Hello there!
I want to buy door lock for my home automation - based on Openhab surely.
Here is the cases:
Z-Wave door lock - looks good, switch channel, possible to control, but too expensive - about 250$.
Zigbee door lock - looks nice, price is about 100$, but I don’t have Zigbee gateway or Zigbee usb stick or else. And also I don’t know about compatibility between lock and gateway.
Bluetooth door lock - looks very good, price is 70$. But i’m not sure is it possible to have switch channel at Bluetooth binding.
So, 2 questions:
If to use Bluetooth binding is it possible to have swotch channel on Bluetooth device? And what to do to get this switch function?
Which Zigbee stick i can use and how to check will it work with possible door lock? How to choose the pair - Zigbee door lock and stick for openhab control?
Zigbee & Bluetooth, to some extent. are in the unregulated RF space that is has interference from microwave ovens, some wireless handsets, and many other devices.
The Z-Wave frequency in your world region would not have those issues. Z-wave offerings vary by world region. They are incompatible across regions.
I’m pretty sure the answer to this is “no”. If a lock isn’t built for integration into a larger system, I wouldn’t choose it in the hope that you can make it work. Especially when there are Z-Wave and Zigbee options that you know will work.
It’s just my opinion, but when it comes to door locks the highest priorities should be “reliable” and “secure”. Factors such as “looks nice” and “low cost” should be considered, but a lock is useless if it doesn’t open when you want it to open or doesn’t prevent people from breaking into your house.
This isn’t to say that the most expensive option is automatically the best, but that you need to evaluate things like the lock brands, their track records, the quality of the hardware, and the security features they provide to ensure that your door only unlocks when you want it to unlock.
Convenience is also a factor, because humans have a habit of looking for shortcuts whenever something is perceived as a hassle. This is why people leave their houses unlocked just to avoid carrying their keys, or use the same password for all of their online accounts, or walk away from their computers without locking them. You’ll want to choose a lock that fits into your daily usage, so that users will be inclined to use it properly.
I have a Schlage Connect Z-Wave lock with a keypad. Some folks dislike the look of keypads, but I like that I don’t have to worry about carrying my phone or a Bluetooth tag to get into my house. Also, I can give guests their own codes so that they can come and go as necessary. More importantly, Schlage has a solid track record with respect to hardware.
I wouldn’t shy away from Zigbee if all things are equal and it’s less expensive than the Z-Wave alternatives (including the price of a Zigbee stick). Just don’t be surprised if you run into the interference issues that Bruce mentioned. Secure inclusion of Z-Wave devices can be a pain in the ass, so I feel like that might cancel out the extra effort to learn about and set up the Zigbee binding in openHAB.
I’m sure they may exist, but from a security perspective I’ve yet to see a BT door lock worth consideration. They’ve all been hacked and trivially so. And I’m unaware of any binding that would work with any of the BT locks, though I would not be surprised if there are some Python scripts on GitHub to interact with the more popular ones. They are, after all, pretty insecure so I’m sure someone has reverse engineered the protocols.
If the lock bears the Zigbee logo, it should work with the Zigbee binding and one of the compatible Zigbee controllers without too much trouble. That is my understanding at least. I’ve not personal experience with this though. I do have a deadbolt that supports both Zwave and Zigbee. It used to work with Zwave like a champ but I do not seem to be able to control the lock from OH any more. That’s no big deal to me as I mainly care about the integration to get the battery status anyway. I never tried pairing it using Zigbee, maybe I’ll try that as I migrate to OH 3.
As for interference, that’s going to be highly location dependent. If you are in a dense environment like an apartment complex the interference might be significant (and it might not). If you are in a sparser environment like a detached house with significant space between hoses the main source of interference will be your own devices so you could do something about it.
