Z-BOX HUB: ALL EYES ON Z-WAVE

March 22, 2023 3 Comments

Let’s take a closer look at the first Z-Wave focused hub for US and Canada. We will uncover its primary benefits, UI features, how to use the Z-Box mobile app, and what sets the system apart from other hubs available today.

WHAT YOU GET

As we often tell our customers, there isn’t one perfect smart home platform to solve it all. The Z-Box Hub is no exception. What makes it unique is its focus on easy access to advanced automation functionality while keeping the key data and processes off-cloud.

THE BENEFITS:

• SECURE FOREVER: The system can be used 100% offline with your smart home kept private and secure within your home network only. The Z-Wave S2 security protocol for wireless communication adds to the peace of mind that your devices are safe and can’t be easily hacked. Because your data and automations are kept locally on the hub, nobody can “turn the lights off” on your smart home and take the locally connected rules or device control away from you, even if the company stops supporting the product.
• SIMPLY ACCESSIBLE: Start small with plain scenarios and smart schedules or go big with full-on automated house running on advanced logic and multiple conditions. The intuitive scene builder in the Z-Box hub allows you to program everything in one screen. You also get access to the platform’s API and lua code editor straight from the WEB UI if you want to add custom integrations.
• TWO IS BETTER THAN ONE: The Z-Box project is backed by two companies, each with its own area of expertise that bring incredible value to this solution. Consumer-centric team at Zooz makes sure the user experience is constantly simplified and that there’s clear and updated documentation easily available to you every step of the way. Textbook Z-Wave implementation and constant automation improvements are delivered by Fibaro, the engineering power house. We’ve been using Fibaro hubs here at The Smartest House as our go-to testing platforms for years because they “just work” and don’t rely on custom drivers or library entries.

THE CHALLENGES:

• NO ZIGBEE CHIP: The Z-Box Hub doesn’t come with a Zigbee chip for direct integration of Zigbee devices. You can use a Zigbee bridge to connect your Z-Box Hub to Zigbee devices, including the Philips Hue bulbs. This can be done through Quick App plug-ins, whether built-in or third party. This type of external integration is open to all members of the Z-Box community.
• FULL PROGRAMMING ON THE WEB ONLY: The Z-Box Hub mobile app is designed as a companion tool to your system. It allows you to monitor, control, add, and remove devices but you can’t create scenes or perform more advanced management tasks on it. As the solution develops, the app will gain more features. For now, it’s recommended to create all rules and automations in the WEB UI using the intuitive block building tool for scenes.

UI FEATURES

CUSTOMIZE IT

The Z-Box Hub offers a very clean UI with a modern layout and intuitive default outlook. But what’s really great about it is that you can easily customize and organize all parts of your system to navigate it in a way that makes sense for you.

Divide your smart home into sections and rooms where you can add individual devices, rename them, or even hide them. There is a nice set of built-in icons available for you to choose from but you can also upload your own icons for devices and scene to enhance the visual experience on your Z-Box Hub.

AUTOMATE IT

Program all of your smart rules from one convenient block scene tool. Drag and drop the elements of each automation and create the most elaborate logic in minutes. The interface is easy enough to accomplish simple If… Then… scenarios quickly but robust enough to help you accomplish advanced automations with multiple triggers and conditions.

You can also set up notifications to your phone or email so you know what’s going on even if you’re not at home. One of our favorite features of the Z-Box Hub are interactive notifications where you can add an action into a push notification sent to your mobile device. For example, if a leak is detected, you can program a notification to ask you if you’d like to shut the water off with your smart valve actuator and do it with a single click. Or if motion is detected at night, you can create a notification to ask if you’d like to turn on your smart security sirens with one tap. This way, you stay in control of what happens if unexpected activity occurs in your home.

ARM IT

Speaking of security, the Z-Box Hub comes with a comprehensive DIY alarm panel. Much like with the rest of your system, you decide how to protect your home. Add alarm zones, assign security devices to them, and arm or disarm your home alarm with a PIN code on a built-in keypad, just like you’re used to.

You can also arm and disarm your system remotely from the app or even have it change the mode automatically based on time, day of the week, or presence with the geofencing feature enabled. Use the alarm panel however feels right to you. Thanks to multiple security levels in the Z-Wave protocol and your hub’s local connection, the system remains safe and reliable.

PROGRAM IT

With the Z-Box WEB UI, you get easy access to advanced settings for your Z-Wave devices, network connectivity, and user permissions. Change parameter values on your smart switches or sensors to customize their behavior. Download and upload json file templates to manually add or edit the settings displayed for any product. Set, change, and remove associations between your Z-Wave devices to establish direct communication outside of the hub.

You also get the ability to update the firmware of your Z-Wave devices over the air using the files provided by the manufacturer. When it comes to updating your platform, you’ll be notified when a new release is out but it’s up to you whether you update the hub right away, wait a few days, or just leave it as is. There are no forced updates pushed to your system and both local or cloud backup is available before you proceed.

MOBILE APP

The Z-Box Hub comes with a free mobile app for Android and iOS. It’s a companion tool for the robust WEB interface where you set up and program your system. The app allows you to monitor and quickly control your favorite smart home devices. You can access it offline in your local wifi network when at home and enable remote access to check in from anywhere (Internet connection is required for that part).

Create custom dashboards by organizing the Favorites screen in the app to quickly access the most important aspects of your connected home. Add, organize, and edit rooms or sections to have full control of the layout.

The app keeps you close to your home, even if you’re away. Thanks to a few different types of notifications, you can monitor devices more effectively and react quickly. As we said before, our absolute favorite is the ability to build in actions into interactive notifications so you can turn on security sirens or shut off water with a single click when a sensor is triggered.

HOW IT COMPARES

It all starts from the moment you receive your new hub and it’s time to install it. You can set up your Z-Box Hub from an Internet browser on a computer or from the mobile app – it’s your choice. Unlike other systems out there, the Z-Box allows you to use the interface and device you feel most comfortable with to start your home automation journey.

Just like with your Zooz devices, you can count on expert and personal customer support if you need help. Community forums are wonderful and hold a wealth of experiences and advice but sometimes you just need the correct answer quickly. You can email or schedule a call, whatever works better, and you’ll always hear from a real person.

Thanks to Fibaro’s dedicated work on the Z-Wave implementation for the platform, you don’t need to worry about compatibility for Z-Wave devices that follow the protocol. There are no drivers or custom code needed, the products are simply recognized for what they are out of the box.

Once you add your smart switches and sensors to the hub, you can automate them with a single automation tool. The intuitive scene builder is easy to use yet powerful enough to help you achieve even the most complex scenario. The goal after all, is to have your smart home run itself so you can relax and enjoy the secure convenience of Z-Wave technology.

3 Responses

Leave a comment

Comments will be approved before showing up.

Also in THE SMARTEST BLOG