Hello everyone. I’m remodeling and currently have very little devices, mostly wifi. I can change protocols at this point and was wondering if I should change to something else. What is recommended? What has a good price?
#Protocol to use
proper tiger
random peak
Hi @proper tiger,
I'd recommend Zigbee or ZWave. Zigbee is good but the mesh takes a few devices to have a good stable mesh, like at least 1 or 2 routing plugs or devices per average room, and some companies devices are better than others. ZWave generally less finicky, more dependable, but more costly (like 20% to 40% more in many cases for same function).
proper tiger
And what about lighting? Like do bulbs route or only accept information?
So I use smart wall switches and smart bulbs? I would like color temp and brightness. Some rgb but like maybe 1 or 2 in some rooms for notifications
random peak
Some zigbee bulbs route. Those should not be power switched, only e-switched and stay power on. Singled bulbs are end devices for zigbee and could be powered off. (but I would not). Some of the zwave stuff have smart bulb mode that keeps the power to the bulb and does e-switching/control of the bulb. Nice for your situation.
proper tiger
But should I use smart bulb and switch or smart switch and dumb bulbs?
vivid folio
There is no universal answer. Depends how you use your devices. There's pros and cons.
For a simple light switch I prefer smart modules behind dumb switches if possible and if not a smart switch.
Smart bulbs can also change brightness and potentially color but you might not need that and people might power them off with a dumb switch which is bad.