Wifi vs zwave Devices

[Club Chapin]

Thanks. I have tried optimizing, full optimizing, and setting static routes. It all behaves about the same. I've got the original leviton zwave devices as well as some off brand zwave that doesn't help. I have a few zwave+ devices as well.

Wifi devices are no problem. I can spool up ssids and expand networks to accommodate them.

Apart from my zwave issues, that I would like to solve, can HS work directly with the wifi devices that work directly with the Echo/Google assistant? Is there perhaps a plug in for this? Maybe an HS4 feature?

Does HS3 update a devcies status immediately with ZW+? IE if a switch or dimmer is manually adjusted, does HS3 register it immediately? Can ZW+ push a status change to HS3, not using polling?

[Club Chapin]

Yes. The plug-in is called Big5. It does work with wide variety of interfaces and protocols such as TCP, HTTP, MQTT, REST, JSON, API . Most of the modern WiFi devices do support at least one of the above. Be aware however that some vendors do not disclose their protocols on purpose. So there is not a "cover all" answer to your question. With this said Big5 users have managed to adopt variety of devices under HS3 control from dishwashers to weather stations and everything in between.

Thanks, I'll check this out. I'm mostly curious about making wifi switches, dimmers, and plug in modules work in HS3. There's some really affordable options out there.

[Club Chapin]

WiFi switches. plugs, and bulbs sell at lower price points than Zwave devices and most use the cloud-based Tuya firmware. I understand that HS4 has Tuya compatibilty, but I do not know if they use the Tuya Cloud or if they capture the encryption keys and control them locally. My guess is more likely the former.

What I and may other do is install 3rd-Party firmware in the WiFi devices. This is normally done using Tuya Convert application that was developed by a German security company for the Rpi. After doing this then the control is local, just like the Zwave control, but without the need for a hub other than the WiFi router. What ksum indicated above should also be taken into account. If you install a lot of WiFi devices then it may exceed the capacity of mass-consumer routers and either a router upgrade or additional Access Points will be needed to support the WiFi volume.

Shelly as also provided another niche that uses already-installed bulbs and already-installed switches and puts a very small microcontroler with WiFi in the junction box behind the standard switch. This assumes that you have both power and neutral at the junction box. Sometimes on older houses only power is available at the junction box. The advantage with this is that your exist switch color and style does not need to change. Price points are in the $15-$25 range depending upon the functionality you want behind the switch and if you want power monitoring reported.

Great info, will check this out.

This is the plug I am playing with. Could I flash it to have it work directly with HS?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1