....
Hi
We are looking for a solution where we can detect presence of a «thing» (people , car , dog, cat, and more..
We need:
fast detections, 1-3 seconds in range from 0 to 20 m from «base» fysical «client» , chip , transmitter , unit. base , receiver placed at a door, gate, house, etc uniq Identifying wirelessThe client:
no need for pressing any thing (no buttons) battery , hoply 2-5 years battery time.Have someone done anything like this?
What technologi will be best?
Z-Wave Classes & Commands
-
Considering how long I’ve been using HA systems, where I was a relatively early adopter of z-wave, I’ve never really explored the Z-Wave Classes and Commands.
Don’t get me wrong I understand (well at least I think I do) the overall objective and the design of the classes and the command, but my exposure to it has always been hidden behind a software/application layer.. No bad thing your might say, but the more I got to know the Lua language , the more I wanted to know more about the Z-wave Classes and Command - and how I could interact with them a little more directly.
FYI - I’m still very much in the learning phase, and welcome any insight/advice from those more experienced than me.
For this particular ‘How To’, I’m going to start off with a link to all the recorded z-wave classes and commands, this is a great place to see the length and breadth of what z-wave supports.
My first objective is to see if I can request a battery report from a device.. (Make sure your device support this class)
To do that I need to look up the
Commands_Class
for Battery, and note down it’s associated value, which in this case is0x80
COMMAND_CLASS_BATTERY 0x80 Management Active
After that, I then need to get the value associated with the specific command I want to send, which in this case is the
Battery Get
one from the following list..BATTERY_GET 0x02 controlling supporting BATTERY_REPORT 0x03 supporting controlling BATTERY_HEALTH_GET 0x04 controlling supporting BATTERY_HEALTH_REPORT 0x05 supporting controlling
Those two looks up have now provided me with the following two item values …
Battery Command Class = 0x80 BATTERY_HEALTH_GET Command = 0x04
Next I need to send them to my Vera/Z-wave controller , specifying the z-wave ‘node’ I want to target (make sure it is the node number (alt.I’d, NOT the Device No.) , which in this case is node 3 (device no. 64) - using a command like the following....
luup.call_action('urn:micasaverde-com:serviceId:ZWaveNetwork1','SendData',{Node='3',Data='0x80 0x04'},1)
Or externally..
http://192.168.1.10/port_3480/data_request?id=action&DeviceNum=1&serviceId=urn:micasaverde-com:serviceId:ZWaveNetwork1&action=SendData&Node=3&Data=0x80-0x04
Any/all feedback welcome..
-
Very well constructed. A couple of details I'd point out:
- A subtle mistake users often make in this procedure is sending the
SendData
command to the device. It cannot be stressed enough that theSendData
action is always and only sent to device #1, the ZWave Network device (i.e. the last parameter ofcall_action()
forSendData
is always1
). A lot of users will get the node ID parameter set correctly, construct the data string correctly, and then send the action to the device they want to control rather than the ZWave Network device #1, and then puzzle over why it doesn't work. - The hex may be abbreviated, for example,
x80
(the leading zero is not required), and any value may also be given in decimal form, and you can mix decimal and hex (e.g.x70 4 10 1 15
sets configuration parameter decimal 10 to the one-byte decimal value 15 on the target device). - Many ZWave commands require multi-byte values. For example, to send a 16-bit integer (range 0-65535 unsigned or -32768 to 32767 signed), you must send two bytes. To send 4096, for example, you cannot just put
4096
or0x1000
in your data string, as these are not valid byte values (which are 0-255/0x00-0xff range). If you look at the hex representation of 4096 --0x1000
-- you see four hexadecimal digits; split them into pairs and send them like this:0x00 0x10
. Notice the order of the two bytes has been reversed. This is referred to as little endian in network communications: the least significant byte is sent first, followed by progressively more significant bytes. A four-byte (32 bit) value, for example 0x12345678, would be sent as0x78 0x65 0x34 0x12
. Notice that the order of bytes is reversed, but within the bytes, there is no reversal of bits (that is 0x78 does not become 0x87). If the command you are using requires a byte count, remember to account for this splitting in your number of bytes (the 0x1000 example adds 2 to the length of the command because it takes two bytes to represent the one 16-bit number). Always send leading zeroes to get the expected number of bytes: if a 16-bit integer is expected for the command and you need to send 0, you must send0 0
or0x00 0x00
. - There is no easy way on Vera to intercept any data that may be a reply to the request/command. If you issue a command that replies with a packet that Luup does not understand, it will be logged but not otherwise handled, or available. This is a big short-coming of Vera in terms of allowing third-party support of ZWave devices. Hubitat, for example, has solved this problem, and third party ZWave device drivers are quite common, and not difficult to use, write or support.
- There is no way that I am aware of to do this on eZLO hubs with current firmware (there is no documented equivalent to
SendData
). I have pointed this out; the reply thus far has been deafening silence, not even so much as an acknowledgement that it may be added to a list for future consideration..
- A subtle mistake users often make in this procedure is sending the
-
All a bit tricky. The OpenZWave people spent ages reverse engineering the protocol. The logViewer plugin I wrote - it's for Vera/OpenWRT only - was subsequently augmented by @gengen. Putting the logging into verbose mode invokes his "ZShark". It allows a good view of the ZWave interchanges. Definitely don't leave your Vera in the logging verbose mode fo any length of time.
-
I have a Qubino ZMNHBD1 that I'm trying to reconfigure without messing with device numbers, but it's not really working.
I'm sending param 13 2-byte device to 0, but it doesn't seem to work (this will disable auto-off after 1 sec, since in 7.32 beta there's a bug preventing auto-off from being updated, so I've repurposed all my devices doing this, attaching external relays, or using Shellies).
luup.call_action("urn:micasaverde-com:serviceId:ZWaveNetwork1", "SendData", { Node='128', Data= "x70 4 13 2 0"}, 1 )
Any hints? Device is set to auto configure to off. Next step is to remove, reset the device and pair again, but I'd like to try this route first.
-
The first thing that stands out is latter part of my point #3 above: you are saying in the codes that parameter 13 is coming with a 2-byte value, but you are only sending one byte after the count. Try sending
x70 4 13 2 0 0
so that you are sending the upper and lower bytes of the two-byte value. Remember thatSendData
sends bytes, not values. It's up to you to "decompose" your values into the correct number and sequence of bytes that represents the value.One thing I also forgot to mention in my missive above for Vera in particular, is that the refresh and data validity around the "Device Options" in the UI is almost non-existent, and the values shown are often wrong. You have to do the following in order to see correct values:
- Set to
monitor only
any parameter in Device Options that you intend to control viaSendData
. If you don't do this, every Luup restart will reconfigure the device and clobber your values, and all you will ever see is what Luup wants to set or has set. - Some users turn off auto-reconfigure, and it is often recommended quite casually in the other forums. IMO, this is probably the worst advice I see being given in that community today, at least when given casually. It should only be used as a last resort for devices that errantly destroy and create children and wreak havoc with your device numbering, scenes and automations. But in any case, if you turn it off, the UI will never show you correct Device Option parameter values. Because...
- When inspecting values, the device must be reconfigured in order for the value to be picked up by Device Options, as during ZWave startup is the only time Luup sets or fetches these values. So if you are looking at the Device Options UI after a
SendData
, it will be wrong, and even after a hard refresh, it will be wrong (relative to your expectations), unless and until you reload Luup, or, reconfigure the device. Sometimes, you can get away with hitting "Configure Now", but I find that sometimes, for reasons I fear I will ever understand, attempting to just say "Configure Now" fails when configuration during a Luup reload works, an inexplicable dilemma (they should be one and the same function and work identically). And after either reload or "Configure Now", you must hard-refresh your browser, because the UI does not see changes in the state variables they use for these values reliably.
Also keep in mind that some devices will not keep the value you send, they will only act on it. For example, some of my Aeotec devices will reset their parameters to factory default if you set the value of a parameter to 255. When looking at the value, it is always reported as 0, never as 255, even though it gets the value when sent and does in fact reset itself as directed. Likewise my siren will accept the number of a melody to play in a parameter, but that parameter always reports as 0, even after playing melody 1, 10, 77, ....
- Set to
-
@toggledbits said in Z-Wave Classes & Commands:
Try sending x70 4 13 2 0 0 s
that did the trick. I really didn't paid attention to this detail. it works this way, in fact. I'm not really monitoring the params, but I know the relay will not do a second click after 1 sec after sending on, so I'm know it's working well. I'm not messing so much with parameters these days, since the system is almost stable and I've added many new devices (I still have 3-4 added but not already deployed, but that's another story). Thanks, as always!
-
@toggledbits Would it be possible to add a function to MSR that returns the parameters of a Z-Wave device?
Vera comes close but you need to know the parameter to be able to find the setting of it, punching in 254 values one at a time is very laborious and time consuming, especially if you find that there are no further parameters......FWIW .Homeseer doesn't have this ability at all, perhaps someone can comment of HASS or other HA platforms in use?
Some will question why do you need to do this?
Apart from discovering any unknown parameters just because they are there, Z-Wave device manufacturers do not publish all parameters that are used in a device - generally because they have been added after the device has been certified and publishing it renders Certification void.
Would it be useful? Yes, as an example a Device we had in a Z-Wave net didn't behave as expected. An email exchange between the manufacturer divulged a "hidden parameter" which when switched on caused the device to behave correctly. If we had known that there was an extra Parameter then we would have tested it to find out what it did. It may or may not have worked but we would have had the opportunity to try it beforehand.
Anyway, it's useful to know when engaging with manufacturers, it gives you the upper hand...... -
At this stage, probably not, just for the lack of consistency. The issues:
- Vera, we know, keeps the data in state variables, and we get what we get. You can get that today -- just look at the attribute on the entity in MSR and see as much information as it could publish. On a Vera ZWave device, look for
x_vera_svc_micasaverde_com_ZWaveDevice1.VariablesGet
. - On Hass, not only does the API not tell you what integration drives an entity, but even if you forced that association by declaring the ZWave service, the service itself doesn't publish any attributes/data from the integration through the API. So the configuration variables aren't visible at all. Nor is the device's manufacturer info, model number, or even its ZWave node ID. Mind you, Hass has all of this information, it must in order to function, it just doesn't publish any of it through its APIs.
- On Hubitat, pretty much the same story as Hass: the API doesn't tell you what driver supplies the device, so you don't even know it's ZWave, and there's no data available attached to the device that's published through the API related to ZWave, anyway.
- On eZLO, they do identify the device by its parent "protocol" (zwave), and give you the ZWave node ID and a couple of flags, but no other useful information that I've seen. There aren't even API commands available for single-node things like poll a node or set a config value, only network-wide commands for things like start/stop inclusion or reset the Zwave chip and delete the entire network (i.e. not things you usually want to do in an automation). Since I'm probably the only person who cares if those other things exist and I'm persona non grata over there, they're probably not getting done any time soon, whether I report them or not. I haven't used any devices on my eZLO system that have configuration parameters, so I can't tell if or how it publishes those. If someone has included on their eZLO system a device that normally uses configuration parameters, like an Aeotec Multisensor, etc., please send me via PM your
logs/ezlo_data_list.json
file. I'd love to see if it has anything.
Very low on my priorities (particularly with the big changes to the core/Engine of late) has been direct integration with ZWave-JS. That would expose all the right information, I'm sure. But that's really no small task, and in essence, transforms MSR from an automation tool into the realm of being a hub itself. Maybe that's not bad.
- Vera, we know, keeps the data in state variables, and we get what we get. You can get that today -- just look at the attribute on the entity in MSR and see as much information as it could publish. On a Vera ZWave device, look for