Been using tp-link smart plugs for a moment. Not really had any problems with them but i want to move to something such as z-wave or a ZigBee. Something that is totally local and does not require a different app on my phone.
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Supported hardware: Nintendo Switch Joycons lmao
@brb finally something useful 😂
I’m rewiring my house so have started installing Sonoff ZBMINIR2 on one in certain locations. My outlets are being put in boxes large enough for a pair of double outlets (total of four individual plugs) so making one switched is kinda easy. Just wired it up without any switch at all and stuffed it in the box. Just have to break the tab on the positive side and wire the unswitched outlet as usual. I then get three always on outlets and one zigbee switched outlet, I’m going to create a label for the face plate front to show the switched one and the back side had the breaker and branch location info so it will be easy to figure out later on if needed.
I tested a couple of the ZBMINIR2’s switched side and if you bring power and ground through the ZBMINIR2 the switched contacts are only about 6v dc. The only disadvantage I have seen so far is that when a switch is wired up and rapidly turned on and off it goes into pairing mode so kids flipping switches are a bad thing but it’s easy enough to pair back up if you have your phone handy when it happens.
Flashed some plugs with Tasmota.
I am using Third Reality. It’s been great and since they are part of the Works with Home Assistant program, they actually give updates to their device and are committed to not needing an external account on some sort of stupid app.
[US] ThirdReality SmartPlug Gen2. It’s ZigBee 3.0, has power monitoring, has a power button, are UL/ETL certified, and 3reality is part of the works with HomeAssistant program so firmware updates are really easy. It’s also cheap enough at $10. They work as great repeaters and have noticeably improved my ZigBee network.
Yup, heavy thirdreality user here too. They’re pretty solid, almost zero problems with the dozen I have around my house.
Have the temperature/humidity sensors and tilt sensors for my garage doors as well. Only problem I had with any of them was due to a battery leaking in one of them from the included AA’s, but I caught it before it caused any real damage.
I’ve got like 10 of these, they work great, and it’s actually been helpful for figuring out where all my power is going. I realized I could save probably $20 a month by shutting down my PC at night, both because of the CPU power and subsequent increase in AC usage.
My personal anecdote:
Z-wave is king. ZigBee is a far second place and WiFi / Bluetooth are a last resort.
I’m a huge fan of Zooz products having tested many other brands and been disappointed.
My biggest failure rate has been with Shelly products. Sonoff is alright but have also had issues here and there. I’ve yet to have any issues with my Zooz switches and smart plugs and I have close to 50 of them.
Zooz = solid
Sonoff like you said ok but I had a smart plug fail. Zooz is a little pricier but rock solid.
I was so excited about Shelly when I first discovered it. Ordered a ton of stuff and started swapping over. The reliability was awful. I have a giant box of them that I don’t know what to do with.
Give em to me!
I have a dozen or so, zero issues.
Having said that, I do prefer zwave to WiFi. Glad theyre starting to head in that direction. Just dont understand why zwave gear is always 20% more expensive.
IIRC, ZWave costs the manufacturer a license to use and they must meet certain quality guidelines.
In the end this results in higher quality products, but there’s an overhead.
Still using Insteon. Nothing else is as reliable. Works even if the Wi-Fi router is down. Their hub talks to Home Assistant and that integration has been rock solid. Under the new owners, the hardware is better than ever. But I have 18 year-old light switches and plug-in modules still working flawlessly even after moving them to three different houses.
So glad to hear this. Had Insteon in my old house and moved when they shut down, so I’m mostly using eave now in the new house. I loved Insteon, and kept my hub & plug in modules when we moved. I’ll definitely consider using them again going forward.
I really liked their stuff, but things have been out of stock lately. Their lightbulbs only lasted a year and they stopped selling them. I’m concerned they are having supply chain issues.
Came here to say this. I have a few of these. They are rock solid and easily flashed with Tasmota
I have a few Aqara smart socket with power monitoring, and they ask great, but also expensive.
I had a bunch of the old style of IKEA smart sockets without power monitoring. They work just fine, but they are quite clunky…
I recently bought a couple of the new IKEA smart sockets with power monitoring, and they are almost on par with the Aqara ones, but less than half the price.
I’m a Zwave man. Aeotec ones give very high res power consumption tracking so I can automate based on patterns in usage (can detect when my washers/dryers finish, etc). The Fibaro ones are a bit cheaper but not quite as good (but still haven’t failed me once).
Fibaro isn’t a company anymore, so I don’t know if those will be available. Here in the middle EU, all shops are out of stock of fibaro stuff.
I use the aeotec stuff, but those smart plugs are also being not restocked at most webshops in Belgium and the Netherlands for some reason
Bunch of different zigbee ones. Zigbee-only means they’re guaranteed to be local and I’ve had no issues with my Deconz-based zigbee network for many years.
I bought a few cheap ones with Wifi (16A and energy monitoring) from Tasmota’s list and flashed them with Tasmota. Works reasonably well. Though I have to say friends had some of these fail over the years.
[US] I have a z-wave network of Zooz Zen04 power-monitoring plugs and Minoston MP21 non-monitoring plugs. Automatically set themselves up by scanning the little QR code, Haven’t had any network drops or device failures in…3(?) years. One Zooz Zen15 high power, monitoring device occasionally (every few weeks) glitches and reports an spurious, instantaneous 5-20 kWh energy consumption
I’m using a mixture of Sonoff S31ZB (ZigBee) and S31 (WiFi) plugs with #Zigbee2MQTT and #ESPhome respectively.
I like their form-factor and that you can plug two of them into standard wall outlets (I also have older eWeeLink plugs that partially block the other outlet).
The ZigBee plugs are easier to pair with my #ZigBee network but the S31 allow me to measure power usage in #HomeAssistant.I have a bunch of different zigbee models, but my overall favorites are the Sengled Zigbee plugs. They have power monitoring, which can be really useful for automations.
For example, my computer monitor makes an annoying high-pitched squeal when in standby mode, so I have it and my PC on separate Sengled smart plugs and if the PC plug is drawing low enough wattage for 10 seconds that I can be sure it’s off or asleep, my automation turns off the monitor smart plug, and when the PC plug wattage jumps back above the threshold, the monitor plug gives power to my monitor again.
Obviously that specific use is a bit niche, but the ability to know when not-smart devices are using more or less power and run automations accordingly can be really useful.
There are other brands besides Sengled that have power monitoring, but I’ve found theirs to be pretty reliable, just make sure you get the zigbee plugs, because they also make wifi plugs that look basically identical to the zigbee model.
Calling a PC a not-smart device is pretty humorous, in my eyes.
