The T1 (in wall) Switch Module is another well-made Zigbee device from Aqara that is part of the same product line as others that I have tested (thermostat, smart plug, switch, mini switch). The device works with both ZHA and Zigbee2mqtt although not all of the functionality from the official Read more…
There are a lot of smart relays on the market. The In-Wall Relay Switch Lite from Evvr tries something new: it does not only have a small form factor and very good built quality but also a small “Sub-Assembly” that makes it work with any plain old light switch. I Read more…
If you are looking for a simple solution to make your dimmable lights smart the Tuya smart dimmer switch might be the right solution. I tested this Zigbee switch with Home Assistant, ZHA and Zigbee2MQTT. The Tuya smart light switch The Tuya smart light switch (sometimes sold under the Moes Read more…
Smart lightbulbs are great but they get quite dumb really quickly when you toggle the light switch. The Aqara H1 switch can fix this issue. It works with Zigbee in Home Assistant, either with ZHA or Zigbee2MQTT and has a special decoupled mode for usage with smart lights. The Aqara Read more…
Open source software like Zigbee2MQTT and Home Assistant are a great alternative to (more or less) closed systems like Philips Hue. It can be tricky to get started though. Here is a quick start guide allowing you to use all the advantages like full offline control and the possibility to Read more…
Migrating ZHA to a new coordinator can be easy once you figure out how. I have been running my smart home Zigbee network with Home Assistant, ZHA and a Sonoff Zigbee wifi bridge flashed with Tasmota for a couple of years now. With the release of the new cheap and Read more…
Home Assistant is an awesome free home automation system. To properly utilize it you need to add smart home devices though. This is how to add Zigbee and (Tasmota) Wifi devices to Home Assistant. I recently started working on my new smart home server and build up the hardware as Read more…
There are two awesome tools for local control over Zigbee devices: ZHA vs Zigbee2Mqtt. Which one should you use? I recently switched from Zigbee2MQTT to ZHA. Here I will show you how to set up ZHA with Home Assistant and compare ZHA and Zigbee2MQTT. My setup I recently started a Read more…
Zigbee2MQTTAssistant makes a great software even better. Zigbee2MQTT is a very nice piece of software you can use to control all kind of MQTT devices with one gateway. But while it is awesome it can be a little hard to get started with. This is where Zigbee2MQTT-Assistant shines: it gives Read more…
Tired of running a dozen different hub and Apps for your smart home devices? Here is how to build your own custom smart home server that is a universal hub and so much more. With a Raspberry Pi, Docker and open source smart home software and without spending much money. Read more…