Vera or not vera?
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@rafael77
Well, with all the components built in, I’d be happy if I didn’t have to make any major changes to the hardware protfolio.
Let's see, do I understand?
Vera, openLuup / ALTUI, is a good stable choice.
If I choose this, do I need to understand lua / linux or other programming languages ??
Or as an outsider, I just install and configure them and you’re done?
As with other plug-ins?
What exactly does openLuup do with vera? -
I am, of course, biased...
You can progress in easy steps, and see how things improve. You will need another computer (Raspberry Pi of any sort is not a bad choice.)
- install openLuup on RPi
- link openLuup to Vera
- move any plugins to openLuup (really helps reliability)
- move scenes to openLuup (ditto)
These are easy steps for which there is much help available. If this is not reliable enough for you then
- buy a UZB stick with ZWave licence, and software (runs on RPi)
- clone your Vera ZWave network to it
- plug in UZB to RPi
- throw away Vera
Then you are in a hugely reliable, yet still familiar, home automation environment.
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I should also add that the Reactor plugin, of course, works on openLuup (indeed, it was developed there, IIRC.)
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Thank you for your comments and helpfulness!
@AKbooer
I think it seems so understandable, although I'm afraid the construction will be much larger in volume ....
Before I start purchasing, I have a few questions:-
"You will need another computer"
What RPi should I take? 3's 4's? 2GB? 4GB? -
"buy a UZB stick with ZWave license, and software (runs on RPi)"
If I understand correctly, two softwares came up. The Homeseer and the z-way? How can I try these? Does that require any hardware? -
My shutter control is not commonplace. I have 433Mhz radio frequency shutter motors. The shutter control interface is connected to the vera via a USB port. It is a 15-channel radio frequency shutter control module that uses port 3481 to communicate with the vera. It communicates with the shutters on RF433Mhz. (device type: urn: schemas-arduino-cc: device: arduino: 1)
Will I be able to use this if I leave the vera completely?
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Homeseer has a 30 day free trial, it's available in both Windows (ideal for repurposing an old laptop) or run it on a Raspberry Pi.
I do both flavours for testing but love the Pi.
A UZB is essential for a Z-Wave network, HS is software not tied to a particular system, for instance apart from Z-Wave you can run Zigbee, KNX, Hue, Tuya... the list goes on.
Your RF controller will work with it.
It's free for 30 days, jump in and give it a try. -
^^^
The point I was trying to make is that you can trial HS software without a UZB, also there is other software than Z-Way.
I'm hoping that the forum doesn't become Z-Way centric as there other good options available as well including Home Assistant.
If you like the software then choices can be made for Z-Wave, Zigbee etc, if you have a TUYA device then it's all there for you without buying anything additional. -
Without wanting to be z-way centric, HS is indeed a decent choice for zwave as a holistic controller, not needing anything else but... It is very very expensive. Its integrations are good but nowhere near as good as home assistant and again very expensive. And lastly it doesn't have any decent API for it to use as a device controller which would enable people to overcome its inconveniences which is cost and insufficient integrations. So no I don't really recommend homeseer. It is good if it fits exactly what you are seeking in terms of control and integration and are willing to pay the $$$. I downloaded it, used the free version for some time and though it is stable, it lacks the flexibility of openLuup in automation and the completeness and user friendliness of z-way in zwave command class level controls. Each has its pros and cons but homeseer has no good way to overcome its cons unlike others you can make work with others.
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@Black-Cat said in Vera or not vera?:
The point I was trying to make is that you can trial HS software without a UZB, also there is other software than Z-Way.
I'm hoping that the forum doesn't become Z-Way centric as there other good options available as well including Home Assistant.100%.
These are just opinions based on individual experience... what else could they be?
If there was a ‘perfect’ answer, then we wouldn’t need a forum.
Edit: I should back up this philosophy with the very practical note that I am not, in fact, now, even ZWave centric, abandoning it for almost everything (can’t find a good replacement yet for two pulse-counter meter readers or MiniMote four-button hand-held controllers.)
I’ve surprised myself by being impressed with Shelly WiFi-based devices.
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(can’t find a good replacement yet for two pulse-counter meter readers or MiniMote four-button hand-held controllers.)
Have a look at esphome.io
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@sender said in Vera or not vera?:
(can’t find a good replacement yet for two pulse-counter meter readers or MiniMote four-button hand-held controllers.)
Have a look at esphome.io
Yes, thanks. You (or someone else) May have pointed this out previously?
I have no problem building my own stuff (I used to use MySensor Arduino-based sensors) but have been trying to move towards more consumer-based hardware (Philips Hue, etc.) for easier maintenance in the future (possibly by others, rather than myself.)
It would seem that a natural response for a new owner acquiring a home-made smart home would be to rip it all out and start again, but an infrastructure of commercial, and documented, systems would, perhaps, be more likely to be retained?
A theme for a separate topic, perhaps.
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- If I connect a z-way or z wave stick later and leave the vera, will I still be able to run openluup? Will I keep all my devices, plugins, reactor scenes previously imported from vera?
- What is your opinion on the shutter issue I mentioned earlier? Will go? That would be important because I wouldn’t get rid of the shutter controller.
- Does zway also have a free trial?
- I downloaded the homeseer to watch for free on windows. It's completely empty now. Should I install the vera plugin? In principle, it writes $ 40. Or is it free for 30 days in the trial version?
Sorry if I asked something clear ....
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- openLuup has no dependency on Vera hardware at all. It is simply a reliable implementation of the Luup API.
- I don’t think ZWay has a free trial. In openLuup it is just used as middleware to connect to the ZWave stack.
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Homeseer software is free for 30 days, Plug Ins vary, some are free to trial some not.
The PI description will tell you the status. -
I bought the Pi!
I'm right there now
#wget https://github.com/akbooer/openLuup/raw/master/Utilities/openLuup_install.luaFor some reason he writes to me that:
openLuup_install.lus: permission denied.What do I have to do now?
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mabye putting "sudo" in front of it? you may have to stand in the /Downloads folder as well, and then copy the downloaded file to /etc later..
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It was key !!
"saved"
Thanks.
I'm going on my way ... -
one more problem ...
the installation stalled here.pi@raspberrypi:/etc/cmh-ludl $ sudo lua5.1 openLuup_install.lua openLuup_install 2019.02.15 @akbooer getting openLuup version tar file from GitHub branch master... un-zipping download files... mv: 'openLuup-master/openLuup/'-t can't remove here: './openLuup': The directory is not empty getting dkjson.lua... creating required files and folders initialising... downloading and installing AltUI... % Total % Received % Xferd Average Speed Time Time Time Current Dload Upload Total Spent Left Speed 100 29170 100 29170 0 0 90309 0 --:--:-- --:--:-- --:--:-- 90309 % Total % Received % Xferd Average Speed Time Time Time Current Dload Upload Total Spent Left Speed 100 6570 100 6570 0 0 32364 0 --:--:-- --:--:-- --:--:-- 32364 lua5.1: openLuup/init.lua:291: openLuup - is another copy already running? Unable to start HTTP server on port 3480 stack traceback: [C]: in function 'error' openLuup/init.lua:291: in main chunk [C]: ? openLuup downloaded, installed, and running... visit http://192.168.0.159:3480 to start using the system pi@raspberrypi:/etc/cmh-ludl $ lua5.1: openLuup/init.lua:291: openLuup - is another copy already running? Unable to start HTTP server on port 3480 stack traceback: [C]: in function 'error' openLuup/init.lua:291: in main chunk [C]: ? "
If I try to open it in a browser the message is:
"This XML file does not appear to have any style information associated with it. The document tree is shown below."What should I do?
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akbooerreplied to krisztianszabo on Nov 4, 2020, 5:17 PM last edited by akbooer Nov 4, 2020, 12:22 PM
@krisztianszabo said in Vera or not vera?:
openLuup - is another copy already running?
It means exactly what it says.
Try accessing it with AltUI URL. If it’s an old copy running, you can abort it with the exit command, as described in the documentation...
http://openLuupIP:3480/data_request?id=exit
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