Z-Wave's mesh networking capabilities are one of its most powerful features, but blindly throwing together a bunch of devices in an effort to achieve smart home greatness is not a very realistic expectation. Knowing a little about how Z-Wave mesh networks work, and the ways you can assist the technology in performing its magic, can bring significant speed and reliability improvements to your whole smart home solution. 

​In this article, we want to explore some common mistakes we see people make when setting up their Z-Wave networks, and the simple steps you can take to avoid them in your setup.

In this guide, we're going to show you how create a simple automation in Home Assistant which will send a push notification to a mobile device running the Home Assistant Companion App when some lights have been left on for an extended period. At the end of this tutorial, we're also going to show you how you can build upon this functionality to include an actionable notification - allowing you to open the Home Assistant app directly from the notification message.

If you don't have the app already installed, you will find links for both the Android and iOS versions plus the official Home Assistant Companion App documentation here. 

Requirements

• Home Assistant OS running on a Raspberry Pi (3 and above) or similar
• Home Assistant Companion App pre-installed on your phone or mobile device and registered with your Home Assistant instance. You must be logged into Home Assistant from the app to receive push notifications.

Software Versions Used in this Guide

• Home Assistant OS version 2021.7.4
• Home Assistant Companion App for Android version 2021.6.2-full 
• Supervisor version 2021.06.8 (stable)

This guide describes how to add Z-Wave to your Home Assistant using the Z-Wave JS Integration.

To support the integration, we will be using the Z-Wave JS to MQTT add-on, available from the Home Assistant community add-on store. This add-on includes the Z-Wave JS Server as part of the Z-Wave JS to MQTT application and despite the name, MQTT is not required to run it.

The Z-Wave network can be configured via the Z-Wave JS Control Panel built into Home Assistant but the benefit of using the Z-Wave JS to MQTT add-on is that it also exposes an additional, more advanced control panel, which offers wider network configuration options and diagnostic tools.

Requirements

• Home Assistant OS running on a Raspberry Pi (3 and above) or similar
• You will also need an Aeotec Z-Stick Gen5+, Z-Wave.me UZB1 or other compatible Z-Wave stick or module installed. 

Software Versions Used in this Guide

• Home Assistant OS version 2021.7.3
• Z-Wave JS to MQTT version 0.22.1
• Supervisor version 2021.06.8 (stable)

With numerous improvements over the previous model, the new FIBARO Home Center 3 Lite also shares many of the same features as its older brother.  ​Some of the most notable improvements include; the latest generation Z-Wave 700 chip (also known as Z-Wave Plus v2), ​Wi-Fi, increased memory capacity and the ability to use powerful LUA-based scenes.

Homey Web App was the long awaited advanced user interface introduced a few months ago for the Homey Smart Home controller. Built for customising your smart home with ease on the big screen, the UI has undergone significant improvement since its initial release and is well worth a look if you haven't seen it yet. 

You can access the new Web App by logging in at my.homey.app/login

Check out the video below for a great overview of the Web App's latest features! 

Home Assistant is an open-source home automation project developed by a worldwide community of very clever people, with a strong focus on performance, reliability and protecting your privacy. If you’ve spent any amount of time researching smart home tech and the world of the “Internet of Things”, chances are, you will have seen a reference to Home Assistant somewhere, partly due to the vast number of system integrations it can support.

​Home Assistant has long been a powerful force amongst smart home aficionados, but it is sometimes criticised for being too complicated for the “average Joe” due to the product’s heavy reliance on code (YAML) for its configurations. However, over the past year or so, the developers of Home Assistant began moving a lot of this configuration to the web UI in an effort to greatly simplify the system – for all users. Thanks to this effort, tasks which used to be technically demanding can now be accomplished with the click of a few buttons.

Today, Home Assistant has reached a significant milestone in user-friendliness, and it’s only getting better. Combine this with an ever-growing list of supported smart home platforms, advanced automation tools, blazing fast performance and a rapid development lifecycle, it can arguably rival the features and capabilities of any commercially available product in this space.​

​In this article, we want to highlight some of the reasons why we think Home Assistant is such a fantastic product, and discuss some of the unique features it brings to the modern smart home… ​

Earlier this year, it became painfully clear to us (and no doubt many of you as well) that something was up with ImperiHome – the very popular app for controlling a wide array of smart home devices. The first indication of something wrong was when we tried to log into the app, which failed. When we headed over to the ImperiHome website to manage our account, the entire site was unresponsive. Huh? After a couple days, we stumbled across one simple tweet which revealed the problem: “The Evertygo company, which published the excellent Android/iOS ImperiHome application, is in bankruptcy proceedings. Bye bye ImperiHome!”. 

Noooooooo!!!!

Unable to log into the app, effectively rendering it useless, we found ourselves scrambling for a solution. The good news is, if you still have ImperiHome installed on your mobile device, and you never log out, you should be fine. If you’re trying to set-up the app on a new device or for the very first time (assuming you saved the app package in advance, before it was pulled from the app stores) you can still launch it using this very clever hack, which essentially bypasses the logon screen entirely.

These tricks work but they are interim solutions at best. Time to find a replacement app… Enter, Home Remote. 

Available for iOS, Android and Windows-based devices, Home Remote is a well-designed, dashboard-style app, for controlling numerous smart devices from a long list of manufacturers. It has built-in navigational elements and integrations for Vera, Fibaro, Logitech, SmartThings, Sonos, Yamaha, LG, HomeSeer and many more, but its real strength lies in its dedicated “Designer” app (for Windows) which allows you to fully customise the UI to suite your individual needs.

Designer is intended for advanced users but following this guide should be simple enough for most people when getting started. Even if you never touch Designer, when only using the default app template and widget tiles, you can use the built-in integrations to get basic device control very quickly and simply. We were able to set-up the app to control our VeraPlus, Yamaha Receiver, Logitech Harmony Hubs and IP cameras in literally a matter of minutes.

Home Remote is well worth a look and appears to be an excellent alternative to ImperiHome; possibly even exceeding its capabilities in terms of UI customisation and 3rd party device integrations. 

For more information, check out the Home Remote website.

Whilst it’s true that remote control (or "home control" as it’s known in this context) is an important part of any home automation solution, on its own, it is not home automation. The real advantage of a smart home is realised when all your devices can operate as a unified system, without any need for human interaction. This is home automation!

Now, we will admit, the first time we experienced switching our lights on and off from a smart phone was a truly memorable event. The benefits were instantly recognised but we soon found ourselves wanting more than just a high-tech remote. Of course, it’s nice to know we can monitor and control things from a smart phone when necessary (and more recently, through voice recognition thanks to Amazon Alexa and Google Home) but this is only part of the story.

Home automation is not about pushing buttons. It’s about employing technology to take care of the day-to-day operation of your home automatically. When implemented properly, it will go about its business unnoticed, quietly reacting to your needs while improving you and your family’s comfort and safety.

If you'd like more information about home automation and how it can benefit you, contact us today!

Home security is something all home owners worry about, especially when we’re away and unfortunately, a vacant home can often spell opportunity for burglars. However, with a Z-Wave home security and safety system, you can dissuade potential intruders through the automatic control of lights and window coverings at random times, creating the appearance that there’s always someone at home even when there isn’t.
 
Smoke and carbon monoxide sensors form an important part of any home safety system but when connected to a smart home, they can deliver several important benefits. For example, if you have elderly relatives you worry about living alone, they can simultaneously trigger other Z-Wave devices in an emergency and flash room lights, unlock doors or send an alert to family and friends. 
 
Automated lighting offers many benefits in and around the home but perhaps one not so obvious use case is that it allows its occupants to be guided safely between rooms at night without ever needing to fumble for a light switch. This can reduce the risk of falls and other injuries caused by poor lighting conditions.

With a Z-Wave key-less door lock, you can centrally manage unique access codes for every member of the household and trigger an event whenever someone gains entry to your home. You can also remotely lock and unlock your doors from anywhere in world and provide temporary access for house guests or tradesmen.
 
These are just a few of the many security and safety features of a Z-Wave smart home system and if you have any questions about how to best make use of this exciting technology, feel free to contact us anytime.

Click here to see our full range of Z-Wave home security and safety products.