graceful hawk
Just got some new Zooz ZSE42 800LR and wondering if folks use the LR or just standard mesh with the 800 stuff? Seems like the standard mesh would be better for battery as it doesn't have to transmit as far? I know I won't be anywhere near the 232 node limit.
https://z-wavealliance.org/what-is-z-wave-long-range-how-does-it-differ-from-z-wave/
mystic quiver
I use LR for all my battery devices
In LR mode nodes can adjust their TX output power as necessary
untold totem
In LR mode nodes can adjust their TX output power as necessary
If the connection is good, they will even go down to -6 dBm, so saves even more battery. On top of the lower delays compared to mesh.
graceful hawk
Hmmm interesting. At what point does mesh become better? Does it at all? Is there a certain distance from the antenna? Mines not set up the best with it being in the back of the house and some sensors being towards the front.
untold totem
If you're in US, mesh is limited to -1 dBm, while LR can go up to +20 dBm (theoretically 30, but all chips can do max. 20).
So it is unlikely that mesh is ever better than LR, unless you need to reach some RF blind spot where a direct LR connection fails.
graceful hawk
Ahhh ok. Ya I'm in the US.
I guess when I say better I meant more battery efficient? All things being equal except mesh vs LR even though LR can talk a higher dB wouldn't that also mean more battery consumption?
untold totem
You need to consider that communication is two-way. So a sleeping device wakes up, sends a command and waits for it to be delivered.
With LR, that cycle is usually completed within 10-20ms, sometimes a bit longer when there are retries involved.
With mesh, every repeater adds latency. So the device may end up waiting 100ms or longer for the acknowledgement. This is going to burn the battery faster than a few dB more in transmit power.
There might be a sweet spot though where mesh could theoretically be more power efficient under idal conditions, but I have no clue if it exists and if yes, how to find it.
graceful hawk
Ahhhh ok. That was the part I wasn't thinking of. The added wait time for the mesh to process the message. Thanks! That makes perfect sense.
I'll go LR on these and see how it goes.
I'm in a 2 story old house but no metal or cement walls. And nothing farther than 30 feet away. should be good to go in theory?
As ya'll get more and more LR devices the mesh starts to fall off then as you add the newer devices right? Just have to strategically replace, right?
untold totem
Yeah if you're replacing mesh devices with LR, I'd start with the further ones first
graceful hawk
Is there an easy/quick way to tell a device is connected at LR? I found it in the visualization but that's all I can seem to find.
untold totem
Node id >= 256 is LR
graceful hawk
Ahhh ok. Thanks! Getting these deployed now. Appreciate you talking this through with me.
blazing onyx
I don't think you can do direct association with LR like you can with mesh when one device directly controls another without the controller. But I think it is a fair trade for the better stability I have experienced with LR.