Z-Wave network reliability

Rudi_Hendrix
Sun, 09 Jan 2022 21:36:11 +0000
Questions & Help

After switching from Domoticz to Homey I was hoping I would never have to look after my Z-Wave network myself. However, this seems not to be the case.

This is my current Z-Wave network and below it I have some questions and concerns:

I had some Fibaro smoke detectors of which the battery level was not updated. I have filed a ticket at Homey for that and they’re looking into it. The strange thing is: a lot of those devices do send their temperature data and do send an alarm when tested to Homey. But if I replace the battery and click the button 3 times to update the battery level that works in most cases when very close to Homey.

When trouble shooting this issue I notices some really weird routes in the Z-Wave network. At that time I still had 2 Greenwave 6 node power nodes in the garage (so, behind a concrete wall) and 1 Greenwave 6 node power node in the attic (so two concrete floors away from the Homey). Apart from that I have a Coolcam power plug in the kitchen, one in the living room, one in the bedroom on the second floor and one in the washing room in the attic on the third floor. I was expecting basically everything in the attic to connect through the Greenwave, the one in the bedroom and then to Homey. But what I see is the devices in the second and third floor (attic) in most cases connect directly to Homey or try to do so. For the multi sensors this is not an issue, but the smoke detectors lose their connection every now and then. Then hey beep and it is very hard to tell if the beep is from a lost connection or a low battery. Why is everything trying to communicate directly with Homey?

I removed the Greenwave power nodes from the Z-Wave network as most devices behind the power nodes indicated to be “unreachable”. Does anyone recognize that for Greenwave powernodes?

Some devices indicating to be “Unreachable” function very well. What does it mean?

I can only connect the Coolcam power plug that is connected to the washing machine to Homey if I have another power plug within a meter from this one and the dryer is out of the way. If not it is completely unreachable. It is not malfunctioning as it is working just fine closer to Homey. How can I improve this Z-Wave network? Would Fibaro power plugs be that much better? Should I add the Greenwave power nodes again and don’t care for strange routes and the “Unreachable” notifications?

Any idea on how to differentiate for a Fibaro smoke detector between “low battery” beep and “Z-Wave loss” beep? I know the color of the LED is different, but mostly you’re too late with that.

Most important: any advice to get a more stable and reliable Z-Wave network?

46 posts - 10 participants