Tasmota - ZigBee, clarification on how this works
mrzimgjugl asdf
how Zigbee is implemented as a Bridge to Tasmota to SmartHome system.
I have SmartHome system running for years. ZigBee might just give me
some things I would like to add which I can not Tasmotize.
1. I would buy a ZB bridge, likely a Sonoff ZBbridge due to very good
experience with their products.
2. I would flash Sonoff ZBbridge with Tasmota. I guess, this is: Zigbee2Tasmota.
3. From then on, I could use regular Tasmota http commands toward
ZBbridge and from it. ZBbridge itself would act to my system as a
regular Tasmota device. My SmartHomes are fully run by my own program
for years now using http two way communication. Nothing else, besides
Tasmota ESP8266 microcontrolers to achieve this. My SmartHome comšuter
uses only http communication for Tasmota (No MQTT or anything else!).
Just two way HTTP commands!
With ZBbridge, I should be able to read/receive data from any Zigbee
device connected to the Bridge using HTTP commands? This point is
absolutely crucial for me. For now, I would only add switches (buttons
and similar) and probably central heating valves if I find what I
want.
4. With ZB devices, I do not have usual Tasmota capabilities.
Connected ZB devices are not aware they communicate with Tasmota or
anything else. They are all stock ZB devices. I am limited to what a
Zigbee device chooses to send to the bridge. Say, for a switch, no
single click, double click, hold... as is usuall in any Tasmota run
device. No ZB devices configuration available at all or very limited.
5. ZB compatibility puzzles me: Any ZB device should work? If a ZB
device can connect to the Zigbee bridge, should it work or is this
highly questionable / speculative? Say, I am looking at Ikea switch
Styrbar (4 positions and NiMh AAA batteries - I refuse any LiIon and
other single use throwaways).
It does not have listed Tasmota as a "Confirmed working with". But, if
it does connect to my Sonoff ZBbridge flashed with Tasmota, should I
expect it to work with all 4 switch positions? I know there are no
guarantees, I ask about a reasonable expectations. What should be
consider (mostly) normal to expect.
Am I wrong or I understand how this works well?
Philip Knowles
Answers in the text but you should seriously consider using MQTT. There are other methods of bridging to ZigBee (including USB-based devices) which may be easier if you’re determined not to use MQTT
Sent from Mail for Windows
From: mrzimgjugl asdf
Sent: 13 December 2021 19:29
To: TasmotaUsers
Subject: Tasmota - ZigBee, clarification on how this works
I would appreciate just a confirmation that I am thinking correctly
how Zigbee is implemented as a Bridge to Tasmota to SmartHome system.
I have SmartHome system running for years. ZigBee might just give me
some things I would like to add which I can not Tasmotize.
1. I would buy a ZB bridge, likely a Sonoff ZBbridge due to very good
experience with their products. Yes
2. I would flash Sonoff ZBbridge with Tasmota. I guess, this is: Zigbee2Tasmota. Sort of – ZigBee2Tasmota runs under tasmota-zbbridge.bin
3. From then on, I could use regular Tasmota http commands toward
ZBbridge and from it. ZBbridge itself would act to my system as a
regular Tasmota device. My SmartHomes are fully run by my own program
for years now using http two way communication. Nothing else, besides
Tasmota ESP8266 microcontrolers to achieve this. My SmartHome comšuter
uses only http communication for Tasmota (No MQTT or anything else!).
Just two way HTTP commands! This is where it gets difficult (and probably impossible). You will only get http from the ZigBee Bridge if you create rules to do so. Tasmota is designed to use MQTT and passing JSON strings from ZigBee devices without using MQTT will be extremely difficult.
With ZBbridge, I should be able to read/receive data from any Zigbee
device connected to the Bridge using HTTP commands? This point is
absolutely crucial for me. For now, I would only add switches (buttons
and similar) and probably central heating valves if I find what I
want. See the above point ZigBee sends short packets ZigBee2Tasmota converts the information into Tasmota and passes the JSON via MQTT
4. With ZB devices, I do not have usual Tasmota capabilities.
Connected ZB devices are not aware they communicate with Tasmota or
anything else. They are all stock ZB devices. I am limited to what a
Zigbee device chooses to send to the bridge. Say, for a switch, no
single click, double click, hold... as is usuall in any Tasmota run
device. No ZB devices configuration available at all or very limited. Correct. Some devices have some ability to have parameters changed others don’t. For instance you can change the setpoint for a Tuya TRV. Data comes from the device as a JSON and commands also as a JSON. The command to set the setpoint of a Sandy Beach TRY is
ZBSend = {"Device": "0xXXXX", "Write":{"TuyaTempTarget":5}}
The command to turn on a Sonoff ZB-Mini is
ZBSend = { "device":"0xXXXX", "Send":{"Power":1} }
5. ZB compatibility puzzles me: Any ZB device should work? If a ZB
device can connect to the Zigbee bridge, should it work or is this
highly questionable / speculative? Say, I am looking at Ikea switch
Styrbar (4 positions and NiMh AAA batteries - I refuse any LiIon and
other single use throwaways). All ZigBee devices should work but Tuya based devices are notorious for not being fully comapatible. Blakadder has a ZigBee repository which helps with some of the compatibility issues. A lot of battery device use ‘coin’ cells but will typically last about a year. Rechargeable batteries don’t always work due to their slightly lower voltage. Some devices have rechargeable batteries which you plug in a micro-USB to recharge. Battery powered devices transmit their battery status on a regular basis.
It does not have listed Tasmota as a "Confirmed working with". But, if
it does connect to my Sonoff ZBbridge flashed with Tasmota, should I
expect it to work with all 4 switch positions? I know there are no
guarantees, I ask about a reasonable expectations. What should be
consider (mostly) normal to expect. If the device pairs, generally, it will work correctly. When a device appears the bridge polls the device and asks it what its capabilities. Provided the device isn’t doing anything silly (and the bridge firmware is aware of the type of device) it should work.
Am I wrong or I understand how this works well?
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