Noob infrastructure setup

Setup, Configuration and Use Beginners
1

first post disclaimer

I dont have a setup yet - in planning mode.
So I have a Synology in my basement, openHAB installed, and would like to use that as my measurement and controlling center for home automation.
But since Synology is in the basement (inside concrete walls), z-wave/433/zigbee etc is a not likely to work from that location in the house, plus i have a garage and a shed on my property that I would like to measure/control. SO I am not going to plug the devices controllers into the synology, I need some remote/satellite controllers that can communicate with the devices.
Devices in this case will be Temp/Humidit Sensory, Door Sensor, Energy sensor, Thermostat, Smoke and Outlets.

I do have Ethernet/Wifi/PoE in all places/rooms.

  • What kind of hardware/foftware do I need to translate/talk to the device (433/zigbe/z-wave) and then "forward " the request/data from the different rooms to the central Syn/OH?

DIY or RTR and are both in scope.

Thanks in advance.

2

Welcome. I am a recent, learning newbie.
I currently have my Z-Wave controller in my basement. Mains powered Z-Wave devices generally function as routers for the Z-Wave network. I have a switch in the basement stairwell in my house on my small network.
I am avoiding Zigbee & Wi-Fi since they insist ion using the already crowded 2.4 GHz radio spectrum. Bioth standards have other frequencies available, but vendors are not producing devices to utilize them.

3

Thx @Bruce_Osborne, saw that now. Z-wave FAQ clearly states and proves your point that Z-wave acts in a mesh - basically that means inside the house is covered.
But how do I connect/send from a Ethernet connected garage 15 meters away?

4

@chris or @sihui Could a secondary controller work for this situation?

5

My plan is to have outlets in my garage, on my front porch, & in my front yard to control lighted outdoor Christmas decorations. Reaching the front porch without the repeater was laggy in my testing.

6

Seems I am not the only one with this challenge:
Bridging Z-wave over ethernet
Extending Z-wave with secondary controller
…although no clear cut way over 15 meters and through 2 or more walls?

7

Perhaps a Raspberry Pi with a secondary controller? Let’ see what our Z-Wave experts think.

8

You don’t have to use the same technology, that’s the point of openHAB.

1 Like
9

Or perhaps something MQTT related?

10

you only need to have a routing z-wave node/a repeater inbetween, and usually 15m are not a problem even without

11

If your zwave mesh network is robust enough, it’s possible your garage will still be reachable. My environment was similar, and this worked for me.

Otherwise, if you have hardwired ethernet to the garage, you can also consider USB over IP and use two zwave sticks, one for the main house, and one for the garage

12

Why don’t you use a Raspberry Pi you place elsewhere? You can use it as controller or as an Z-wave extention. I mean with the application Ser2Net you can share you’re USB zwave device connected to the RPI and use it on your synology.