This big stick solved my smart garden connectivity problems
I hooked the ZWA-2 up to my Home Assistant Yellow hub and, within minutes, it was controlling a plug all the way at the bottom of my garden. I've struggled with connectivity issues in my garden for years. An Eero Outdoor 7 has been a good fix for W-Fi devices such as cameras and robot lawnmowers. Now Z-Wave LR, which uses the same 900MHz band as Z-Wave to connect devices up to a mile and a half away (in ideal conditions), opens the door to using sensors, locks, and other low-powered devices in further-flung corners of my property.
The antenna itself is almost comically large. To get the best performance, it needs to be out in the open, which means it's perched on a cupboard in my sitting room. The HA team says it is 'designed to blend into home decor. It not only resembles a candle, but it also lights up like one.' Credit to them for avoiding the 'black spider' look, but it still sticks out like a glowing blue sore thumb.
That size, though, lets it pick up even the faintest Z-Wave signal and should help make your network more responsive and stable. Until now, Z-Wave antenna options in Home Assistant have been in third-party USB sticks about 3 inches long, and on other platforms, they're generally hidden inside hubs, which can limit their range.
Setting up the ZWA-2 was easy. I screwed the stick into the base and plugged it into my Yellow using a provided USB A-to-C cable. Home Assistant instantly recognized it, creating a new network. If you already have a Z-Wave network on Home Assistant, a migration tool can move your devices over in a few minutes (I saw a demo that took under 5 minutes).
For my first test, I used a Zooz Z-Wave LR smart plug ($35) to control two fans in my chicken coop. The coop is located at the bottom of my garden, about 50 yards (150 feet) from the antenna, through two brick walls. I scanned the plug's QR code, selected the Z-Wave LR option (you can also choose traditional mesh; the antenna can do either), and it onboarded quickly. I then plugged it into an outlet in my garden shed near the coop and ran an extension cord to the fans. Even at that distance, the plug responded instantly to turn the fans on and off.
Next, I set up a Zooz Z-Wave LR water leak sensor ($39) in my attic, where my HVAC drip pan recently overflowed, leaving a nasty stain on my ceiling. The setup was similarly straightforward. Z-Wave LR is a good solution here because sub-GHz protocols draw less power than Wi-Fi, so the coin cell battery in the sensor should last longer. (There's no outlet near the unit for a plug-in sensor.)
If you use Z-Wave devices, which many Home Assistant users do, and have had trouble with connections or want to automate more areas of your home — a mailbox sensor, a gate sensor, leak detectors in your basement, and so on — the ZWA-2 is an easy recommendation.
I've only been using it for a short while, so I can't comment on reliability, but so far, the devices I've connected have done so smoothly in spots where I've struggled to find good options. And while, despite Home Assistant's admirable efforts, the ZWA-2 really isn't a décor piece, the range gains are worth the trade-off.
Photos by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
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