this post was submitted on 19 Oct 2023
43 points (93.9% liked)

homeassistant

11701 readers
94 users here now

Home Assistant is open source home automation that puts local control and privacy first. Powered by a worldwide community of tinkerers and DIY enthusiasts. Perfect to run on a Raspberry Pi or a local server. Available for free at home-assistant.io

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

Currently I'm using a mix of Hue for lighting and Tradfri for blinds and switches. What are some good brands to expand a smarthome? Are some brands better for a specific category?

all 16 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 19 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I buy everything, long as it's in the zigbee2mqtt library I'm good to go.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago

If it's cheap enough it's worth a go. For anyone new to Zigbee, always check the Zigbee device database to check compatibility with your platform.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I use mostly Sonoff, Aqara and Ikea, but I have a variety of other brands as well.

Sonoff is cheap and reliable, a few of their sensors have a the odd quirk but have worked well overall.

Aqara have more features and a more elegant physical design, but can be bit more expensive - although still cheaper than some other brands. I have a lot of their temperature/humidty and contact sensors and they look nice on my walls and windows.

The one problem with Aqara devices is they don't properly follow the Zigbee standard, and don't play well with some other brands, leading to constant disconnections. They do work fine with Ikea devices however. I had a lot of problems until I split my Zigbee network into 2, one with only Aqara and Ikea devices, and one with all the rest.

I'm also using a few devices from Samotech and Aurora, who have some good UK specific Zigbee devices such as rotary dimmer switches and smart sockets.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (4 children)

I would use Shelly for relays, sonoff for sensors

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

My Sonoff motion sensors have been nothing but trouble. Other Zigbee stuff (and other Sonoff stuff, like temperature/humidity sensors) have worked fine - it's just the motion and door sensors. I guess YMMV.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

I have bought a lot of Sonoff products myself. The temperature/humidity sensors work excellent and on the spot. On the contrary the door sensors (2 out of 3 )tend to disconnect. The same goes for the motion sensors.

I ll try my luck with the aqara sensors.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago

Love Shelly and would second the recommendation except OP asked for Zigbee which they aren’t.

[–] hyper 2 points 10 months ago

My Zigbee dongle is from Sonoff, no issues so far. My next sensors will be either Aqara or Sonoff :)

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago

Yes, I do, it's too early 😞

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

I’ve had good luck with either Sonoff or Tuya. Look on Aliexpress for much cheaper options. Just make sure you get the Tuya Zigbee vs WiFi devices as they’re sometimes listed on the same item but just a different “color” option when ordering.

I use this with zigbee2mqtt

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

My zigbee network is predominantly Hue bulbs and fixtures. Not cheap but reliable and they come in a lot of form factors. I think the only other zigbee device I use is the kwikset convert. I didn't want a keypad on both of my doors so the convert was a cheap and easy solution