Extensions for smart home controller

Question

I am looking to use a raspberry pi as a controller for a smart home. To make this work with the smart appliances currently in the house I require both Z-Wave and ZigBee compatibility. I am thinking of using two USB dongles for this, and was wondering if this is possible with these two dongles:

ConBee: https://www.dresden-elektronik.de/conbee/

Z Stick S2: https://www.amazon.co.uk/AEON-AEOEZW090-C-Z-Stick-Gen5/dp/B00YETCNOE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484840368

What I would like to know is; will these two dongles work with software like OpenHAB? I'm aware OpenHAB support for ZigBee is currently lacking, but if support improved, would this dongle work?

Answer 1

As I am investigating into a similar direction at the moment, here are my findings.

For the ZigBee dongle you mentioned, there is one project for OpenHAB 2 [1]. It uses the proprietary REST API to the controller software coming from Dresden Elektronik. I did not find a binding for Home Assistant. To my understanding, the problem (at least from a customer side) with ZigBee is that there is no defined standard when it comes to the API between the PC and the dongle/shield. Furthermore, ZigBee devices might have some product-specific features, and to use that, one then needs the proprietary hub, e.g., like for Hue firmware updates.

Most of the Z-Wave dongles use the Sigma Designs Serial API as part of their firmware [2]. As a consequence it is easier to find a Dongle supported by OpenHAB or others.

So, as a conclusion, OpenHAB and others support the dongle you intend to buy (or maybe already bought in the meantime) [3,4], however, ZigBee support might involve some DIY.

References:
1. https://community.openhab.org/t/raspbee-binding-compatibility/10020
2. http://www.elektro.net/38666/z-wave/
3. https://github.com/openhab/openhab1-addons/wiki/Z-Wave-Binding
4. https://github.com/OpenZWave/open-zwave/wiki/Controller-Compatibility-List