LebGeeks

elserge82

Member

Re: Home Automation (Z-Wave)

Just entered this field lately .
Currently using Lenovo smart display as my main control ( google voice assistant)
with some "smart life"  and "ewelink" apps/products. Everything is wireless it's been two weeks so far with no problem.

My little kids love to stream their favorite animations on the  ultra chromecast using voice commands.

Same here, guess some people like complexity and have too much time. I would only do it the industrial/wired way if it was an actual industrial building. I had an early 2000s apartment with Z-Wave, around ~15 years and still rocking. My current house is mostly Vimar Z-wave for wiring devices.
I have 3 of this same setup with zigbee https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXLI0IBb67Y for 3 years now, not a single drop out. I ofcourse wouldn't do such thing for a production building, where 1 minute downtime is worth a fortune, its just a simple house. Talking about security is way too paranoid realistically, I would start with an electric fence which I'm sure non here use, neither a heavily loaded security cameras around a house with an alert system. Automation security breach could be more use of trolling and privacy issues like data collection. I would like a reasonable example of such safety issues. (not to mention that even a node of a wired device can be hacked as well, lets not talk about the 99% that still uses modem/router combo which always has outdated firmware)

Now here's the other side of a (maybe) useful complexity:
I'm switching to LoRa soon for auxiliary sensors which I'm using them for the following:
-3 weather stations on each side of  the house (depending on sun angle etc)
-Cistern level, water tank level
-power quality
-solar power delivery info(soon)
-outdoor lights control based on sun angle and outdoor light intensity
-controlling and deriving info of an old generator with rs-485 signal
-manual breaker auto re-closer override for private electricity (breaker is a bit far from the house and no Z curve breaker available here) also useful for accidental overload.
-water heaters (5) low temp warning (2 of them only run on public elec., manual override to private in case they go cold)
- DIY made Private/Public/Backup-Genset notification light mounted in each room on one outlet with spare socket. I added a strobe function as well since the house mostly runs on UPS, difficult to notice switch overs. Beep sound is annoying while sleeping.
-Selectivity system for UPS which is also DIY, Z-wave for monitoring and notification only. Useful in case a socket is overloaded, keeping all other sockets alive. Selects based on average load (e.g Socket A pulling 70%, socket B starts pulling 50%, drops B even if A goes 0% for few seconds, needs ~15 seconds to have the remainder power on B socket)

Edit: Btw I'm using domoticz with Lua scripting for custom and complex automation, way trivial than dyi-ng a backend.

What are the benefits behind using your new sensors if I may ask?:)
(Trying to find some interesting useful scenarios.)

Elitism Guru

Member

Re: Home Automation (Z-Wave)

Just entered this field lately .
Currently using Lenovo smart display as my main control ( google voice assistant)
with some "smart life"  and "ewelink" apps/products. Everything is wireless it's been two weeks so far with no problem.

My little kids love to stream their favorite animations on the  ultra chromecast using voice commands.

Same here, guess some people like complexity and have too much time. I would only do it the industrial/wired way if it was an actual industrial building. I had an early 2000s apartment with Z-Wave, around ~15 years and still rocking. My current house is mostly Vimar Z-wave for wiring devices.
I have 3 of this same setup with zigbee https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXLI0IBb67Y for 3 years now, not a single drop out. I ofcourse wouldn't do such thing for a production building, where 1 minute downtime is worth a fortune, its just a simple house. Talking about security is way too paranoid realistically, I would start with an electric fence which I'm sure non here use, neither a heavily loaded security cameras around a house with an alert system. Automation security breach could be more use of trolling and privacy issues like data collection. I would like a reasonable example of such safety issues. (not to mention that even a node of a wired device can be hacked as well, lets not talk about the 99% that still uses modem/router combo which always has outdated firmware)

Now here's the other side of a (maybe) useful complexity:
I'm switching to LoRa soon for auxiliary sensors which I'm using them for the following:
-3 weather stations on each side of  the house (depending on sun angle etc)
-Cistern level, water tank level
-power quality
-solar power delivery info(soon)
-outdoor lights control based on sun angle and outdoor light intensity
-controlling and deriving info of an old generator with rs-485 signal
-manual breaker auto re-closer override for private electricity (breaker is a bit far from the house and no Z curve breaker available here) also useful for accidental overload.
-water heaters (5) low temp warning (2 of them only run on public elec., manual override to private in case they go cold)
- DIY made Private/Public/Backup-Genset notification light mounted in each room on one outlet with spare socket. I added a strobe function as well since the house mostly runs on UPS, difficult to notice switch overs. Beep sound is annoying while sleeping.
-Selectivity system for UPS which is also DIY, Z-wave for monitoring and notification only. Useful in case a socket is overloaded, keeping all other sockets alive. Selects based on average load (e.g Socket A pulling 70%, socket B starts pulling 50%, drops B even if A goes 0% for few seconds, needs ~15 seconds to have the remainder power on B socket)

Edit: Btw I'm using domoticz with Lua scripting for custom and complex automation, way trivial than dyi-ng a backend.

What are the benefits behind using your new sensors if I may ask?:)
(Trying to find some interesting useful scenarios.)

In chronological order:
-Weather data as my area doesn't have any proper temperature reporting service online, its always +/-5C and no working weather prediction.
-Water tank level, as you know in Lebanon you have to pay mafias to get water, we've had multiple occurrences where water was very low, not to mention pumping muddy water.
-Power quality when using Private electricity information is useful when diagnosing issues, we mostly use it as a quick look when trying to draw large like a vacuum while having temporary resistance heater on somewhere, not to exceed "ishterak" capacity.
-Solar power logging is obviously needed for adjustments during seasons, knowing how much you saved per month when calculating bills.
-Sick of changing outdoor lights time depending on fog/winter/summer timing and clouds.
-It would be wasteful to replace a generator for a modern HMI. (starting gen, checking temps etc)
-auto recloser in case of accidental overload on ishterak since its around 20 A, our publ-ic electricity is 60A. trips and reset twice, a minute between then opens until manual reset.
-water heater temperature for a simple warning when they're off (ishterak), im switching to heat pump based water heaters soon from Ariston so this feature will be removed. (standard "Azan" is around 1500/2000W, heatpump is around 250W only, also has proper internal insulation, 50c water stays 45-50 for 6 hours)
-Indicator lights are useful for knowing what type of electricity you have, last time I needed to weld something, and we had ~3 power changes in an hour, pretty exhausting to go to the control room each time to check before drawing large loads (3kW and more)
-Selectivity for UPS is obvious, as described. You don't want lighting/PCs/TVs etc to blackout when someone plugs a hairdryer/vaccum in the wrong outlet forgetting to read "UPS" label. (each outlet has a switch to switch between ups and bypass/regular) Even if the UPS can handle it, as each port has a slightly limited current for stabilized total draw.

Edit: I must add that I don't have any "smart" lights anywhere as I don't find them useful, not to mention that they're never future proof.
Most of the sensor modules are compatible with OSS, and the hardware is very common, easy to repair and replaced by a future  possible home-stay or any resident temporary or permanent (Selling), when the product goes obsolete by then aswell. I switched from openHAB (industry standard) to Domoticz and never looked back. Switching to LoRa is seamless, as I have the transceivers work as module, even existing integrated wifi/bt hardware are translated)

Last edited by Elitism Guru (April 24)

Tech Guru

Member

Re: Home Automation (Z-Wave)

Same here, guess some people like complexity and have too much time. I would only do it the industrial/wired way if it was an actual industrial building. I had an early 2000s apartment with Z-Wave, around ~15 years and still rocking. My current house is mostly Vimar Z-wave for wiring devices.
I have 3 of this same setup with zigbee https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXLI0IBb67Y for 3 years now, not a single drop out. I ofcourse wouldn't do such thing for a production building, where 1 minute downtime is worth a fortune, its just a simple house. Talking about security is way too paranoid realistically, I would start with an electric fence which I'm sure non here use, neither a heavily loaded security cameras around a house with an alert system. Automation security breach could be more use of trolling and privacy issues like data collection. I would like a reasonable example of such safety issues. (not to mention that even a node of a wired device can be hacked as well, lets not talk about the 99% that still uses modem/router combo which always has outdated firmware)

Now here's the other side of a (maybe) useful complexity:
I'm switching to LoRa soon for auxiliary sensors which I'm using them for the following:
-3 weather stations on each side of  the house (depending on sun angle etc)
-Cistern level, water tank level
-power quality
-solar power delivery info(soon)
-outdoor lights control based on sun angle and outdoor light intensity
-controlling and deriving info of an old generator with rs-485 signal
-manual breaker auto re-closer override for private electricity (breaker is a bit far from the house and no Z curve breaker available here) also useful for accidental overload.
-water heaters (5) low temp warning (2 of them only run on public elec., manual override to private in case they go cold)
- DIY made Private/Public/Backup-Genset notification light mounted in each room on one outlet with spare socket. I added a strobe function as well since the house mostly runs on UPS, difficult to notice switch overs. Beep sound is annoying while sleeping.
-Selectivity system for UPS which is also DIY, Z-wave for monitoring and notification only. Useful in case a socket is overloaded, keeping all other sockets alive. Selects based on average load (e.g Socket A pulling 70%, socket B starts pulling 50%, drops B even if A goes 0% for few seconds, needs ~15 seconds to have the remainder power on B socket)

Edit: Btw I'm using domoticz with Lua scripting for custom and complex automation, way trivial than dyi-ng a backend.

What are the benefits behind using your new sensors if I may ask?:)
(Trying to find some interesting useful scenarios.)

In chronological order:
-Weather data as my area doesn't have any proper temperature reporting service online, its always +/-5C and no working weather prediction.
-Water tank level, as you know in Lebanon you have to pay mafias to get water, we've had multiple occurrences where water was very low, not to mention pumping muddy water.
-Power quality when using Private electricity information is useful when diagnosing issues, we mostly use it as a quick look when trying to draw large like a vacuum while having temporary resistance heater on somewhere, not to exceed "ishterak" capacity.
-Solar power logging is obviously needed for adjustments during seasons, knowing how much you saved per month when calculating bills.
-Sick of changing outdoor lights time depending on fog/winter/summer timing and clouds.
-It would be wasteful to replace a generator for a modern HMI. (starting gen, checking temps etc)
-auto recloser in case of accidental overload on ishterak since its around 20 A, our publ-ic electricity is 60A. trips and reset twice, a minute between then opens until manual reset.
-water heater temperature for a simple warning when they're off (ishterak), im switching to heat pump based water heaters soon from Ariston so this feature will be removed. (standard "Azan" is around 1500/2000W, heatpump is around 250W only, also has proper internal insulation, 50c water stays 45-50 for 6 hours)
-Indicator lights are useful for knowing what type of electricity you have, last time I needed to weld something, and we had ~3 power changes in an hour, pretty exhausting to go to the control room each time to check before drawing large loads (3kW and more)
-Selectivity for UPS is obvious, as described. You don't want lighting/PCs/TVs etc to blackout when someone plugs a hairdryer/vaccum in the wrong outlet forgetting to read "UPS" label. (each outlet has a switch to switch between ups and bypass/regular) Even if the UPS can handle it, as each port has a slightly limited current for stabilized total draw.

Edit: I must add that I don't have any "smart" lights anywhere as I don't find them useful, not to mention that they're never future proof.
Most of the sensor modules are compatible with OSS, and the hardware is very common, easy to repair and replaced by a future  possible home-stay or any resident temporary or permanent (Selling), when the product goes obsolete by then aswell. I switched from openHAB (industry standard) to Domoticz and never looked back. Switching to LoRa is seamless, as I have the transceivers work as module, even existing integrated wifi/bt hardware are translated)

Very interesting indeed.

Been doing a thorough and conscientious  research about automated smart homes , and you gave me good hints / insights.

I am moving to a new apartment soon ( getting married) and I will do it a smart apartment by myself without sourcing any 3rd party / company to do it for me. I am interested in Alexa ,Wink Hub 2 , Brilliant Control ,iHome iSP6X , Ecobee3/4 , SimpliSafe Home Security  and smart leds like Philips Hue   ( personal preference) in bedroom and living room ( kind of a mini home theater).

Elitism Guru

Member

Re: Home Automation (Z-Wave)

What are the benefits behind using your new sensors if I may ask?:)
(Trying to find some interesting useful scenarios.)

In chronological order:
-Weather data as my area doesn't have any proper temperature reporting service online, its always +/-5C and no working weather prediction.
-Water tank level, as you know in Lebanon you have to pay mafias to get water, we've had multiple occurrences where water was very low, not to mention pumping muddy water.
-Power quality when using Private electricity information is useful when diagnosing issues, we mostly use it as a quick look when trying to draw large like a vacuum while having temporary resistance heater on somewhere, not to exceed "ishterak" capacity.
-Solar power logging is obviously needed for adjustments during seasons, knowing how much you saved per month when calculating bills.
-Sick of changing outdoor lights time depending on fog/winter/summer timing and clouds.
-It would be wasteful to replace a generator for a modern HMI. (starting gen, checking temps etc)
-auto recloser in case of accidental overload on ishterak since its around 20 A, our publ-ic electricity is 60A. trips and reset twice, a minute between then opens until manual reset.
-water heater temperature for a simple warning when they're off (ishterak), im switching to heat pump based water heaters soon from Ariston so this feature will be removed. (standard "Azan" is around 1500/2000W, heatpump is around 250W only, also has proper internal insulation, 50c water stays 45-50 for 6 hours)
-Indicator lights are useful for knowing what type of electricity you have, last time I needed to weld something, and we had ~3 power changes in an hour, pretty exhausting to go to the control room each time to check before drawing large loads (3kW and more)
-Selectivity for UPS is obvious, as described. You don't want lighting/PCs/TVs etc to blackout when someone plugs a hairdryer/vaccum in the wrong outlet forgetting to read "UPS" label. (each outlet has a switch to switch between ups and bypass/regular) Even if the UPS can handle it, as each port has a slightly limited current for stabilized total draw.

Edit: I must add that I don't have any "smart" lights anywhere as I don't find them useful, not to mention that they're never future proof.
Most of the sensor modules are compatible with OSS, and the hardware is very common, easy to repair and replaced by a future  possible home-stay or any resident temporary or permanent (Selling), when the product goes obsolete by then aswell. I switched from openHAB (industry standard) to Domoticz and never looked back. Switching to LoRa is seamless, as I have the transceivers work as module, even existing integrated wifi/bt hardware are translated)

Very interesting indeed.

Been doing a thorough and conscientious  research about automated smart homes , and you gave me good hints / insights.

I am moving to a new apartment soon ( getting married) and I will do it a smart apartment by myself without sourcing any 3rd party / company to do it for me. I am interested in Alexa ,Wink Hub 2 , Brilliant Control ,iHome iSP6X , Ecobee3/4 , SimpliSafe Home Security  and smart leds like Philips Hue   ( personal preference) in bedroom and living room ( kind of a mini home theater).

I've been thinking about Hue strips for hidden lighting as well when using my UST projector, automated dim/bright with Kodi on play pause, brighter lights when turned off, not to mention they're quality built. (burned through 3 bars in a year)
Check out Hubitat instead of Wink, as from what I've read (reddit) they're going obsolete soon (entire product range). Plus Hubitat runs local with cloud sync, as well as scripting (integrating new, old or incompatible sensors)

beezer

Member

Re: Home Automation (Z-Wave)

Hubitat is the way to go if you're gonna be doing it all yourself. It's really powerful and works local, so there is no delay whatsoever.

Ecobee runs on low voltage and we have furnaces and AC that run on 220v. There are alternatives, can't think right now though.

elserge82

Member

Re: Home Automation (Z-Wave)

Need help
Question about gang replacement. I tested the US sonoff t1 (1gang) and i'd  like to roll it to the other boxes. I don't want to do civil work. How would I replace the 4 gang size? Is there any box adaptor ?

Thank you

Last edited by elserge82 (May 3)

beezer

Member

Re: Home Automation (Z-Wave)

There are adapters that you can get that will make it the standard size box (1-3 gang). You can get them at most electrical stores that sell the fixtures.

I've tested some Sonoff and other Chinese brands, know this. They can disable the device remotely if they wish to do so. I have more than one unit that has been remotely disabled, they just don't power up anymore. Now they don't do this, but they have the ability to do that. You're also relying on their servers entirely for the automation.

Need help
Question about gang replacement. I tested the US sonoff t1 (1gang) and i'd  like to roll it to the other boxes. I don't want to do civil work. How would I replace the 4 gang size? Is there any box adaptor ?

Thank you

elserge82

Member

Re: Home Automation (Z-Wave)

There are adapters that you can get that will make it the standard size box (1-3 gang). You can get them at most electrical stores that sell the fixtures.

I've tested some Sonoff and other Chinese brands, know this. They can disable the device remotely if they wish to do so. I have more than one unit that has been remotely disabled, they just don't power up anymore. Now they don't do this, but they have the ability to do that. You're also relying on their servers entirely for the automation.

Need help
Question about gang replacement. I tested the US sonoff t1 (1gang) and i'd  like to roll it to the other boxes. I don't want to do civil work. How would I replace the 4 gang size? Is there any box adaptor ?

Thank you

I've checked in several places with no luck . If you have a place in mind to contact, I would be very grateful .
Thank you

beezer

Member

Re: Home Automation (Z-Wave)

I'll take a picture of one next time so you can show it as a reference. I live in the Bekaa and seen it in Zahle.

elserge82

Member

Re: Home Automation (Z-Wave)

I'll take a picture of one next time so you can show it as a reference. I live in the Bekaa and seen it in Zahle.

The name of the shop would be find since I have lots of friends from zahleh