Introduction
This post assumes you are already using the great Home Assistant piece of software. For this post I will the Zigbee Home Automation (“ZHA”) built-in integration (you might want to use Zigbee2MQTT but it’s up to you).
The Zigbee network is a mesh network. This means you will have a single coordinator acting as a controller between the Zigbee network and your home automation + (hopefully) many routers devices + end devices.
Here is a principle diagram from ST:
Required hardware
For this guide, we need quite a lot of devices because we’ll use all three kinds : Coordinator, routers and end devices.
Here’s the BOM:
| Device role | Sample device | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Coordinator | SONOFF ZB-Dongle-E : USB to Zigbee SMLight SLZB-06P10 : RJ45/PoE to Zigbee SONOFF ZBBridge-P : WiFi to Zigbee | You need only one in your network. It is the bridge between your Zigbee mesh network and the LAN |
| Router | Some random smart plugs SONOFF Zbminir2 for use with lights and switches | Theses must be powered by main (or over USB sometimes) to be online 24/7 and route the Zigbee traffic. |
| End device | Radiator valves : SONOFF TRVZB Humidity and temperature sensors : SONOFF SNZB-02D Smart buttons : SONOFF SNZB-02P | These are usually powered by batteries. As such they can't route the zigbee traffic 24/7. |
Spoiler : Yes, I do love the Sonoff devices. They are just working and are inexpensive.
Our goal is to add a new router, namely a smart plug, the TS011F kind.
Software part in Home Assistant with ZHA
Once your new device is in pairing mode (refer to its manual, usually keep the button pressed 2-10 seconds), go to the ZHA integration and clic the number of devices you have (here 60).
From there, push the “Add device” button. ZHA will scan for new devices, every new recognized device will be added to the screen and “configured” (integrated to Zigbee network and ZHA/Home Assistant). From there, the newly configured devices are available for use just like any other device.
Conclusion
Simply said, the more main powered devices you have in your network, the better. Without Zigbee routers your network would probably never work well enough to be usable. So, buy (and use) smart plugs!
Oh, here’s my mesh network with 61 Zigbee devices. Some are battery powered, some need a new battery or be cleaned. Please don’t mind the few red ones. This should be give you a pretty good idea about what is a mesh network.
- Green rectangle is the coordinator : My Sonoff ZBDongle-P
- Green ellipses are routers : Main smart plugs
- Green circles are end devices : Valves, sensors or buttons
