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How does HS handle new HA hardware?

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    How does HS handle new HA hardware?

    Hi, I am obviously new here. Looking to get into HA and was initially considering Smarthings. Not a big fan of the cloud emphasis though. Would prefer local. Looked around and found HS. At this point I am leaning towards HS, but still doing my homework.

    I have a underutilized dual Xenon server ruining 24/7 with Ubuntu and some KVM VMs including a Windows 10 VM. So putting HS3 on that would make some sense. Plus I think it would be an interesting project.

    But anyways, my question is how does HS handle new z-wave (or zigbee) switches, plugs, or other new HA hardware? Smarthings appears to have their custom DTH that often appear to be required, but that the community seems to be able to get out fairly quickly.

    It is not clear to me what HS has that is equivalent to that. HS has scripting and plug-ins. I believe that the plug-ins may be the closest thing to DTHs. But the HS plug-ins appear more complicated, and I am not sure it is feasible to have a plug-in for every new device.

    I am not clear on the HS architecture vs Smartthings, so maybe HS handles new devices differently and does not need the equivalent of DTHs?

    I am trying to get a sense of how future proof HS is and how quickly one can take advantage of new devices/hardware when they come out.

    Thanks

    #2
    I think I have some of my own answers by reading through many threads here. One of them that I thinks speaks to my question is:

    https://forums.homeseer.com/showthre...=186151&page=9

    Very interesting read on how HS handles the device builds vs the ST DTHs.

    As always, if only we could combine the best of both worlds...

    Comment


      #3
      Welcome to the HomeSeer community! You'll find that our group is very willing to help and answer questions to get you going.

      Personally, I started on HS3 about three years ago on a Windows 7 VM on VMware ESXi and it worked very well for more than two years. I have since transitioned to a Win 10 i7 laptop with an SSD drive. I have about 100 Z-wave devices (sensors, switches etc) and several non Z-wave devices using many plugins. The system has been extremely stable and runs smoothly. For new devices - I tend to look at Z-wave first before going elsewhere because it is a popular standard covered by hundreds of brands and thousands of devices - and has been very stable in my environment

      The HS3 Z-wave Plugin takes care of interoperability with Z-wave and Z-wave Plus devices. For the most part this plugin works with new Z-wave devices from Day 1 since most Z-wave vendors implement the standard properly. Sometimes the Z-wave plugin may need a revision to account for a new functionality in a device..and that happens fairly quickly when users ask for the device to be tested if it hasn't been already considered by HomeSeer.

      Plugins are the primary way that HomeSeer is made extensible with new HA devices and solutions. A great example is the new MQTT Plugin which opens up new possibilities with IOT and HA. Also, low cost devices such as the Sonoff line of WiFi devices can be integrated easily with MQTT and open source firmware.

      For me HS3 is my HA platform going forward because it is not cloud based, is very extensible with plugins, is easy to use and has a very powerful Event engine. The community is also very active and helpful in the forums. I had looked at openHAB, HomeAssistant and SmartThings but settled on HomeSeer.

      I wish you good luck in your HA adventure!

      Comment


        #4
        Welcome here..
        I started on HS2 and it was more script based and I am just "Joe User" .. non scripter, etc. People helped me and I saw what others used and shared.

        now I'm on HS3 and love it. Event based (can be tricky to get fully working but it is great when you do) and really not too difficult.

        I am a mix of x10 (works great for me on motion sensors and switches), Also started going more z-wave with anything I replace. Starting in January, every month I plan on buying 4 z-wave+ switches until all my x10 2 way switches are replaced.

        also use 433mhz Oregon scientific temperature sensors and also integrated my concord 4 alarm system. Think I was the first to ask about this and someone else bought the panel and made a free plugin... so they ended up with getting their new alarm integrated and my question on it brought in great support for a new plugin!

        so I think to better answer your questions... maybe post up what you want to automate and we can chime in how/what is needed to do that. Then you can best decide.
        HW - i5 4570T @2.9ghz runs @11w | 8gb ram | 128gb ssd OS - Win10 x64

        HS - HS3 Pro Edition 3.0.0.435

        Plugins - BLRF 2.0.94.0 | Concord 4 3.1.13.10 | HSBuddy 3.9.605.5 | HSTouch Server 3.0.0.68 | RFXCOM 30.0.0.36 | X10 3.0.0.36 | Z-Wave 3.0.1.190

        Hardware - EdgePort/4 DB9 Serial | RFXCOM 433MHz USB Transceiver | Superbus 2000 for Concord 4 | TI103 X-10 Interface | WGL Designs W800 RF | Z-Net Z-Wave Interface

        Comment


          #5
          I think in general terms you can probably think of a plugin would be responsible for a type of hardware (be it X10, Z-Wave, Zigbee etc) and then it is up to that plugin to interface with the specific devices that support that hardware (ie a new Z-Wave bulb or whatever).

          Different or new devices may or may not need changes to a plugin, there are no hard and fast rules to this and also no absolute assurances that it would be supported. You could buy an obscure Z-Wave device from a manufacturer that no one on here has tested and find that even though it is Z-Wave certified that it still does not work with the Z-Wave plugin until changes have been made (and there is no guarantee that these changes will happen). On the other hand you could buy a new Z-Wave device and find it works just fine without any changes.

          New types of hardware (new protocols etc) are a little more vague as it is reliant on either HST or a third party developer taking on the challenge (some types of hardware may not need a plugin and as such the challenge is easier). There is again no guarantee that protocol x/y/z will be supported either because no one wants to do the development or it is not possible. There is what appears to be less of a tendency for HST to develop plugins than historically there has been but HS as a core is probably more complex than it was in HS2 which takes up development time. Considering the hardware that HS can run on then in terms of future proofing it is fairly robust, the interface between plugins is TCP based and it is .net compliant so it shouldn't be going anywhere any time soon.

          Comment


            #6
            Welcome to the Homeseer forum Moose12.

            "future proofing" is a loaded question.

            Homeseer's event engine, plugins, scripts allow just about any type of automation using today's automation protocols.

            Here utilize X10, UPB, ZWave and Zigbee and tinker with automation hardware and software.

            The Samsung Smartthing Hub is a cloud based ZWave and Zigbee device with it's OS (linux) based in firmware. (I have one here that I tinker with). There are a few out there including other cloud connected automation smart hubs.

            With Homeseer you have the option of keeping your automation at home and if you want add cloud connectivity use for say the Amazon Alexa.
            - Pete

            Auto mator
            Homeseer 3 Pro - 3.0.0.548 (Linux) - Ubuntu 18.04/W7e 64 bit Intel Haswell CPU 16Gb
            Homeseer Zee2 (Lite) - 3.0.0.548 (Linux) - Ubuntu 18.04/W7e - CherryTrail x5-Z8350 BeeLink 4Gb BT3 Pro
            HS4 Lite - Ubuntu 22.04 / Lenovo Tiny M900 / 32Gb Ram

            HS4 Pro - V4.1.18.1 - Ubuntu 22.04 / Lenova Tiny M900 / 32Gb Ram
            HSTouch on Intel tabletop tablets (Jogglers) - Asus AIO - Windows 11

            X10, UPB, Zigbee, ZWave and Wifi MQTT automation-Tasmota-Espurna. OmniPro 2, Russound zoned audio, Alexa, Cheaper RFID, W800 and Home Assistant

            Comment

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