Z-wave powerplug over samsung smartthings - how to?

  • Platform information:
    • Hardware: CPUArchitecture/RAM/storage = x64intel/16GB/terrabytes…
    • OS: what OS is used and which version = Windows 10 64 bit
    • Java Runtime Environment: which java platform is used and what version = zulu v11
    • openHAB version: - 3.0.2
  • Issue of the topic: please be detailed explaining your issue
  • Please post configurations (if applicable): only java_home got added manually to the default bat file
    • Items configuration related to the issue
    • Sitemap configuration related to the issue
    • Rules code related to the issue
    • Services configuration related to the issue
  • If logs where generated please post these here using code fences:

Dear OpenHab,

I am a tech guy since decades but I cannot figure out the basic workflow how this app works.
I have samsung smarthings hub v2 and Neo Coolcam z-wave powerplugs*

I am fighting with openhab since months but could not figure out (despite the tutorials, articles, videos) how this app is working (building entities)

My goal would be to represent historical power consumption on all of these powerplugs (I have 10)

I could achieve:

  • add Samsung Smartthings hub v2 as a thing
  • add an neo coolcam powerplug as an item

what’s next ?

  • how could I get metrics out of it ?
  • there are so many options and I just tried and tried several combinations but could not figure out how to proceed
  • shall I query the plug somehow (how if it is integrated under smasung smartthing) about its properties/methods ?
  • how can I query the exact metric and follow it and store it and represent it in a chart ?
  • how this build blocks are connecting to each other ? I mean thing ==> item ==> page ?
  • what are and how to know the proper value for item’s type ?
  • is this concrete powerplug is a poweroutlet in the semantic class ? how to know which is the proper value there ?

Please help.

*Neo CoolCam Plug zwave - Device ID 0200:1027 - Database issue

That link uses the OH zwave binding. For the smartthings hub I assume you are using the Smartthings binding.

I do not use it but it appears you need to define your hub as a Bridge.
The power plug would then be defined as a Thing with many Channels.
An Item can then be linked to a Channel to display / manage the data.

To retain historical data, you would need to use Persistence.

The Getting Started and Concepts Overview sections of the online documentation should be useful.

Samsung Smartthing apperas as a bridge under things.
I could already add one powerplug, manually.
But I would expect a poll of the devices on my Samrtthings hub automatically.

I also found this article:

  • but did not help

So only manual work seems to remain.
The HUB does not show channels.

When I add item what shall I choose ?
I choosed manually PowerMeter and added the item by its name (and select the Smartthings hub as a bridge) then it says that the item is online, but no channels there, only the power (number) what I chose manually.

please advise

Any advise please

any advice please ?

There’s no indication in the SmartThings binding documentation that automatic discovery is possible. I think you have to manually add the devices via configuration files. Unfortunately, I doubt that anyone else is running this exact combination of devices, in which case it’s very difficult to offer any help.

My advice would be to get a USB Z-Wave controller and abandon SmartThings, unless there’s another reason that you want to keep it around. It’ll give you full local control in openHAB, and be much easier to add devices over time. It also removes SmartThing and its cloud service as a potential point of failure and latency.

hallo,

I doubt that a samsung cloud service would fail as soon as a home diy solution
But you’re right - it seems to me it is an unique configuration, but I do not understand why, because these should not be that, because smartthings gateway is far the best gateway on the market

I will consider to buy usb sticks, but this brings in the following problems:

  • radio coverage
  • application/driver coverage
  • reliability

br,
Attila

It’s not about the Samsung cloud service (and I’m not anti-cloud), but that it adds a potential failure point due to the hub being in-between openHAB and your device. That failure could be the cloud, power, WiFi, or some other random thing. When you’re talking about reliability, simpler is better.

Can openHAB fail? Sure. My Raspberry Pi has failed once since I started using openHAB on it, and all I had to do was swap out the SD card to get it going again. Others have been running their OH servers for years without failure. I don’t know how reliable it will be for you on Windows, but if that’s why you think it might fail then choose a different platform/OS.

SmartThings is fine for a lot of people, but “best on the market” is far too subjective to be anything more than your personal opinion. If it really was objectively the best on the market, you’d find that a lot of home-automation enthusiasts are using it. I’m not convinced that that’s the case.

The reason that people aren’t using it here is that a SmartThings hub and an openHAB server are basically doing the same thing. So if SmartThings is enough for someone, they won’t go looking for openHAB or Home Assistant since they’ll be satisfied. If SmartThings is too limiting or frustrating for someone, then they’ll probably want to replace it entirely. I know people in this community who only have negative things to say about SmartThings.

Why would the radio coverage be any different than it is right now? You’re basically trying to use your SmartThings hub as a Z-Wave controller for openHAB, so the USB stick just replaces it. If you physically place your openHAB server where your ST hub currently is, your radio coverage and network reliability will be identical.

I don’t know what you mean by “application/driver coverage”. If you get a USB stick that works with Windows and Linux (in case you decide to change your server), it should work just fine. A lot of us use Aeotec and Zooz controllers.

Oh, don’t buy a Z-Wave 700-Series controller, because openHAB doesn’t support those devices at this time. Get a 500-Series controller. If you’re not sure, search the community to see if others have used a specific USB stick.

how to know which usb z-wave stick is supported by openhab ?
what is a covered area of such an usb stick ? I already have 2 smartthings hub in my flat to avoid connection dropping. If I need more, what will power it ? Shall I build 2 raspberry computers for it ? How to connect them to openhab then ?

So many questions where is no proper guide for rookies and tech guys who has no weeks or nmoths to find out all the details

The guides are in the documentation, and they’re as good as volunteers can make them. They’re supplemented by the thousands of posts in the community that include tutorials and discussions about equipment.

It sounds like you want a packaged deal and don’t want to put much time or thought into it. There’s nothing wrong with that, but if so then why not just stick with SmartThings? It’s built for people who want relatively straightforward commercial solutions. That’s also why it has limitations in how complex the automation can be (which I assume is why you’re looking for something else). You can only do what SmartThings enables you to do.

openHAB is built for flexibility, but that makes it complex. It’s open-source, and that means the documentation isn’t as pretty since we’re not paying technical writers. We get some new users who are learning everything from scratch, others who are hardware/software experts, and people somewhere in between (which is where I perceive you and me to be). So, there’s no way to write one guide that meets everyone’s specific needs. Like every other open-source project, we rely on people to do some digging on their own, and we help them when they can’t find the answers.

The way I’d look at it is that this is a hobby, meaning that it should be fun to learn about openHAB and home automation while building your system. If you don’t have time or interest, then I’m not sure this is the right solution for you.

If you think it might be fun to try, then get a single Raspberry Pi and a Z-Wave stick, install openHABian, and see what it can do. I think you’ll quickly see that your concerns about reliability are unnecessary, but there’s only one way for you to be certain.