I recently noticed that VIMAR is selling replacements of actuators (switches, thermostats, power energy meters, etc…) compatible with standard wall mounted ones. It claims to work with alexa, through zigbee or with apple homekit through a bluetooth gateway.
(description is at the link Smart Home - Vimar energia positiva).
The devices can work with bluetooth-mesh or zigbee (not simultaneously): the energy meter works only with bluetooth.
There does not appear to be an open API available: the user interact with the switches through an app running on a cell phone, or through smart speakers. Is there anyone who tried an integration of some sort with openhab? (I have seen that in some home assistant forum someone tried but with only partial success).
it looks like Alexa is connected using Zigbee directly, so it should be quite standard and should be possibile to use a Zigbee stick and the binding to use VIMAR from OH3
you should if VIMAR is supported by zigbee2mqtt. If it’s supported by that broker, it’s very likely that it’s supported by the OH3 zigbee binding.
Thanks for your answer. It seems, though, that zigbee allows controlling only “basic” functions, while bluetooth appear to be more complete: in fact, the energy meter only works with bluetooth. This is why I was asking about bluetooth. I am wondering if a raspberry can communicate with the bluetooth mesh or if the protocol is proprietary. The bluetooth-wifi gateway maybe implements some standard protocol, as it connects to apple homekit or to the View app: in particular the app can receive notifications if the energy meter detects an instantaneous power consumption above some threshold.
