this post was submitted on 07 Feb 2025
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Home Assistant is open source home automation that puts local control and privacy first. Powered by a worldwide community of tinkerers and DIY enthusiasts. Perfect to run on a Raspberry Pi or a local server. Available for free at home-assistant.io
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ZigBee devices are really nice because they are low energy, easy to set up and don't add extra strain on your wifi access point(s). The battery operated ones last for months to years on a small button cell battery and most plug-in/wired ones act as repeaters. Also, a lot Wi-Fi devices are cloud based or require flashing to make them completely local. With ZigBee or even Zwave you are certain they have no internet access and cannot phone home without you having to put any precautions in place.
Can confirm that zigbee is much better for IOT things, I find the zigbee stuff is quicker to react to events as there is not WiFI setup. Some WiFi devices running on batterys will have lag while they get WiFi link back up.
I never that about this but this is very true, zigbee and zwave are dedicated separate radio networks. With the Thread/Matter that is very possible if it has a thread border router setup. Apple TV, HomePod, and even some Nest routers can do this.
If I already have a handful of WiFi devices, do you think it is worth it to replace them? Say, 4-5 switches. I'm planning to invest in a few more and a home thermostat. I certainly want to commit before buying a thermostat, since they tend to be a little more pricey.
Is there a greater danger of ZigBee not being sustainable over decades? WiFi will probably be available for the remainder of my lifetime because it is already so ubiquitous.
ZigBee is already so widespread that I don't see it going away. I'd be much more worried about your WiFi devices.
While WiFi as a network technology certainly isn't going anywhere, most WiFi-connected devices talk to a service on the internet. You probably created an account somewhere to manage your WiFi devices. So if the manufacturer shuts down their service, which happens all the time when they either shut down the whole business or abandon a product line, you will have no way to manage your devices.
ZigBee will continue working as long as your hardware does, because you control the software managing it.
It depends, but I'd say you should definitely try it. Zigbee is so cheap (not just initial cost, but batteries also last waaasy longer and it doesn't saturate your local network), and it's very possible you can still build a nice mesh, maybe reusing a couple of your Wi-Fi switches somewhere else in the house if you need a Zigbee router in one of those spots.
It was never the best idea to fill your home with tiny Wi-Fi devices. Wi-Fi IoT devices are more for people who basically want to automate a couple of things, not 40. I would become mad just for the battery changes, and scared as heck I'd be toasting my brain with so many devices screaming radiowaves (and a clear slowdown of my Internet connection).
I would say unless they're cloud based it's not really a priority with sometime like home assistant since it allows for devices of different platforms and technologies to work together.
It's hard to know with technologies, but I don't think ZigBee is a big risk and since it's local even if they stop producing them that doesn't break your existing devices. I mean, Wi-Fi will undoubtedly still exist, but that doesn't mean the platforms and protocols that Wi-Fi devices use will and devices that connect to the internet can be disabled by updates.
Probably not worth replacing things now but you may consider using zigbee and zwave on any new devices. I have a mix of all three in my setup.
Do you know roughly how much range they can get? I have wifi sensors out like 500 feet from my house that work OK, but in my research on Zigbee most people say like 100 feet or less?