#Comment on my first purchase for new home

1 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

lapis cedar
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Posted on reddit but I'm so happy Discord is available.

I'm new to HA, so sorry for any weird question.
I'm automating just a couple of things in my house. my main question starts with, do I need to add a dongle in my Synology where my HA will be?

My plan was to buy a hub like Sonoff ZBBridge-Pro and connect over the internet to my HA. Am I thinking correctly? Why would I need a dongle and deal with all the synology USB driver stuff?

I was even thinking about going the Wi-Fi route because I didn't think I have a lot of devices but in the end will be a couple still:

  • 1 Power Meter Wifi - to get me over time overall consumption - Sonoff POW Elite
  • Hub - Sonoff ZBBridge-Pro
  • 6 to automate the electric blinders: Sonoff DUALR3 Lite (this is really frustrating because I can't find any zigbee similar device, and price. I dont know what to do)
  • Automate the garage door button: Sonoff ZBMINIR2
  • Couple of Door Sensors: Sonoff SNZB-04P

I still have 6 LG airco machines that are "intelligent" but it's Wifi and 2 robots vaccums cleaners. So that means some devices.

last shadow
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I'd recommend the SLZB-O6(M). You can put it wherever you have a network cable. You can also plug it via USB.

lapis cedar
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I understand that ethernet can be big in terms of latency. is that the main reason?

last shadow
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Mostly because I trust them more and it's open source and simple to use via the webinterface.

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WiFi can interfere with Zigbee and PoE and LAN is quite nice too, of course.

lapis cedar
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Okay, great. Makes sense. Maybe I'm leaning into Sonoff too much and there is a world out there that I can easily fix my other things as well - like not finding a zigbee blinder (up down) automating system.

#

PoE is nice but I dont have a network with PoE now so I need to think about that one. just a injector to start, probably.

last shadow
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Would you flash the bridge with tasmota? Otherwise you still need an app, no? A lot of us use zigbee to not have to use random apps or accounts.
PoE is not a must. You can power it via USB. Not as pretty though.

lapis cedar
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my current (and noobie) plan was to install HA in my synology (I see better in a VM than docker) and connect it to the Zigbee Hub and to the devices that are Wifi (aircos, some appliances, vaccum) and go from there. Where the Hub would help manage the Zigbee Devices that I was listing above. Am I in the right track?

last shadow
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HAOS in a VM is a good choice. The rest sounds sane too. Just note that Zigbee and WiFi both use 2.4GHz: https://www.metageek.com/training/resources/zigbee-wifi-coexistence/

MetaGeek
ZigBee and Wi-Fi Coexistence

ZigBee transmits on the same part of the 2.4 GHz spectrum as Wi-Fi, and when both protocols are transmitting at the same time, it causes interference that can damage the quality of the Zigbee signal. In this lesson, we’ll cover how to design a network for Wi-Fi and Zigbee to peacefully coexist.

lapis cedar
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Yes, I get that. With that you are saying I might be better going the Z Wave route to start?
Tbh I dont have ANY device on my 2.4 Ghz Wifi other than these devices, I run 5ghz for the rest.

last shadow
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I don't use Z-Wave myself. Many people use both. I think ZHA is smart enough to pick a channel that does not interfere. It's just that if WiFi is so close to it (as in the same device) it can be a bad idea. It's why USB extension cables are recommended for USB coordinators to keep them away from interference like USB 3 ports. If you follow the recommendations I wouldn't worry too much.