Home Assistant beginners

robj20 said:
Doesn't deal with all the neighbours, who have shed loads on the 2.4Ghz. My 2.4GHz is on 6 and 11 both 20Mhz wide, would it be worth moving my 11 to 1 instead.
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Neighbours WiFi surely not
Have you scanned and mapped all the networks ?

Once done, Google WiFi and ZigBee spectrum or something like tho trip best decide which WiFi channels to use

My zigbee was supposedly on a poor overly utilised channel. Instead of changing channels which is a pita I took a look at the root cause which was dongle placement (use a usb extender if you have to) and 2.4 g WiFi channels(I'm using just one AP for 2.4g now)
 
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Subliminal Aura said:
Neighbours WiFi surely not
Have you scanned and mapped all the networks ?

Once done, Google WiFi and ZigBee spectrum or something like tho trip best decide which WiFi channels to use

My zigbee was supposedly on a poor overly utilised channel. Instead of changing channels which is a pita I took a look at the root cause which was dongle placement (use a usb extender if you have to) and 2.4 g WiFi channels(I'm using just one AP for 2.4g now)
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Why surely not, do you not have neighbours? They have a couple of access points by the look of it along with a few wifi speakers and a printer.
Yes, i have Unifi Wifiman app.

My ZBT-1 is using an extension with the dongle placed just outside the server cabinet (certainly wouldn't be ideal inside a metal box).
 
Subliminal Aura said:
Neighbours WiFi surely not
Have you scanned and mapped all the networks ?

Once done, Google WiFi and ZigBee spectrum or something like tho trip best decide which WiFi channels to use

My zigbee was supposedly on a poor overly utilised channel. Instead of changing channels which is a pita I took a look at the root cause which was dongle placement (use a usb extender if you have to) and 2.4 g WiFi channels(I'm using just one AP for 2.4g now)
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Absolutely Neighbours WiFi!

You have no control over what channels your neighbours (plural) wifi equipment is operating on and it absolutely plays a factor into 2.4g congestion, especially if you live in a built up area with more sources of 2.4G signals. @robj20 Ideally what you'd need to try and do is find a happy middle ground between a clear channel for WiFi away from congested channels from neighbours to give decent connectivity to your devices, then tweak the zigbee channels in use to suit the situation. Zigbee channels are quite narrow and focused compared to WiFi channels and there are best-practices around pairing WiFi and Zigbee channels to ensure the least amount of overlap (or no overlap).

Having said all of this, I've never really given Zigbee channels much thought and have left them as is while I have spent time tuning my WiFi around all my neighbours WiFi. I can't say I've ever had an issue with my Zigbee network. Perhaps I've got lucky, though I suspect that it's far more forgiving that I expect because the 2.4G WiFi in the area just isn't dense enough to cause issues. Combine that with having multiple Zigbee routers on the network adding resiliency, and the fact that Zigbee devices generally only transmit data infrequently and is capable of retrying on failure. I imagine for most, it's a non-issue
 
cokecan said:
Absolutely Neighbours WiFi!

You have no control over what channels your neighbours (plural) wifi equipment is operating on and it absolutely plays a factor into 2.4g congestion, especially if you live in a built up area with more sources of 2.4G signals. @robj20 Ideally what you'd need to try and do is find a happy middle ground between a clear channel for WiFi away from congested channels from neighbours to give decent connectivity to your devices, then tweak the zigbee channels in use to suit the situation. Zigbee channels are quite narrow and focused compared to WiFi channels and there are best-practices around pairing WiFi and Zigbee channels to ensure the least amount of overlap (or no overlap).

Having said all of this, I've never really given Zigbee channels much thought and have left them as is while I have spent time tuning my WiFi around all my neighbours WiFi. I can't say I've ever had an issue with my Zigbee network. Perhaps I've got lucky, though I suspect that it's far more forgiving that I expect because the 2.4G WiFi in the area just isn't dense enough to cause issues. Combine that with having multiple Zigbee routers on the network adding resiliency, and the fact that Zigbee devices generally only transmit data infrequently and is capable of retrying on failure. I imagine for most, it's a non-issue
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At home now so opened WiFi man on the 2.4ghz page I have 18, moved my channel 11 to channel 1 so 11 and around 11 are a lot clearer now.
I think that aligns with 20 for ZigBee between 6 and 11 WiFi, every little helps I guess.
If I ever reconfigure my ZigBee I'll change it to 25.
 
This morning my door sensor took ages to trigger my outside light a good 5 seconds. Order a SMLIGHT SLZB-06MG24 they seem to get great feedback didn't know initially there were better options that the ZBT-1.
I have been using the included extension, but my NUC only has USB3 and i hear that's not ideal. The Smlight being POE i can move it inside the house rather than in the garage so for most devices the signal no longer has to go through the cavity wall. I see its also a lot easier to integrate with a VM as it doesn't require passthrough.
 
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Thinking diving into this properly and looking at the radiator values, are there particular brand I should I go with or avoid? Seems like a bit of minefield.
 
Jimbeam3678 said:
Thinking diving into this properly and looking at the radiator values, are there particular brand I should I go with or avoid? Seems like a bit of minefield.
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Just picked up some generic ones from Aliexpress. (~£15 each)

Essentially all of the cheap ones will be using the same Tuya chipset underneath, and will all work exactly the same. A few in slightly different clothes, but fundamentally at the bottom of the market there's only one player.

Nothing 'wrong' with them, but you've got to be aware that the temperature sensor is pretty much useless as it's next to the radiator & they've got no compensation for that.
Great on an on / off schedule, but if you want to use them for more than that you need a sensor elsewhere in the room.

The branded ones are more likely to have some compensation logic for the radiator, but not tried any of these.
 
leezer3 said:
Just picked up some generic ones from Aliexpress. (~£15 each)

Essentially all of the cheap ones will be using the same Tuya chipset underneath, and will all work exactly the same. A few in slightly different clothes, but fundamentally at the bottom of the market there's only one player.

Nothing 'wrong' with them, but you've got to be aware that the temperature sensor is pretty much useless as it's next to the radiator & they've got no compensation for that.
Great on an on / off schedule, but if you want to use them for more than that you need a sensor elsewhere in the room.

The branded ones are more likely to have some compensation logic for the radiator, but not tried any of these.
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So I need a zigabee usb connector for my NUC. Temperature/humidity sensor, trv valve anything else? Anything wrong with going all with Sonoff via Ali express?
 
That sounds about right.
You might want to consider a way to power them not from batteries (battery eliminator on Aliexpress- all they are is a USB power supply & some battery shaped bypass bits).
Dunno what the battery life will be otherwise. Rechargables *might* work, but they'll be fussy with a motor in there, not tried that at the minute...

I'm assuming you've got a way to trigger the boiler already.
Everything else is just setting up the appropriate automations in HA, which gets complicated pretty fast.
 
Jimbeam3678 said:
So I need a zigabee usb connector for my NUC. Temperature/humidity sensor, trv valve anything else? Anything wrong with going all with Sonoff via Ali express?
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Make you get a USB extension cable to remove the Zigbee dongle from interference and to give you some flegibility in positioning it for maximum coverage.

I’ve tried a few Sonoff and Aqara valves and they work fine but all of them had a nasty habit of breaking either at the valve connection point or the battery holder due to cheap plastics being used. I personally have Hive valves and have done for the past six or seven years. They’re not cheap but they last and they’re well supported by Zigbee2MQTT. Hive valves are rebadged Danfoss Ally valves so if you can get the, cheaper then go for it.

Battery powered Zigbee Sonoff temp/ humidity sensors are cheap with easily replaceable coin batteries. Don’t complicate things by looking elsewhere!

The only other hardware you need is a way to trigger your boiler when heat is required. Can’t help you here as I used my Hive hardware that was already installed.

When you’ve got all your kit and hooked it all up to HA, use Better Thermostat downloadable from HACS to easily connect your temp sensors to your TRV and also your weather integration.

I wrote the following on the HA forums which you may find useful as it has info on automations, schedules and whatnot. It’s a bit Hive biased but the principles are very much the same
 
I'd be interested to know how long you got out the generics :)

Quick maths, the Hives are ~£50 a valve, vs £15 for a generic. Take about 8 years or so as a lifespan being generous.

If the generics last more than a couple of years (and I've got plenty of generic Tuya stuff in service for longer), then its practically the same net cost just replacing occasionally.

Investing hundreds in the branded valves is possibly a sensible second step- tinker first & work out the bugs with the cheap stuff!
 
Bluecube said:
Between six months and a year. They looked as if they’d do the job but were let down by a couple of shoddy components.
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Ouch, but I have to say that sounds unusual. There are plenty of people using the generics on the HA forums with no reported trouble...

If I remember, I'll report back if these die in a few months :)
 
Bluecube said:
Make you get a USB extension cable to remove the Zigbee dongle from interference and to give you some flegibility in positioning it for maximum coverage.

I’ve tried a few Sonoff and Aqara valves and they work fine but all of them had a nasty habit of breaking either at the valve connection point or the battery holder due to cheap plastics being used. I personally have Hive valves and have done for the past six or seven years. They’re not cheap but they last and they’re well supported by Zigbee2MQTT. Hive valves are rebadged Danfoss Ally valves so if you can get the, cheaper then go for it.

Battery powered Zigbee Sonoff temp/ humidity sensors are cheap with easily replaceable coin batteries. Don’t complicate things by looking elsewhere!

The only other hardware you need is a way to trigger your boiler when heat is required. Can’t help you here as I used my Hive hardware that was already installed.

When you’ve got all your kit and hooked it all up to HA, use Better Thermostat downloadable from HACS to easily connect your temp sensors to your TRV and also your weather integration.

I wrote the following on the HA forums which you may find useful as it has info on automations, schedules and whatnot. It’s a bit Hive biased but the principles are very much the same
Click to expand...
Thanks I have bookmarked this page, when my gear arrives I’ll come back to this.
 
leezer3 said:
Ouch, but I have to say that sounds unusual. There are plenty of people using the generics on the HA forums with no reported trouble...

If I remember, I'll report back if these die in a few months :)
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They didn’t die on me. The internals worked just fine. It was the plastics that failed. On one the battery clip snapped off whilst on the other the valve collar gave way. I was only testing them to see if they were any better than the Hive valves as I hadn’t moved from Hive to a pure Zigbee set up at the time.
 
If you use generic TRVs how does HA go about controlling the boiler in an efficient manner.

I have Evohome because I wanted a self contained offline system but able to control remotely.
 
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