💭 Thoughts
I want to have:
- an HA instance deployed to my k8s cluster made of 3 Raspberry Pi nodes
- a mesh of Zigbee devices covering both floors of my house
- minimized interferrence with the 2.4 GHz band Wi-Fi channels
🔎 Findings
- a Zigbee network requires a device called coordinator
- there may be only one Zigbee coordinator per network
- there may be several separate Zigbee meshes, with dedicated coordinators each
- several Zigbee coordinators/networks can be plugged into HA, which makes working with any device from any Zigbee network transparent and coherent
- Zigbee meshes may have nodes called routers, they are able to forward messages from other nodes; the routers are typically grid-powered, the battery-powered devices don't usually perform routing due to energy-saving considerations; an example of a router can be a lightbulb or a dedicated stick
- coordinators can be built into SOHO routers/APs (like Eero) or be dedicated devices like smart home hubs or sticks; the sticks can be connected to HA using USB or network (over Wi-Fi or Ethernet); the sticks can be powered through USB or PoE
- having HA running on a Kubernetes cluster means that its container may migrate between physical nodes, ending up on ones that don't have a Zigbee stick plugged in; using a stick per node is not an option because they are typically coordinators, meaning they serve different meshes; some sticks can be turned into routers so that there could be one coordinator; another limitation is that the underlying node hardware is not normally exposed to Kubernetes Pods and requires extra set up to get it working
- using a network-connected device is benefitial since all the nodes can then talk to the same coordinator over the normal network; that coordinator can be plugged into remote locations away from the network rack that could be used to improve Zigbee mesh coverage; using PoE to power it also enables reducing the amount of cabling needed
- a popular Zigbee stick is SLZB-06 — it is hybrid and can work in either coordinator or router mode, it can also be connected via USB, Ethernet or Wi-Fi with access through a web UI, and is powered by either USB or PoE, it's also a product of the Ukrainian quality design and has an open-source firmware: https://smlight.tech; it's recommended by Zigbee2MQTT — a popular method for integrating Zigbee with MQTT; docs: https://smlight.tech/manual/slzb-06/; WebUSB flasher: https://smlight.tech/flasher/#flashingFAQ
- it has another version — SLZB-06M — that makes use of a more powerful underlying chip with the pottential to support the Matter standard in the future; it has support for ZHA, which is a native method for integrating Zigbee devices with HA, but Zigbee2MQTT consideres the support experimental: https://www.zigbee2mqtt.io/guide/adapters/#experimental; besides, there's no open-source firmware to be published and the new firmware remake blobs are tagged as alpha-quality dev-releases: https://github.com/smlight-dev/slzb-06-firmware/issues/69#issuecomment-1849878230
- the SMLIGHT folks recommend buying the sticks via AliExpress from within the EU: due to modern-day logistics challanges and the fact that this marketplace bundles the import duties like VAT, reducing the bureaucracy
- regularly wired light switches can be extended by Zigbee relays that fit right into the original switch sockets; this allows controlling the light using both the normal switch and IoT integrations through HA; it also works with 2-3-4-way switches where a single light is controlled by multiple separate toggles
- the relays usually need a neutral wire to be available
- bookmarks dump:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=_jeQWu23xqs
- https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004046814745.html
- https://www.aliexpress.com/i/1005004533495161.html
- https://aukro.cz/zigbee-chytry-spinac-aubess-zigbee-smart-switch-7050568572
- https://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-zigbee.html
- https://www.amazon.com/zigbee-relay/s?k=zigbee+relay
- https://www.amazon.de/zigbee-relay/s?k=zigbee+relay
- https://www.amazon.de/-/en/SONOFF-MINIR4-Alexa-Smart-Switch/dp/B0C5R8JWJZ
- https://www.amazon.com/Compatible-SmartThings-Philips-ZBBridge-Required/dp/B08R79686G
- https://www.amazon.com/Oxyversa-2-Gang-Smart-Zigbee-Switch/dp/B0C5SR55L6
- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08DV22BSY
- https://www.t-led.cz/p/smart-zigbee-3-0-spinac-zb2-68506
- https://allegro.cz/nabidka/rele-zasuvka-vypinac-zigbee-tuya-smart-13126217514
- https://allegro.cz/nabidka/rele-zasuvka-vypinac-zigbee-tuya-3-gang-14164074016
- https://www.odkarla.cz/smart-switch-sonoff-minir4~p783334
- https://www.odkarla.cz/chytre-vypinace-svetla-moko-4-ks
- https://www.odkarla.cz/venkovni-zasuvka-ucomen-pa-geba-01swp2
- https://www.odkarla.cz/chytry-prepinac-qiachip-bily-2-ks~p662322
- https://www.odkarla.cz/roletovy-spinac-etersky-qs-wifi-c01-4-ks
- https://www.odkarla.cz/chytra-venkovni-zasuvka-maxcio
- https://www.odkarla.cz/chytry-vypinac-maxcio-ak3-at1-gl-m-x
- https://www.odkarla.cz/detektor-koure-x-sense-xs03-bily-3-ks
- https://www.odkarla.cz/chytra-zasuvka-kexin-pg06-white2-eu-2-ks
- https://www.odkarla.cz/chytry-stmivac-moes-ms-105b-1
- https://www.odkarla.cz/hlasovy-ovladac-mhcozy-ee
- https://www.odkarla.cz/zasuvky-etersky-ak3-at1-gl-m-x
- https://www.odkarla.cz/chytra-zasuvka-dewenwils-3680-w-venkovni
- https://www.odkarla.cz/vestavny-detektor-pohybu-steinel-032845
- https://www.amazon.com/zigbee-3-way-switch/s?k=zigbee+3+way+switch
- https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Switch-HS210-KIT-1-Pack/dp/B07724HNTX
- https://forum.digikey.com/t/how-to-wire-a-dpdt-switch-as-4-way-for-multiway-switching/6985
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho5FQ3su6pE
- https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/535452/controlling-a-single-lightbulb-from-multiple-switches
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opoEswRp_jg
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNeKRgNI7Es
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSEg7bT7268
- ESP Home based solutions may be more flexible (like having local failover logic when the network is down): https://esphome.io