Nothing long winded. Either it works and you like it or you’ve had bad luck. What Zwave devices are you continually happy with especially? Looking for door/window sensors but suggest anything you like.
I’m a fan of Zooz devices in general. I only have a Z2 USB stick, but I really like their dimmer/fan switch that can be used to control your bathroom lights and fan (or two different lights, if you want).
I’m also very happy with my Schlage Connect lock, which has a keypad. I like that I can always get into my house, even if I don’t have my keys or phone.
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I really love inovelli zwave products. They used to be manufactured in the same facilities as zooz, but have since branched out to their own designs.
The entire team, including the CEO, are passionate enthusiasts of home automation and are always listening and interacting with the community to improve their products, either on reddit or their own forums.
They are a somewhat newer company, so only available in the US and Canada so far.
Another company that needs honorable mentions is Aeotech. They’re a little pricier, but they are definitely one of the more innovative companies in the zwave market
I also second rpwong’s schlage recommendation. The schlage units are some of the best zwave locks on the market (I personally tested 4 different brands before deciding)
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Philio PST02-1A
No doubt the best door/window sensor I have. I am overall very happe with the five sensors I have and I’ll be buying more, soon.
They are US and Canada only. They have helped us insure their devices work with OpenHAB.
I just ordered a couple of outdoor sensors from their store thesmartesthouse.com. Their devices are also available on Amazon, usually at a higher price.
Another US and Canada only vendor I had not heard about. I notice they do not list OpenHAB as compatible either.
They’re branded Cyrus in Europe I believe.
True, this list is US centric.
Around Europe, the most widely used and recommended vendor is Fibaro.
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I had not heard of that. Likely they use the same Chinese factory.
Zooz support has provided us with device samples from time to time so we could add them to our Z-Wave database.
Their customer support is the best I have encountered. If they suspect a defective device, they will replace it. In fact my first Zooz switch suffered a physical failure within one day. They sent out a tested replacement that has worked flawlessly.
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Happy with:
- GE outlets
- Linear wall switch
- GE appliance modules
- Aeotech whole house power monitor
Finicky:
- Minimotes
- Kwickset 910 deadbolts
Do not recommend:
- First Alert Zcombo Smoke/CO alarms
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I do not recommend cheap Chinese Neo Coolcam products.
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z-wave EU version devices at my site:
Fibaro
is a polish company and produces in poland.
I’ve got switches, dimmers, multisensors and rollershutters. There is an issue with the rollershutters. Everything else i use works.
EDIT: forgot to mention the most fascinating device: smart implant. I’m using it to make binary (rain & sun) sensors speaking z-wave.
different z-wave versions available
Popp (part of aeotec group now)
is/was a german company.
I’ve got some Thermostat Radiator Valves. These are what i started with openHAB. Working fine.
discontinued product, only z-wave europe frequency afaik
NeoCoolcam
cheap chinese supplier shenzhen …
Bought some multisensors but sent them back because of problems i don’t remember exactly. Some wall plugs just arrived from china. No comment on these up to now.
different z-wave versions available
Aeotec
A Z-Stick Gen5 is not in production use. I used it a while when i started with openHAB on a pi3. Everything fine. I tried it in on a pi4 and started to hate it - until i plugged it into a usb-switch. There’s backup/restore software supplied for the stick. And it has a battery: you can take it out of the USB-Port, include a z-wave device near by and plug it back. I’ll switch back to this z-wave controler the next weeks.
different z-wave versions available
z-wave.me
RaZberry in production use, because it fitts in a small housing for my pi3. I’ve got a housing with room for battery and usv-board now. So i’ll switch back to aetoc usb-stick. RazBerry works as desired.
different z-wave versions available
qubino
Slovenian company
There are some DIN rail (german: Hutschiene) mountable dimmers in my electrical/fuse box. Functioning well.
different z-wave versions available
Sensative
swedish company
Some strips-guards online. To get these battery driven devices fully discoverd will cost you a fingertip. I discovered and mounted but never integrated them into rules. They are said to be not reliable, but i can’t comment on that.
different z-wave versions available
So this is the z-wave part of my playground aka smarthome. 
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I’ve only been dabbling in Z-wave for the past half year or so, so I can only give you the beginners perspective:
Aeotec products pretty much across the board have been very easy to install and rock solid reliable. I particularly like the form factor of the door/window sensor 6 although its battery life isn’t quite what I had hoped (I do have it on the highest use door in the house so I shouldn’t be too hard on it).
I’ve also been impressed with the installation guidance and support from zooz and love the versatility of their wall switches.
My kid loves his fibaro big red button and for its part it has stood up quite well to a six year old.
Aeotec devices are nice and work well I especially like the wallswipe but their stuff is expensive. I had 3 Zooz rgbw controller and they all stoped working with the same problem but their support staff was very helpful. Fibario stuff works well but their is a lot of channels on the in wall dimmer that are deprecated and almost seem convoluted. Inoveilli has good stuff and they have a ceiling fan controller that would be perfect for people with older house wiring once it works with openHAB plus their in wall switches can be associated with the bulbs witch is nice. I’m very happy with my kwickset 912 door lock and their smartkey rekeying process is very easy so I could still use the old key and it still has the physical controls witch is a big deal for me. If anyone knows of trvs in the us please tell me when I first started they were one of the big reasons I wanted to use openHAB before I learned more about the different frequencies for different regions.
Did they get you working?
One thing I like about Zooz switches is you do not need special slave switches in a multi switch circuit. I have one, with a regular switch, for a lighted stairway.
I still need to send them back but they were very helpful and was still very happy with them.
@5iver has one of those in use successfully. He added it to the database.
Z-wave EU version devices here:
- AEON Labs ZWave Controller Aeotec AEOEZW090-C
Works great at a raspberry pi 4 with usb hub; has a backup and restore function - ZW095 Home Energy Meter - Gen 5
Works fine - Devolo ZWave window contacts
work fine, have also temperature and brightness - Haupauge 4in1, same as Philio 4-in-1 Sensor, PHI_PST02-1A
work fine, have also temperature, brightness and PIR (movement) - Fibaro ZWave Rollershutter FGR-222
Work fine for >3 years now - Fibaro ZWave WallPlug
I have > 10 of them; They are expensive, but reliable. - NorthQ ZWave NQ-9021 Power/Energy meter
Should read our Ferraris energy meter.
Due to the optical reading, it only counts turns and gives energy on a 15…30 min base.
I have a rule that calcs power from that.
Not satisfied with the device. In theory ok, but every few days…weeks, it disconnects from the network. - Fibaro RGBW ZWave FGRGBWM-441
RGBW Modul for LED strips, works fine - Popp smoke detector 4001
battery powered 9V, can be externally +12V supplied - then as repeater for mesh
Battery had to be replaced every 3 months, so I added a Power supply. With this, it is fine.
Great features: multiple devices listen to each other and if one has alarm, all others get it, too (even without OpenHAB)
And you can manually switch alarm on via openhab - Aeotec Multisensor 6 ZW100
Battery or USB-Powered, so no battery change; works fine - Fibaro DOOR/WINDOW SENSOR 2 FGDW-002
works fine - Popp Z-Rain Regensensor 700168
Works, but can’t be used as alarm to close windows when rain starts because of 4 min delay and seesaw operation - better use resistance based device for this. - Qubino ZMNHBD1 Flush 2 switch relays
Work fine for our irrigation; can have a programmed timeout (in case openhab rule does not stop irrigation or zwave-connection breaks down), can have an external temperature sensor
@michel53 since the original poster is in the USA using those devices would be illegal for them.
Do you get UV and Vibration readings? These do not work for me.
Oh - that’s really nice! Is the timeout reset with every command? E.g. can I set the timeout to 10 minutes and send a command every 5 mins to keep it on?
There US Versions available for Aeotec, Fibaro, etc. Device type (e.g. ZW100) does not change with frequency, Quibino is the only manufacturer that I know of where the Frequency is encoded in the device type (last digit).
No, I do not get UV and Vibration readings.
I have not tried - for our irrigation, a simple “off after x min on” timeout is sufficient.
I have set it to the max possible irrigation time plus 30 min, so this really is “the last line of defense”.