Taking the plunge - Will Fibaro HC work for me?

[stylo2 0]

Hi, I did some experimenting with HC2  + dimmers + sensors + plug sockets and found that all worked OK and was reliable for the 12months of evaluation. This was a couple of tears back and since then I've been building a house. We're now getting into the electrical design / HA and plumbing design etc so I need to make some important decisions. Here's the situation:

 

House on 4 floors with concrete floors and thick block walls

Will have Unify access points throughout (I know not critical but just FYI)

Looking to have a robust solution for:

- all lighting

- will use PIRs for some scene triggers

- have blinds with Somfy motors

- Prefer no cloud connection after setup for security

- Only basic audio - I had it turn on sonos for breakfast news before so that is about all we need

 - Must be robust - if the control centre goes down we have to have a way to easily use the lights - OK if scenes not fully operational etc but needs to be easy

 

 

Nice to have would be 

 - integrate to an alarm system with PIR

 - integrate to video entry on a tablet or on TV screen - not door lock control just viewing

 

User Control:

Thinking a mix of :

- direct load switching retractive switches for "simple" rooms - though haven't really found switches that look as good as the high end HA switches

- A couple of in-wall Android 7" tablets permanently wired displaying the light control options - activated when screen touched or ideally screen activates based on proximity. These will also have the ability to access other functions (maybe current temp, some different status, video at front door, others...?)

- Remote control switch in bedrooms for side lights

- Front door area, all off scene switch

 

My question really is based on experience is HC3 the best controller for me if looking to do something myself vs getting an HA company in? Or are there alternative controllers that will support a wider range of devices/enable a robust solution?

 

Any suggestions for retractive light switches or sockets (maybe with in-built zwave or other compatible protocols) appreciated (I'm in the UK)

 

I has previously been really keen on

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da vinci switch or

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wall wand as the wall controllers but not sure they actually exist. I like them sure to looks and direct relay control for lighting.

 

I have a bunch of Fibaro dimmer2/relays/sensors and my HC2 that I was thinking could be a slave for a new HC3 so my default is going this route but would like to get some views from people with more experience.

 

Thanks
Adam

 

 

[akatar 208]

What kind of somfy motors? io or rts?

with fibaro is everything exept zwave not easy to do

 

if using non zwave devices are important for you, i will look for something else

 

[stylo2 0]

16 minutes ago, akatar said:

What kind of somfy motors? io or rts?

with fibaro is everything exept zwave not easy to do

 

if using non zwave devices are important for you, i will look for something else

 

Will ask about motors - what is the impact of the different options?

 

I was thinking about  the flexibility of good support for non-Zwave as will open up options for different switches/sockets and also a lot eg zigbee seem a lot cheaper than zwave which when multiplied up is a high potential saving 

[pnutp0wer 23]

Look for Vitrum Design, they have different type of Touch panel switches on Z-Wave and are available in UK standard 

[stylo2 0]

16 hours ago, pnutp0wer said:

Look for Vitrum Design, they have different type of Touch panel switches on Z-Wave and are available in UK standard 

Thanks - looks interesting. Shame the others I listed don't seem to be available, I'd have thought there would be a big market for a good looking wall switch/controller with local relay control instead of using a tablet but maybe it's just me!  

[akatar 208]

17 hours ago, stylo2 said:

Will ask about motors - what is the impact of the different options?

 

I was thinking about  the flexibility of good support for non-Zwave as will open up options for different switches/sockets and also a lot eg zigbee seem a lot cheaper than zwave which when multiplied up is a high potential saving 

rts is one way communucation, is open protocol

 

io is two way communication, closed prototcol

[ppeterr 206]

There is a way to use the Somfy IO with the HC3, or really any other device that can send Curl commands. It does require a secondary controller, such as an RPI. I have a KLF 200 here, with a local API that I address with an RPI. This works well. I'm not done with that yet, I'm stuck with the Curl part in the LUA code. There's a topic open about it that I'm working on more. 

 

I also agree - anything but Zwave is tricky, very tricky.

Edited September 30, 2021 by ppeterr

[akatar 208]

@ppeterr Yes, you always need original somfy hardware with io, with rts you can use rfxcom or bond etc

[ppeterr 206]

1 minute ago, akatar said:

@ppeterr Yes, you always need original somfy hardware with io, with rts you can use rfxcom or bond etc

 

Yes i agree, its absolutely something to look into. Before you buy.

[akatar 208]

@ppeterr afaik somfy works with iftt, perhaps that will help you

[ppeterr 206]

7 minutes ago, akatar said:

@ppeterr afaik somfy works with iftt, perhaps that will help you

 

I got it already working  I have the KLF200 with the local API. That works. I only need some help with

the curl calls from the hc3. I invite you to look at my topic. 

 

And then leave my Somfy IO problems  out of this topic, it doesnt fit with the question from the TS.

But then again, he can look there, and see what a hazzle somfy IO can be

 

Edited September 30, 2021 by ppeterr

[stylo2 0]

Thanks for the Somfy info - will check out the thread.

 

Really interested in the bigger questions though around will HC3 likely provide a successful outcome or are there others that I should look at in preference.

[pnutp0wer 23]

You can also use the KLF with a smart implants, yes it requires more hardware but if you’re not into programming it’s an option 

[ppeterr 206]

7 minutes ago, pnutp0wer said:

You can also use the KLF with a smart implants, yes it requires more hardware but if you’re not into programming it’s an option 

 

And then connect to the serial ports, you're right you can. But that completely misses the point of deploying a KLF for somfy IO.

But you're right, it underscores the complexity of using an hc3 with things other than zwave.

I'm sure some here on the forum can help me with the things that should actually be done by the fibaro team.

 

But maybe i am wrong. not sure yet

[stylo2 0]

3 hours ago, ppeterr said:

But you're right, it underscores the complexity of using an hc3 with things other than zwave.

 

So what would be a better controller/hub option if you need to control non-Zwave devices like blinds with Somfy?

[Tim__ 126]

Are you wedded to Somfy? You can pair the Fibaro Roller Shutter 3 device with other brands of 230v motorized blinds. Or with a non- wireless Somfy one.

 

If you want a good zwave controller then choose Fibaro, and then choose zwave accessories. I avoid mucking around with protocol bridges. Note that the HC3 is supposed to be enabled for zigbee in the future.

[ppeterr 206]

5 hours ago, stylo2 said:

 

So what would be a better controller/hub option if you need to control non-Zwave devices like blinds with Somfy?

 

Probably a linux server next to an HC3. And use that in addition with controller software on it that you can try out yourself.

[stylo2 0]

Thanks - needs to be something that is more maintainable in the future by others so will avoid a Linux server I think. 

 

My preferred blind suppler uses Somfy maybe I could then just get a different supplier instead or ask them to supply with some different controller 

[akatar 208]

i would go for somfy,

[Sankotronic 2,370]

Hi @stylo2 ,

 

Have you checked this:

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I don't know how often Fibaro is updating this site, but it is still OK to check.

 

What about this Somfy interface:

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It does missing picture and type so I'm not sure if it is this one:

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I have automated my blinds with Fibaro roller shutter modules, but I still have terrace shade that is controlled with RTS remote and above mentioned might be the right choice. ?