I recently stumbled upon openHAB when researching various smart home hubs. I like the concept and have started implementing it on my windows home server. I currently have an ecobee3 thermostat, my honeywell security system is linked using eyezon envisalink 3, and I have a couple foscam webcams that I have access to from the internet. I was doing some research for garage door/gate openers that would work from my phone and started looking at a more holistic approach to the smart home.
Assuming I can get this up and running properly, am I correct in assuming that I can use hardware from most manufacturers without requiring their specific hub, and instead link them directly to open HAB? For instance, I am considering adding some lighting control. I assume the best way to do that is install smart wall switches. What are some decent switches at a reasonable price? Do I need anything else to connect them to my openHAB network?
It depends. For example, Zigbee support doesn’t yet exist in OH 1.x so you can’t communicate with those type of devices. The z-wave binding is very advanced but its support is not universally complete (e.g. some devices are not supported, some commands are not supported). Also, the z-wave binding requires a USB controller. That being said, z-wave is probably used by the majority of the people on this site so there are lots of people to help. Chris Jackson (the z-wave and HABmin developer) is also pretty responsive.
Your best bet before settling on a set of technologies is to look at the wiki and read the binding page (see list along the right hand side) for the technology you are considering. It will usually tell you what you need to install and use it.
Personally, I’m using two GE Z-wave outlets and one GoControl WS15Z-1 Z-Wave switch to control my lighting with an Aeon Tech USB Z-Wave controller. To control my garage I have a custom rolled switch built on a Raspberry Pi and a relay and the WebIOPi library. Everything else I use is IP based.
You mentioned you have a GoControl WS15Z-1 Z-wave switch working with OpenHAB. I have a Linear WS15Z-1 switch that I can control with OpenHAB but that does not update OpenHAB when it is pressed locally. Have you gotten this to work?
I don’t think that’s me. I have the Linear WS15Z-1 Z-Wave Wall Switch too. Honestly I don’t know whether it updates openHAB or not. I can’t remember the last time I ever hit the switch manually and none of my rules care what state the switch is in before running so I never checked. I presume it works but you can’t get it to work it would be a question for @chris. All I did was add it to the network and set up a Swtich item to control it.
