cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/7783032
When I started at Ars in the summer of 2022, the next generation of smart home standards was on the way. Matter, an interoperable device setup and management system, and Thread, a radio network that would provide secure, far-reaching connectivity optimized for tiny batteries. Together, they would offer a home that, while well-connected, could also work entirely inside a home network and switch between controlling ecosystems with ease. I knew this tech wouldn’t show up immediately, but I thought it was a good time to start looking to the future, to leave behind the old standards and coalesce into something new.
Instead, Matter and Thread are a big mess, and I am now writing to tell you that I was wrong, or at least ignorant, to have ignored the good things that already existed: Zigbee and Z-Wave. I’ve put in my time with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and various brittle combinations of the two. They’re useful for data-rich devices and for things that can stay plugged in. Zigbee and Z-Wave have been around, but they always seemed fidgety, obscure, and vaguely European at a glance. But here, in the year 2024, I am now an admirer of both, and I think they still have a place in our homes.
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I found hue bulbs to be a lot more responsive once I ditched the hub, and paired my bulbs directly with a zigbee coordinator.
This is the way. I’ve had absolutely zero issues with my Hue bulbs directly connected to a USB Zigbee controller and running zigbee2mqtt. With Zigbee bindings to smart switches, they respond practically instantly as well whenever we decide to control them that way.
I used to use a USB Zigbee coordinator, but an Ethernet one with PoE is way more flexible since I can place it anywhere in the house. https://smartlight.me/smart-home-devices/zigbee-devices/smlight-slzb-06en. This one has a nice web UI for updating the firmware, too. I switched from a Sonoff Zigbee dongle recently and really should have done it earlier.
As someone who runs HomeAssistant in a VM that could migrate between three different servers at anytime depending on what is going on, a networked Zigbee coordinator was essential.
Eh, just stick the USB into a pi and host the usb port over the network into the vm.
That’s just a networked Zigbee coordinator with more steps. The coordinator I linked to uses PoE so all I need is a network cable.
sure, but I don’t have to buy more things that I already have… and can do it with zwave too.
That does also look like a good option. In my case, I have a Pi 4 running both zigbee2mqtt and zwave-js-ui using connected Zigbee and Zwave USB dongles placed centrally in the house (Eclipse mosquitto is running on a separate 3-server cluster). I’ve only briefly searched, but network zwave controllers seem to be much less common or more expensive, so I probably wouldn’t benefit much from changing my Zigbee controller at the moment.
The Zigbee ones aren’t too expensive. The one I use (Smartlight SLZB-06) is $30 plus shipping ($8 to the USA) from their official store.
Z-wave is more of a niche at this point, especially since newer Zigbee radios also support Thread (which is the future).
Oh I know, but my thermostat and a handful of other devices are Zwave, so for me specifically it’s probably not worth changing things up at this time.
I’ve had next to zero issues with my Hue setup. It’s performed near flawlessly.
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I’m glad you have luck with govee lights. The controllers on the strips I have need to be reconnected to wifi 2-3x a week. They’re a total pain for me.
I have a bunch of stuff in my Amazon cart ready to convert the strips to wled. Very much looking forward to bot having to deal with them anymore
Try changing your Zigbee channel. I had awful performance until I tried that. Not always perfect now but WAY better.
I had a dual-hub setup, with ~60 bulbs. I was running close to the max device limit of one so I had to add another. The only issues I’ve had were with a particular model of bulb. The A21 1600lm white. A fifth of the bulbs developed hardware problems which resemble control issues in some but they really are much more serious. They begin to self power cycle. Some eventually die and don’t turn on anymore. Some get loose elements inside. All of that says excess heat. Apart from the problems with this particular bulb I’ve had no problems whatsoever.