Reddit reviews Aeotec Z-Stick Gen5 Z-Wave Hub Z-Wave Plus USB to Create Gateway (Ordinary White)

I think it's easier to search for minor inconveniences and annoyances around your house, then search for ways to automate it away.

I gotta watch out with this site or I'll end up in the non-automated poorhouse, but it's awesome for product discovery
http://www.smarthomedb.com/products

Since you mentioned OpenHAB, the supported technologies list is a good place to start a wishlist too
http://www.openhab.org/features/supported-technologies.html

I'm using z-wave for most of my devices, so the product database is full of devices that are more likely to be compatible
https://github.com/openhab/openhab/blob/master/bundles/binding/org.openhab.binding.zwave/database/products.xml

This forum thread is also great for seeing what other people have gotten working
https://community.openhab.org/t/collection-of-working-z-wave-configs/1407

Personally, I've had great luck with these devices:

Aeon Labs Aeotec Z-Wave Z-Stick, Gen5 Z-Wave Plus - ZW090 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00X0AWA6E/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_cIbCwbYMNV0A4

2gig CT100 Z-Wave Programmable Thermostat (White) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008CQ4V3Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_3IbCwbNFR9PQ6

MIMOLite - Z-wave Mulit-Input/Output Dry Contact Bridge https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B6RZ7MM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_uKbCwbF1ZBAXK

GE12722 Z-Wave Wireless Lighting Control On/Off Switch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0035YRCR2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_oLbCwbQCFR48K

GoControl WNK01-21KIT Z-Wave Essentials Wink Enabled Security Kit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XUXYSWU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_p5bCwbRY8TXQ5

I have an old ADT installed Safewatch pro 3000 alarm, and this ties it into OpenHAB really nicely.
http://www.alarmdecoder.com/

I'm comfortable pulling wires through the walls, so I use one of these for TTS playback from my OpenHAB box:
Elk ELK-70 Echo Speaker https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003XP1HZ6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_kZbCwb799TN4C

Driven by one of these:
Lepai LP-2020A+ Tripath TA2020 Class-T Hi-Fi Audio Amplifier with Power Supply https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0049P6OTI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_X0bCwb7MYGM47

A few scenarios might help with inspiration.

I have a sensor on my garage entry door that kicks on the laundry room light when the door is opened so I never enter a dark house with my hands full.

If it's 00:00 - 06:00 and any perimeter sensors on the alarm are tripped, all outside and main level lights come on at full brightness

I have a sensor on my garage door to send me an alert if it has been open for more than 15 minutes, and a camera and a mimolite to close it remotely

My wife works nights so I have a mimolite to disable the upstairs doorbell while she's sleeping during the day. It sends our phones alerts if the doorbell is rung while silenced

Pretty much most custom setups here use the aeotec z-wave stick and either Open Hab or Home Assistant. Open Hab has a pretty new configuration UI but its not finished yet so there is still a far amount of not so trivial configuring that you have to do. Home assistant is just writing config files (YAML) but the documentation is amazing and its pretty easy if you are even remotely tech savvy. As stated already in the thread you do need a spare computer to essentially act as a hub.


I've been running this setup for almost a year (home assistant) and I haven't had any problems so far, its very stable.


Also you can give home assistant a shot before you switch as it supports the smart things hub!

I have recently gone down the road of automating my home. Here are some of my thoughts:

1. Try not to lock yourself into an eco-system.
   
2. Google Home and Amazon Echo have similar capabilities, if you already have an Amazon, echo and if you like it go with more Alexa devices. As /u/TwiceBakedTomato already mentioned, Google Home or Amazon Alexa are only going to be voice-control part of your home automation. Also, if you already have a pixel phone, you can check out google's home skills, by using the google assistant.
   
3. Do not overlook Zwave. You can get a USB Zwave hub like this, and you won't have a bunch of bulbs and switches crowding your wifi network.
   
4. Check out Home Assistant. It is not really a works out-of-the-box solution (I can't speak for hass.io), but it is not hard to setup and has a lot of resources online. The possibilities with it are quite endless. The kind of automations you can have are only limited by the inputs/components you have configured and your imagination :)
   You can check all the components Home Assistant supports here. I have it configured with my TP-Link bulbs, switches, LIFX Bulbs, ZWave sensors, Zwave switches, Schalge Smart Lock, Roomba, NAS, Nest Cameras, Thermostat, etc...
   
5. For the doorbell, I would suggest going with the Nest Doorbell, Keep in mind there is an extra $50/yr (or $30/yr for each extra Nest cam) for Nest to save 24x7 video feed. It has however performed better than my older Ring doorbell which kept failing. Make sure your apartment doorbell is wired.
   
6. If you are getting more cameras, there are 2 options, going for a solution like Nest or Arlo, where the video feed storage, notification, etc is all handled by an external company; or getting cheaper IP/ONVIF Cameras and using your own surveillance/storage solution. I personally have a mix of both. I have a few nest cameras and a few cheaper IP cameras that record to my NAS. This gives me the peace of mind that in case someone breaks into my home and steals my NAS as well, I can still depend on Nest to have the break-in recorded and stored on their servers. I can also see the feed from all my cameras in a single place in Home Assistant.
   
   
   Miscellaneous thoughts:
   
   
7. Replacing wall switches are really easy, so don't restrict yourself to using only smart plugs. Just keep the older switches and put them back when you're moving out of your rental. (Obviously take appropriate safety precautions when working with live electric wires). They are also better when you have a multi-bulb lamp (like a chandelier), instead of getting 3-5 smart bulbs to make the chandelier smart, you can just get a single smart-switch which controls it.
   
8. Look into a smart lock, they are easy to install and are great! I currently have this one.
   
9. You can setup Home Assistant in something as small as a raspberry pi. Or if you have a older laptop lying around you can easily install Home Assistant, an MQTT server, Grafana, etc on docker containers on the same system
   
10. If you like DIY stuff, instead of getting a $35-$60 multi sensor like this, you can easily put together one with a ESP8266 and sensors which would cost about $8-$10 in total.
    
11. Make sure you set a budget. It's very easy to start buying stuff and a lot of approx. $30 stuff will add up quickly :)
    
    Hope this wall of text helps you. Happy Automating!
    
    e: spelling

The OpenHAB wiki is pretty explicit that you need a Hue Hub to talk to Hue bulbs. Incidentally, OpenHAB talks to the Hue Hub via HTTP.

A lot of people who use Zwave and OpenHAB use the Aeotec USB Zstick, but there are other supported options, listed on OpenHAB's wiki.

I think you'd get the most bang for your buck sticking with Z-wave. You don't even need to get the SmartThings hub. I use an Aeotec Z-wave stick plugged into the raspberry pi running HASS. If you are using the Hassbian image, they even have a script that will install open-zwave for you.

Turn on the emulated hue component and Google home should see everything. If you want to rename devices (you probably will), then use open-zwave-control-panel.

Most of this does require more effort than the hubs you mentioned. It's a trade off of time and effort vs cost.

Aeotec Z-wave Stick
HASS Z-wave Getting Started
open-zwave-control-panel guide

HomeAssistant. You can even use your Smartthings hub to connect to your devices, but control everything through HomeAssistant without the flakiness.

A Raspberry Pi 3 is all you need.

However, if you need to throw your Smartthings hub in the trash and want everything local, you can buy this dongle for the Pi.

HomeAssistant is much more user friendly than OpenHAB, has phenomenal community support, and development is fast with improvements coming out on a very regular basis.

Z-wave is a wireless technology. You will need something that speaks that technology to control the devices. I have one of these: Aeotec Z-Stick Gen5, Z-Wave Plus USB https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00X0AWA6E/ plugged in to my pi3 running home-assistant. Works great.

I use OpenHAB with an Aeotec dongle. They work great together and require no access to the Internet. Run it on a Raspberry Pi with a USB Power Bank for handling power outages.

/thread I have a this guy which works great, but they are all (more or less) the same: https://www.amazon.com/Aeotec-Aeon-Labs-ZW090-Stick/dp/B00X0AWA6E

If you like to tinker, you could potentially get a cheaper hub by creating your own with Home Assistant. I'm running it on a spare PC, though it would probably work on a Raspberry Pi 3 just fine.

There are two potential downsides though:

1. It's not as plug-and-play as ST. Be prepared to spend time customizing, maintaining, and tinkering with things.
   
2. You'll need a USB dongle for Z-Wave connectivity. My recommendation would be the ZW090 Z-Stick.
   
   If you're not interested in that, I think ST would be a great choice.

You could do things like you're planning but I would add in a water-valve to cut the water in addition to the power (you want to cut both so the washer doesn't run while it's dry). I would also use Home Assistant instead of IFTTT, since it will be faster and won't rely on your internet being up to work. If you go with ZWave device, you'll need some kind of hub, which Home Assistant can act as (with a ZWave USB stick).

However, unless you want to tie this particular issue into a large home automation system (getting text messages when the leak sensor is triggered for example), you might be better off with something like this, which is an all-in-one system for exactly your use-case: https://www.amazon.com/Automatic-Detector-Shut-Off-Stopping-Detection/dp/B0742N3KHF/

Personally, I'd go with that kit, otherwise you're looking at:

• $60+ - Raspberry Pi for Home Assistant
  
• $45 - ZWave USB Stick
  
• $100 - ZWave Water Valve
  
• $90 - ZWave Heavy Duty Switch
  
• $30+ - ZWave Water Sensor
  
  That's already 3x the cost of the kit, not including your time to learn what you need to in order to get HA running & doing what you want it to.

I would get an Aeon Z-Stick Gen5. I have one and it works (so far) i got a few devices connect. So far so good.

They are fairly low cost, and support ZWave Plus (I have a few sensors that are zwave plus).

Note it is the WHITE ONE. The black ones are the S2, they work great as well. But no zwave plus support, spend the extra 4-5$ for the current gen.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00X0AWA6E/

Heres the zwave USB stick I use. Home Assistant is great, I run it on a Ubuntu server in my basement. The zwave stick is plugged into it.

Welcome to OpenHab! I've been using OpenHabian on a Raspberry PI for over a year and I love it.

Here's a link for steps to install OpenHabian on a Raspberry PI.

I'm not sure if it's the best Zwave stick but I use the Aeotec Z-stick Gen 5. I've been using it for over a year and it works great, I haven't had any problems. Getting my Zwave stuff working was the first thing I did when I started using OpenHab, so I'm a little foggy on the setup steps. I think I referenced this link to setup my Zwave stick with my OpenHabian. I don't remember using a guide to setup the Zwave stick. I'll poke around to see if I can find one.

If you haven't already, I would recommend reading through the Overview section on the OpenHab website before starting to setup the Zwave stick. That will walk you though the main concepts of OpenHab. If you need more help let me know. I would be happy to offer recommendations for different sensors and actuators that have worked well for me.

​

I have this one, works great: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00X0AWA6E/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1457378859&sr=8-2&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=z-wave+usb&dpPl=1&dpID=31ocIoiJV9L&ref=plSrch

I don't have any zigbee devices though, all Z-wave

I've had it running in a Jail in Freenas for a little over a year now without any real issues. I don't have to reboot it after awhile either. I've had the boot usb drive die (mini-samsung didn't like the constant heat I think) and the network card die (realtek is realshit).

Hardware List:

• Freenas box
  
• InWin IW-MS04 ITX Case
  
• AsRock J3710
  
• 8GB Crucial Ram x 1
  
• HGST Ultrastar 7k4000 3TB x 2
  
• Aeotec z-wave adapter
  
• Intel PRO/1000 Pt Network adapter
  
• !! Note, x4 PCI slot where motherboard only has x1. I modified motherboard to fit card, don't really recommend. Still better than Realtek.
  
• 16GB USB drive x2

https://www.amazon.com/Aeotec-Aeon-Labs-ZW090-Stick/dp/B00X0AWA6E/

Only if you also install a Z-stick.

You'll also need a z-stick to manage the z-wave network.

edit: some more detail, sorry. I use an off-the-shelf hub myself, but to the best of my knowledge you'll need a z-stick to act as your primary controller. Plug this into OpenHAB or HomeAssistant and they'll interact with the network through the z-stick.

Also, you can get a comparable door sensor from Monoprice for much less.

Oh, so I don't even need the expensive Vera hub, right?

• Aotec Z-Stick - $45 - https://amazon.com/dp/B00X0AWA6E/
  
• List of supported Z-Wave sticks in HA: https://www.home-assistant.io/docs/z-wave/controllers/

I have a few circuits in my home where I can't easily install remote controllable switches or dimmers. I ended up using hue bulbs in those fixtures and it works great. The hue (white only) bulbs are as low as $13 each at amazon. IMO getting the hue hub and bulbs is worth it. It is reliable and integrates with everything. I also like that I have the option to add some colored accent lights later.

I use these z-wave motion sensors and they work really well. They are small, accurate, also read temperature and brightness, and they don't actually look like eyes as in the marketing pictures.

I run all of this off of Home Assistant on a raspberry pi 2 with an aeotec zwave stick.

RPi3 running homeassistant.io and mostly Z-wave devices with an AeonLabs Z-Stick. Your concern is why my reef tank is actually using an RPi3 to communicate with an arduino mega over serial USB. I get way more pins and better hardware processing out of the arduino and use the RPi3 for automation, display, and command and control.

You may be able to access a Zwave USB stick using the serial library for the Arduino. I bought one but haven't had much time to play with it:

Aeon Labs ZW090 Z Stick

I had mine connected to a NUC and got it to pair with one of my motion sensors, but got distracted by other projects before I went any further with it.

I just started using a Aeotec Z-Stick Gen5 with my pi 2B. Seems pretty solid so far, but it's only been about a week.

I've already got hass.io set up on a raspberry pi so i could unlock my door with 3rd party apis.

just bought https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00X0AWA6E/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 to control my z-wave devices... this downtime is too frequent for me.

The unlock code i give to my airbnb guests didn't work when i had one arrive last night... fortunately, i was home to let him in but the amount of worrying i do that wink will go down when i'm out of town and have a guest arriving is too high.

@Gottria

I was really trying to make the RP3 version work, but it had two limitations:

1. Only 5 plugins allowed ( I'm already way past that)
   
2. It is linux based, which would normally be a good thing - but since HS is .NET, there were a fair number of plugins that did not run (or get supported) on Linux / Mono.
   
   
   I bought the HS3 software only (not pro, just regular). My understanding is HS does a 50% off deal 2x a year, so I'll wait for that and upgrade to pro. (TIP: put it in your cart, and leave the site for a day or so. I got an email with a 25% off coupon for it)
   
   I bought my own mini windows box (this thing is tiny, and it's actually really cool) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M1LA8MB/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
   
   And this Z-Wave USB device (in my reading it had better reviews than the HS one, and it works great) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00X0AWA6E/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
   
   So far this stack has worked out great for me

Welcome in the automation world ! You will need a USB key to be able to communicate with your Z-WAVE devices
something like this https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00X0AWA6E/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Aeon Labs Aeotec Z-Wave Z-Stick, Gen5 (ZW090)

It was pretty simple to set up and now that Z-Wave secure is working for OZW, I've even got my locks, which was the main thing i've got automated.

If you know anything about Linux it should be easy to pick up. If you don't know anything about Linux and you want to learn by doing, this is a great way to start. I'm somewhere it the middle, and it taught me a few things without being totally annoying.

Grab a Raspberry Pi and follow the instructions in the Getting Started section of http://home-assistant.io. Since it runs a database on your Pi, get a fast SD card; that will be the bottleneck in speed for the UI.

The Z-Wave contoller I'm using is one of these: https://www.amazon.com/Aeotec-Aeon-Labs-ZW090-Stick/dp/B00X0AWA6E/

It holds all of the information regarding your Z-Wave devices direcly onboard the dongle.

The Z-Wave controller plus the Raspberry Pi running Home Assistant are the equivalent of the "hub" you're talking about. You can expand it to do pretty much whatever you want, too.

Yes, it's more complicated to get set up, but you can do a lot more than the name brand hubs once you're comfortable with it.

Their forums are a good source of help, but if you take the dive and get stuck feel free to PM me.

Why not just get a zwave dongle for your ha server and then a zwave ge switch?

https://www.amazon.com/GE-Repeater-Extender-SmartThings-14291/dp/B01M1AHC3R

https://www.amazon.com/Aeotec-Z-Stick-Z-Wave-create-gateway/dp/B00X0AWA6E

​

Have had this setup running for about 2 years now. I use the dimmers as well. I run HA in a docker on an unraid server without issues having it pickup the zwave stick.

Also note you’ll need a z-stick


Aeotec Z-Stick Gen5, Z-Wave Plus USB to create gateway https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00X0AWA6E/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Fp53Db3CZX23A

Sure thing!

So I used a Raspberry Pi, but you could also use a virtual server or old desktop. The nice thing about the Pi is it is super cheap and uses very little energy since you have to leave it on all the time. It is far cheaper to buy the Pi than to use an old desktop that is sitting around. Use Z-Wave Plus (aka Gen5) devices, the older non-plus devices can't be upgraded and most do not support encryption.

So, things you'll need:

A Raspberry Pi: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CD5VC92/

A Z-wave plus controller (I went with the Aeotec Gen5 because it is well supported by the project): https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00X0AWA6E/

A cheap Raspberry Pi case: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01J1BNANM/

Z-wave plus devices you want to control. For the outdoor lights I used: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06W9NWFM3/

A MicroSD card (At least 8GB, the higher the class the better, but you don't need to go overboard) : https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007KFXIDO/

An old micro USB phone charger

A MicroSD card reader


So there are several ways to install Home Assistant (https://home-assistant.io). I started trying out trying their new Hass.io operating system and found it just wasn't as stable as I would have liked as of yet and documentation was lacking. I'm not knocking the OS, but personally I ended up installing it on top of Raspbian Lite. To install, you’ll want to head over here: https://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads/noobs/  and follow the instructions on copying the files to your MicroSD card. When you get to the point of installing an OS, choose Raspbian Lite.

After you get done installing head over here: https://home-assistant.io/docs/installation/raspberry-pi/ . This gives a pretty straightforward installation guide on how to install on Raspbian Lite. It helps to have some familiarity with POSIX-oriented operating systems.

From this point on you can branch out in many directions depending on what you want to do. Home Assistant is highly customizable. Read the docs and follow examples. There are forums if you get stuck and I’d be happy to answer any questions or give suggestions for whatever use case you might have.

Hope that helps :-)

Perhaps add a USB Z-stick and then use a z-wave based light switch? Or even one of those Aeon Labs z-wave micro smart switches that can go behind your existing dumb switches if your wife doesn't like the look of any other switch.

> If you do go with a Aeon Labs USB stick I'd suggest getting the Gen 5 version for future compatibility

The wiki goes over the different home automation protocols. The biggest reason these protocols exist is because a lot of HA devices need to run on batteries, so they need to be extremely power efficient, and bandwidth isn't a big concern for HA. There are some newer devices such as LIFX that just connect to your WiFi, and don't require a special protocol or gateway.

To link all of your devices together, you want a hub that can communicate with all these different protocols. Right now Home Assistant is quickly becoming the dominant player in open source home automation hubs. If you run Home Assistant on your desktop you can immediately connect to any networked devices, such as Chromecasts, and can monitor whether your phone is connected to the network to trigger automations. If you want to talk to one of the HA protocols, you need to buy an adapter, such as the Z-Stick that allows your PC to communicate on the ZWave frequency.

Well no you need a hardware interface for the protocol(s) you're trying to use, like a Zwave USB adapter or whatever.

https://www.amazon.com/Aeotec-Z-Stick-Z-Wave-create-gateway/dp/B00X0AWA6E

Most people use the Aotech Zwave dongle here: https://www.amazon.com/Aeotec-Z-Stick-Z-Wave-create-gateway/dp/B00X0AWA6E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1537259191&sr=8-1&keywords=aotech+zstick&dpID=41%252BuCNE13iL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch
You could also get a combination Zwave/Zigbee dongle for even less: https://www.amazon.com/GoControl-CECOMINOD016164-Linear-HUSBZB-1/dp/B01GJ826F8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1537259245&sr=8-3&keywords=zigbee+dongle&dpID=41GzEBEgWSL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

Alot of people start with Zwave or Zigbee controlled lights, but most people end up with Zwave switches instead, because humans need to also turn those devices on and off. The easiest Zwave switches/dimmers to acquire are the GE Line of Jasco switches, which are sold by https://www.amazon.com/GE-Lighting-Required-SmartThings-14291/dp/B01M1AHC3R/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1537259343&sr=8-2&keywords=ge+wave&dpID=51rDfQfpEAL&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

https://www.amazon.com/Aeotec-Z-Stick-Z-Wave-create-gateway/dp/B00X0AWA6E

Z-Wave is a popular protocol for HA devices that creates a mesh network so that even if the furthest device can't directly see the "hub," if it can see a device that can see the hub, messages will hop from one to the other. There are a bunch of inexpensive Z-wave devices from garage door openers, switches, plugs, outlets, etc... that all work with Home Assistant. You will however need a "hub" to control them. Fortunately you can get a usb stick to act as the hub and just plug it into the computer you are running HomeAssistant on and you don't need another big device, just the usb stick. (Though you can use something like smarthings to act as the hub interface but I don't really recommend it)

The two most popular usb sticks are the Aeotec and the HUSBZB-1 (note: the HUSBZB-1 also has Zigbee, another popular protocol)

If you'd rather stay with wifi, I have seen some people take a sonoff that they've put inside a waterproof box. Though I have not tried it myself.

Ecobee3 is a Thermostat. You can add room sensors that link up to it to help balance the temperature around the house. Is that not what you want?

Here is the stick: https://www.amazon.com/Aeotec-Aeon-Labs-ZW090-Stick/dp/B00X0AWA6E

I live in the US, its available on amazon:

Newest version

http://www.amazon.com/Aeon-Labs-Aeotec-Z-Wave-Z-Stick/dp/B00X0AWA6E/

I have this one

http://www.amazon.com/Aeon-Labs-DSA02203-ZWUS-Z-Wave-Z-Stick/dp/B003MWQ30E/

For zwave just buy this and plug it into a raspberry pi (or any other computer u always have turned on) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00X0AWA6E/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_1NWxCbN4SCB72

> So, what are my options if I don't want this internet connected / PC controllable?

That seems like an odd question. What exactly do you mean you don't want it internet connected? Do you just mean you don't want to have to rely on the cloud services. In other words do you just want to be sure your HA system will continue working if your internet goes out?

If thats the case i would go with a

raspberry pi

https://www.amazon.com/CanaKit-Raspberry-Complete-Starter-Kit/dp/B01C6Q2GSY/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1483394601&sr=1-2&keywords=raspberry+pi

A zwave usb stick

https://www.amazon.com/Aeotec-Aeon-Labs-ZW090-Stick/dp/B00X0AWA6E/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1483394649&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=zwave+usb+stick

And then from there just start grabbing some zwave switches/outlets

You can choose whether the system is accessible outside of the network while still having access to the system through your phone/tablet/pc/switches/remotes from in the home.

I’ll be nice. Detects leaks in your house. Put them under the sink. Any place a leak may occur.

Send yourself a notification so you know a leak is occurring.

https://www.amazon.com/Aeotec-Z-Stick-Z-Wave-create-gateway/dp/B00X0AWA6E

https://www.amazon.com/aeotec-water-sensor/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aaeotec%20water%20sensor

I'm using the CT100 and I'm very happy with it so far. You need a Z-Stick though (since that's how all the Z-Wave devices communicate) and some sort of software/controller like Home Assistant, OpenHAB, or a closed-source alternative.

http://www.openzwave.net/device-database

Just because something isn't there doesn't mean it won't work, it just might not support all features.

As far as a controller goes, I would suggest: http://www.amazon.com/Aeon-Labs-Aeotec-Z-Wave-Z-Stick/dp/B00X0AWA6E

The top amazon review for the Z-stick has alternate instructions that can be leveraged as well. I've pasted them here for your convenience but if you need further assistance, go to Amazon.

note: I am not the author, just spreading the word.

Folks, here is how you disable the annoying flashing disco LED light:

• Step 1: Get a Windows machine
  

• Note: if you only have a Raspberry Pi / Linux, please read Fred's comment below. He explains how to send the command on Raspberry Pi.
  

• Step 2: Download Drivers for the USB stick from the official website and follow their instructions
  
• Step 3: Download CoolTerm (it is free)
  
• Step 4: Plug-in the USB stick. CoolTerm should immediately recognize it as a COM-port. Mine is COM3
  
• Step 5: In CoolTerm, click "Connect". Now you are connected to your USB Z-stick via Serial interface
  
• Step 6: In CoolTerm menu: Go to "Connection" -> "Send String..."
  
• Step 7: Pick "Hex" radio button and copy/paste the following command
  01 08 00 F2 51 01 00 05 01 51
  
• Step 8: Click "Send"
  Step 9: Disco is over!

This is the one I have:
https://smile.amazon.com/Aeotec-Z-Stick-Z-Wave-create-gateway/dp/B00X0AWA6E/

This guy had a lot of info on HA on his channel but this video specifically covers that USB stick and getting it all setup: https://youtu.be/ajklDCaOGwY

I've not used any Zigbee stuff so I can't help there.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00X0AWA6E/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_eakcAb1VXWZA2

Alrighty that looks like what I was thinking. I was checking on this stick from amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Aeotec-Z-Stick-Z-Wave-create-gateway/dp/B00X0AWA6E/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=z-wave+usb&qid=1565731713&s=gateway&sr=8-3

​

I have read reports of some users stating that they had an easy time allowing the USB pass through from the ESXi host running the HA VM.

​

Thanks for the additional info about the flashing part, something I will need to consider as I would prefer to make my devices linear rather than buying all different types of Smart products.

HA is definitely more user friendly. Its discovery process does an excellent job of finding most entities. I find openahb to be more stable with the z-wave protocol, but it's a more established product. HA has a lot of momentum. They are prolific with updates and feature additions.

I'm currently running Openhab because I have z-wave stability issues in HA, but I have a feeling I will switch to HA eventually once it irons it out. The beauty of raspberry pi is that cheap SD cards can act as swappable hard drives. So I actually have one card with Openhab and another with HA. I simply shutdown, swap cards and I can run the other system. 8GB is plenty if home automation is all you're running on an image.. those can be bough for $6 nowadays.

One thing you'll want to do is research protocols before setting it up. In addition to HA or Openhab, many protocols require additonal hubs or controllers to talk the language to those devices. So for Z-wave, you would need something like this. HA and Openhab are very flexible and can talk many protocols, but just keep in mind that talking multiple protocols may or may not be exactly free (depending on the protocol/technology).

You could do this using zwave devices. It will cost some money up front but you'll have a solid base to build out more complex home automation tasks if you want to.

You can turn any computer into a local "hub" with a Zwave USB dongle. This one is pricey but works really well. Plug that into a spare laptop lying around the house or buy a Raspberry PI.

Install the Home Assistant package on the computer or PI that you plugged the dongle into. This makes it easy to send and receive signals from Zwave devices without having to learn a bunch of low level APIs. You can write automation commands using YAML markup or write complex, custom tasks using Python. Home Assistant is just a bundle of open source free software, so I don't think of it as a "service", but you could roll your own software if you like that replaces it. It all runs locally, not in the cloud, so you own and control it.

Now you can buy any Zwave switch you want. GE has a bunch of reasonable priced switches.

You can get an "add on" switch that does not hook into your home power but controls smart light bulbs like Hue using over the air signals.

Or you can buy a real switch that does control existing lights through the power in your home -- this will let you send signals to your switch using your Home Assistant "hub" to turn lights on or off and dim them without having to replace existing bulbs.

Have fun.

I had the same issue. The image based motion detection just is not ideal for this use outdoors. It works well indoors where you don't have wind or car headlights usually. I ended up setting up PIR motion detectors outdoors in conjunction with a Raspberry Pi running Domoticz. Configuration was not at all easy, but I'm much happier with the alerts I'm getting now. Just getting Domoticz setup as well as adding the motion detectors to it was a chore. Then there was the added hassle of handling the motion events in Domoticz to trigger an HTTP request to a node server I setup, which then made a call to Blue Iris itself.

I used these motion detectors and this z-wave adapter in the setup.

Not, wifi as I wasn't thrilled with some of the options. So, I'm about to go down the Z-Wave route:
USB controller
and Light switch.

I'll be basing my setup off a Raspberry PI.

I saw this old posting after I made mine: https://www.reddit.com/r/homeautomation/comments/8fnjbc/adding_a_regular_zwave_door_sensor_to_your/

Where they talk about getting one of these: https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=15268

And then putting silicone all over it. Would that work? With a z-wave hub inside the house? I only currently have Google Home with some TP-Link lights & switches. Was thinking of setting up Home Assistant and grabbing this guy ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00X0AWA6E/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=ADT79X0AD10M3&psc=1 ) to attach to the Raspberry Pi.

1. https://home-assistant.io/
   
2. https://www.amazon.com/Aeotec-Aeon-Labs-ZW090-Stick/dp/B00X0AWA6E/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1479870595&sr=1-1&keywords=z-stick+gen5
   
3. https://www.amazon.com/GE-Lighting-Control-Switch-Z-Wave/dp/B0035YRCR2/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1479870611&sr=1-1&keywords=ge+zwave
   
   **Requires Neutral wire.

You can still get it on Amazon.com :)

http://www.amazon.com/Aeon-Labs-Aeotec-Z-Wave-Z-Stick/dp/B00X0AWA6E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1449062832&sr=8-1&keywords=aeon+gen+5+usb

https://www.amazon.com/Aeotec-Aeon-Labs-ZW090-Stick/dp/B00X0AWA6E/

http://www.hardkernel.com/main/products/prdt_info.php?g_code=G143452239825

I use OpenHAB, and with zWave, use this switch which features power monitoring, and use this USB bridge which presents itself as a serial port.

USB Passthru to a linux VM, and OpenHAB has the ability to log this type of data to a SQL db which you could then use for graphing. Some people report this particular switch having issues polling more than a minute, but, I have mine polling every 10 seconds without issue.

I am using the Aeon Lab Z Stick , which works really well in my home.

Very cool. I'd still need a hub though, correct? Or maybe this would work? Sorry, I don't know anything about this world.

If you're looking to use openHAB, I would start by consulting the supported hardware list: http://www.openhab.org/features/supported-technologies.html

However, don't let that dissuade you from trying other technologies as I've typically never run into issues finding a round-about way to integrate my devices.

For a Z-Wave stick I would recommend Aeon's: http://www.amazon.com/Aeon-Labs-Aeotec-Z-Wave-Z-Stick/dp/B00X0AWA6E

If you just want to toy around with Z-Wave devices and not break the bank, I would recommend starting with turning something on/off using a wall plug: http://www.amazon.com/Aeon-Labs-DSC06106-ZWUS-Z-Wave-Energy/dp/B007UZH7B8

I'm not an Aeon rep, I just happen to know both of those products take very little time to get working on openHAB and tend to work flawlessly with it.

I would start there and then decide how much further you want to go with automation.

Maybe something like the Aeotec Multisensor


You would just stick it in. They promise about 2 years on battery life.

This is Z-wave, so you would also need something like the Aeotec Z-Stick and leave that in a computer you leave on. I have one at home on a Raspberry PI running home assistant, and view the sensor data there.

I'm sure this isn't the cheapest solution, but it would allow you to expand with other z-wave devices in the future.

I use a Raspberry Pi and a Aeotec Z Stick along with Home Assistant

Thanks for the information.

I thought Zigbee/Z-Wave wireless sensors were generally compatible with any transceiver (as long as they're the same protocol)? So if I had (for example) a Z-Wave USB dongle that provided a generic virtual serial port or some other interface, I could send and receive messages from a computer to Z-Wave sensors that were paired to the wireless network? (Note: I just randomly selected those two links from Google for examples -- I have no idea if they're compatible or anything, I'm totally new to these technologies and this is what I'm researching.)

I don't have a Raspberry Pi, but I read a few articles talking about modules that could communicate with Zigbee and ZWave, so that's why I mentioned it. I'd rather just use a USB dongle transceiver/antenna with my existing Linux server.

My NVR is just a basic Python application I wrote that's running on the Linux server that records my camera streams to disk with a web interface to view them live or from recordings. It'd be easy to additionally listen to wireless sensor messages, and then log them, tag the recordings and send an alert. That's what I want to do, but I don't know what kind of hardware to look at.

I could set up a motion detection zone on each camera and capture ONVIF events but I feel like a simple door is open or closed sensor would have less false positives. Plus, I want to learn about wireless sensor tech. :)

I would say you probably do not NEED repeaters. It is that it helps with the health of the mesh. But, no need to buy more than you need, you buy 1, if you need more, you buy more.

I honestly don't know of a hub that does both, but i have never really looked. Xiaomi sensors require the Xiaomi hub, unless you want to use them via MQTT. The Z-wave stuff i dont even have a hub. I have THIS, plugged in to a RPI3B+. My PI is what runs Home Assistant.

So basically i have a Pi that runs HASS.IO with the Z-wave stick plugged in. I then have 4 Xiaomi hubs throughout my house. But, other than that, all i have is devices.

and which usb? This? https://www.amazon.com/Aeotec-Aeon-Labs-ZW090-Stick/dp/B00X0AWA6E

Something like an Aeotec Z-Stick

I have this aeotec z wave stick


When you say, zwave controller is this what you're referring to?


So I can just put my aeotec z wave stick and put it into the google home hub, and then monitor and control my aeotec z wave smart plugs and temp/light/motion detectors through the google home hub?

So my suggestions: I've linked the things I use, but they're just suggestions.

• Lighting: Philips hue. This is because you don't want to wire up any new light switches. If you get a starter pack like this one it comes with a light switch you can place on the wall with double sided tape. You just have to teach the people in your house not to use the old switch anymore. In the case of kids rooms, the switch actually pops out of the holder and you could put it on their nightstand or whatnot so they can turn the lights on if they need to. The stand alone accent lights they have are really good as well, I have a few behind my TV that make the room pop somewhat.
  
• Zwave door / window sensors. With the dongle these are more useful then you'd think. If you have these and hue bulbs you could have hall lights turn on at like 10% brightness at night so you can see if you need to get up at night. I use them for my back patio so when I take the dogs out at night the lights automatically turn on, then turn off 15 min later on their own. If you're new to Zwave remember that these sensors do not repeat the signal. In your case since you don't want wire in powered devices you would need to get some repeaters to make sure you have enough signal strength or you won't receive events.
  
• Smart plugs: Weemo are good, but if you don't want to have a whole bunch of different types of devices, zwave would work just as well and it would also help with your signal strength. I actuallly use both in my setup to control things like air-purifiers and I have a few that report how much energy they use so I can automate things like when the dishwasher is running or laundry is done.
  
• Thermostat: I'm not sure if I can help you with that. I use a Nest for my whole house, but sounds like your setup may be different. There are plenty of good zwave thermostats out there you could hook up to this setup tho.
  
  

That's exactly right. I've not installed Home Assistant on a NAS device before, so I don't know if there are any compatibility issues. But, this is the USB Z-Wave stick that I've seen talked about the most on here:

https://www.amazon.com/Aeotec-Aeon-Labs-ZW090-Stick/dp/B00X0AWA6E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485280889&sr=8-1&keywords=aeotec+zwave

You need a Z-wave USB stick. You can pick one up cheaply enough though.

https://www.amazon.com/Aeotec-Aeon-Labs-ZW090-Stick/dp/B00X0AWA6E/ref=lp_3016352011_1_1?srs=3016352011&ie=UTF8&qid=1485117741&sr=8-1

I use this one

Yes, I use the Aeotec Zwave Stick and have had great success with it (as well as other non-Aeotec products talking to it).

> Its a legitimate question.

What is? "Say whaaaaat?" It really isn't.

Take this item for example...

https://www.amazon.com/Aeon-Labs-Aeotec-Z-Wave-Z-Stick/dp/B00X0AWA6E

Amazon sells it for $45 bc they limit overhead with ZERO technical staff and no real retail location. Now when someone locally puts the work into making this available for you all they ask is retail price ($55) and your reaction is shock and terror.

> As if no one sells things in B&M stores that are also sold on amazon

This thing isn't your average item. It's an unbelievably small, microscopic niche item.