I find the lack of Z-Wave interesting. It comes at a higher cost but in my experience, Z-Wave devices seem to work better than Zigbee. I've had 2 USB Zigbee sticks die on me and my Zigbee devices all blow through batteries like crazy.
Also on batteries: I avoid anything battery powered. I do not need another weekly chore of replacing dead coin cells of various sizes. And yes, if you let your collection of battery things grow, it will become a weekly chore eventually. Hardwired or GTFO. The worst offender is "buttons". When I need a control input that's not an in-circuit switch, it's inevitably a coin cell button that will need babysitting. At some point I'm going to start making 3.7V BEC USB things to save myself some frustration.
>At some point I'm going to start making 3.7V BEC USB things to save myself some frustration.
That's why I love jlcpcb. I have been building IOT thingies for about $5-$10 a part. They build PCB and do SMT so you get somewhat finished product. (Just need a 3D print for enclosure). This ends up being about same cost as buying from someone else, but 100% under your control\customizable
For me zigbee has been more reliable. I have only had Z-wave devices fail.
Regarding batteries I minimise the use of anything with batteries, but I make a point of buying devices that use larger batterieswhen I have to. I have a couple zigbee motion sensors going on 18 months.
Alternatively I’ll use a dummy battery to hard wire a sensor so I can remove the battery
Home automation seems worth the extra cost for the increased reliability and performance. Not that I'm a big fan of proprietary anything but I really need my lights to turn on when I hit the switch.
Also on batteries: I avoid anything battery powered. I do not need another weekly chore of replacing dead coin cells of various sizes. And yes, if you let your collection of battery things grow, it will become a weekly chore eventually. Hardwired or GTFO. The worst offender is "buttons". When I need a control input that's not an in-circuit switch, it's inevitably a coin cell button that will need babysitting. At some point I'm going to start making 3.7V BEC USB things to save myself some frustration.