Choosing the ultimate smart home system for your needs and lifestyle can be daunting if you don’t know what to look for. Each hub comes with its own advantages and limitations; a certain feature might be a godsend for someone else but a deal breaker for you. That’s why we’ve listed our top 3 Z-Wave hub recommendations below, including what we love about these hubs but also some things to consider when choosing the right one for you. And good news! They all support Alexa, so you can count on a voice-activated smart home this holiday season.
“Excellent starting point for home integration.” – Adidas1976 (Amazon review)
“Easy Set Up: There is a lot to like about this system!
1. EASY to set up. EASY.
2. So many things (basically all the 'internet of things' type equipment) connects to it
3. Did I say it was easy to set up?” – ZenDarb (Amazon review)
“All in all a good unit with a lot of compatibility without extra fees. But the unit is not for someone expecting plug-n-play.” – AZEqualizer (Full review here)
“Easy set up, good community support. As you get comfortable with the options you can tailor it to be more robust. It offers lots of configuration options. Check out their forums for help and all the different things this controller can do.” – Travis (Full review here)
“Very easy to get to grips with. The graphic interface makes this a dream to use.” – David S. (Vesternet review)
“The Fibaro HCL is a powerful device able to manage up to 230 Z-Wave devices with impressively fast local processing.” – Big Bruin
Amazon’s recent answer to home automation has some smart home capability built-in. However, it only supports the ZigBee protocol. This means you won’t be able to directly connect any Z-Wave devices, which leaves some of the more innovative and affordable smart home options out-of-reach.
While Wink may be a good choice for basic light automation and very basic monitoring, it doesn’t offer any access to advanced settings and works with a very limited pool of Z-Wave devices. Just as you start having fun with automation, you run into a wall. Because it lives primarily in the cloud, we’ve received reports of the system being very unstable overall.
If you have input regarding your favorite smart home hub, let us know what it is and why in the comment section below! And have a very happy holiday season!
If you’ve ever tried shopping for smart switches, you already know how quickly things can spiral. What starts as “I just want a smart dimmer for my kitchen” somehow turns into reading about 3-way wiring, traveler wires, load ratings, relay switches, neutral wires, smart bulb mode, and whether your exhaust fan will explode if you accidentally install the wrong dimmer.
And honestly, we get it. Once you open up a switch box and start Googling terms like “single pole vs multi-way” or “line and load,” things can feel overwhelming fast. Instead of forcing you to compare every switch model and decipher electrical terminology on your own, our new guide walks you through the decision process step by step so you can narrow down the right switch for your setup without second guessing yourself.
If you love a good DIY project and a touch of smart home magic, you’ll be blown away by what YouTuber DIY With Vinny pulled off. His YouTube tutorial transforms a simple closet into a fully automated, jaw-droppingly smart space, from leak detection to mood lighting and robot-friendly automation.
The best part? It’s powered by some seriously smart Zooz Z-Wave gear that makes everything run seamlessly behind the scenes. All of the Zooz devices featured here support the new Z-Wave Long Range protocol, so your smart home stays connected and responsive, even across floors, garages, or detached spaces.
Let’s take a tour of this build and peek at how you can recreate it in your own home.
Smart home tech isn’t just for indoors anymore—it’s transforming yard care too. While we’re used to voice assistants and smart thermostats, outdoor tools like sprinkler systems are catching up. Instead of wasting water on rigid schedules, smart systems adapt to the weather, skip rainy days, and keep your lawn healthy with minimal effort.
Smart sprinkler control makes it easy to upgrade your existing irrigation system with a device like the Zooz ZEN17 Universal Relay. Compatible with SmartThings, Hubitat, Z-Box, Home Assistant, and HomeSeer, it fits into most smart home setups without locking you into one platform. This post covers the benefits of automating your sprinklers, how to set up the ZEN17, control options, and real user tips to help you get the most from your system.
Oliver Smith
November 18, 2019
Hey Nice write up about this..it useful for us..Keep Updated…