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Smart Home

Cheapest way to get started​

Prerequisites​

[!NOTE] WiFi network should be 2.4GHz not 5GHz

  • Buy WiFi device
  • Install the (what ever they say we should use) app on mobile
  • Follow the instructions in manual to connect the device

[!WARNING] I don't use these apps nor trust them

Where to buy devices​

How to find devices​

  • Search by brand

    • Tuya (cheap)
    • Moes (mid)
    • Sonoff (mid/expensive)
    • Aqara (expensive)

  • Search by device type

    • WiFi/Smart bulb
    • WiFi/Smart switch
    • WiFi/Smart plug

[!WARN] Tuya

  • LED Bulbs get pretty hot, and some of them stopped working after few months
  • Plug stops working completely or relay stops working after few months

[!WARN] Moes

  • They lie sometimes - Human presence sensor is not a presence sensor

WiFi vs Zigbee​

For a smart-home network, both Wi-Fi and Zigbee work well—but they shine in very different roles

WiFi Devices​

Pros:

  • Works with existing WiFi infrastructure
  • Generally devices are cheaper
  • Better bandwidth (for video/audio)

Cons:

  • Can congest your WiFi network with many devices
  • Higher power consumption (not ideal for battery-powered devices)

Zigbee Devices​

Pros:

  • Better range through mesh topology
  • Low power consumption (great for battery devices)
  • Less WiFi network congestion
  • Can support hundreds of devices

Cons:

  • Requires a Zigbee hub/coordinator

Recommendation​

Use both

[!NOTE]

  • Zigbee also uses 2.4 GHz so to reduce interference by selecting channels that are not used by WiFi

Zigbee Coordinator​

A Zigbee coordinator is a device that acts as a hub for your Zigbee network.

Types of Zigbee Coordinators​

[!NOTE]

  • There are different versions of Zigbee coordinators. Buy the 3.0 version (latest)
  • Which coordinator to buy?
    • No PC?
      • Tuya ZigBee 3.0 Multimode Gateway
    • Got PC?

Tuya ZigBee 3.0 Multimode Gateway​

tuya

SONOFF ZBDongle​

sonoff

SLZB-06​

slzb