Domoticz + LightWaveRF Generation 2 [868mhz] Transceiver

[7h1nk]

Evening All!

As part of my house decorating project this year, I'm looking to replace all my standard plug sockets and light switches and go down the LightWaveRF route - ZWave doesn't seem to be particularly big in the UK.

I've got an Echo Plus [it was cheap] and some Xiaomi Smart Home sensors and Yee Lights, but I really like the look of the LightWaveRF products but despite the hefty price tag I'd prefer the new Generation 2 kit because you can get the device status which you couldn't with the previous version.

I've just bought a Pi 3 and will have it running on a 'dirty' guest WiFi network along with all my other IOT devices, TV, Echo, Xiaomi sensors and bulbs. I was originally looking at the RFXCOM as it seemed very popular, however that only seems to support 433mhz whereas LightWaveRF Gen 2 is 868Mhz.

Ideally I'd like a transceiver that does both 433mhz and 868mhz should I decide to buy any other devices further down the line which are only available on 433mhz [what devices I don't know] but I'd like to make sure I'm future proof and ready for 868mhz once the LightWave Gen 2 sockets and switches come down in price and I can install them as I'm decorating a room.

I'd also like to make sure I get something that works fully with Domoticz, USB if preferable.

Is anyone currently running a transreceiver that ticks all of the boxes, or can recommend anything please?

Onew other question, I'd like to make sure that I keep as much historic data as possible from my devices [temperature sensor and Smart Meter] do I need to make sure I get the right size microSD card for the Pi. Would 1 32GB SanDisk Ultra be ok, or should I go a little bigger?

Thanks in advance

[simonrg]

As part of my house decorating project this year, I'm looking to replace all my standard plug sockets and light switches and go down the LightWaveRF route - ZWave doesn't seem to be particularly big in the UK.
I've got an Echo Plus [it was cheap] and some Xiaomi Smart Home sensors and Yee Lights, but I really like the look of the LightWaveRF products but despite the hefty price tag I'd prefer the new Generation 2 kit because you can get the device status which you couldn't with the previous version.

I rebuilt my house in 2013 so replaced everything with LightwaveRF 1 and Domoticz, great no real issue with 1 way 98% of the time, but yes 2 way would be nicer. If I did it again, I would remove all the light switches and put relays in the light sockets, even a central DMX controller, so everything could be wirelessly controlled with wireless switches on the wall wherever is convenient.

I've just bought a Pi 3 and will have it running on a 'dirty' guest WiFi network along with all my other IOT devices, TV, Echo, Xiaomi sensors and bulbs.

Surely you want your IOT on your most secure WiFi network not a guest WiFi.

I was originally looking at the RFXCOM as it seemed very popular, however that only seems to support 433mhz whereas LightWaveRF Gen 2 is 868Mhz.
Ideally I'd like a transceiver that does both 433mhz and 868mhz should I decide to buy any other devices further down the line which are only available on 433mhz [what devices I don't know] but I'd like to make sure I'm future proof and ready for 868mhz once the LightWave Gen 2 sockets and switches come down in price and I can install them as I'm decorating a room.

Search for Rfplayer on the forum it does both frequencies and there is a plug-in for it - https://shop.swiss-domotique.ch/en/home ... p1000.html. I am still waiting for LightWave 1 to come down in price, which doesn't seem to be happening.

I'd also like to make sure I get something that works fully with Domoticz, USB if preferable.
Is anyone currently running a transreceiver that ticks all of the boxes, or can recommend anything please?

I suspect your biggest challenge is not hardware, but software. LightwaveRF 2 must use a differnt protocol to 1, has anybody documented it yet and has it been implemented on a device such as the RFPlayer. See here http://lightwaverfcommunity.org.uk/foru ... ing-on-it/ - on the otherhand the RFPlayer seems to do a simple record / replay of RF signal, so for simple on/off that would be fine.

One other question, I'd like to make sure that I keep as much historic data as possible from my devices [temperature sensor and Smart Meter] do I need to make sure I get the right size microSD card for the Pi. Would 1 32GB SanDisk Ultra be ok, or should I go a little bigger?

32GB would store a lot of temperature measurements, not sure about database performance of this much data using Sqlite on RPi. You might want to store the data on another system so as not to interfere with your automation.
Good luck, Simon

[7h1nk]

Thanks for your reply simonrg. Replies in-line below...

I rebuilt my house in 2013 so replaced everything with LightwaveRF 1 and Domoticz, great no real issue with 1 way 98% of the time, but yes 2 way would be nicer. If I did it again, I would remove all the light switches and put relays in the light sockets, even a central DMX controller, so everything could be wirelessly controlled with wireless switches on the wall wherever is convenient.

For a lot of people 1-way is probably ok but unfortunately for me I'malways rushing around and am a bit forgetful, and spend a bit of time away from home so I need to be able to check the status of things so 2-way for me is a must. I must admit that I hadn't considered relays but I'll have a look into those. My only fear though is that they wouldn't fit into the sockets which are either flush or just wall mounted, that's why I though it might be easier [albeit a bit more expensive] to just rip-out and replace with LightWaveRF Gen2.

Surely you want your IOT on your most secure WiFi network not a guest WiFi.

My Guest WiFi is secure but I consider it 'dirty' because it's where I would like to put untrusted devices. By untrusted I mean devices that I don't want touching my production network with my test lab and NAS. Guest WiFi is isolated from everything which makes me sleep better at night should a Xiaomi device become compromised for whatever reason and someone tries to start poking around. That network still has a complex password for devices wanting to connect, it's as secure as it can be, as it ends up going through my firewall which is an enterprise appliance and all internal and external traffic is blocked by default, so anything wanting to get out has to have an explicit rule created.

Search for Rfplayer on the forum it does both frequencies and there is a plug-in for it - https://shop.swiss-domotique.ch/en/home ... p1000.html. I am still waiting for LightWave 1 to come down in price, which doesn't seem to be happening.

Thank you for your suggestion I'll do some reading on that transceiver but based on it supported both frequencies then that looks like a winner!

LightWaveRF does seem to be more readily available in this country and the switches have a nice finish to them and are very similar to standard switches that I was looking at. However the Gen2 stuff is ridiculously priced at the moment; 2 gang smart dimmer £100, single dimmer £60, 2 gang socket £60 - that's just over £1k for the things I need to replace off of the top of my head. If you've 'rebuilt' your house then I suspect you've probably got a few more to do than I have

I suspect your biggest challenge is not hardware, but software. LightwaveRF 2 must use a differnt protocol to 1, has anybody documented it yet and has it been implemented on a device such as the RFPlayer. See here http://lightwaverfcommunity.org.uk/foru ... ing-on-it/ - on the otherhand the RFPlayer seems to do a simple record / replay of RF signal, so for simple on/off that would be

I'm still getting my head around this stuff so thank you for raising this point. I'll look at the thread you provided and do some more reading.

32GB would store a lot of temperature measurements, not sure about database performance of this much data using Sqlite on RPi. You might want to store the data on another system so as not to interfere with your automation.
Good luck, Simon

Thanks again for your advice. I'll go for the 32GB for now and if I start to have issues then I'll perhaps look into a small low power device like Asus Chromebox. I've seen a resource monitor for Domoticz on my travels so I can keep an eye on that once it's up and running.

Thanks again for your feedback and advice simonrg. I'll come back to you with any useful bits of information I find. The Pi is on it's way but the transceiver and switches / sockets are probably a few weeks away.

[nigels0]

Resurrecting an old thread; has anyone connected the LightwaveRF Smart series to Domoticz?