Hello everyone, I’m Michael, a long-time user of Fibaro’s HomeCenter 2, and I’m at a crossroads. After years of relying on HC2, I’ve decided to make the switch to Home Assistant (HA). The decision wasn’t easy, but it’s clear that Fibaro’s HC3 hasn’t lived up to its promises, leaving me with a system that feels outdated and unsupported.
Currently, I’m operating mainly with Z-Wave devices, complemented by a few Zigbee and Hue lamps. I’ve set up HA on a VM hosted by my Synology NAS, and while I’ve managed to get some devices up and running—like the Aeotec Gen5 and Sonoff 3.0—I’m still hesitant to fully commit to the migration. My understanding of HA’s structural design choices is still limited, and I’m eager to learn from your experiences.
For instance, I recently stumbled upon the fact that Z-Wave associations require a different setup approach in HA, which was a revelation. This got me thinking: if I were starting over, what structural decisions would I make differently? Are there any regrets you have about your setup that you’ve simply accepted due to the effort required to change them?
I’m particularly interested in how others have organized their Z-Wave networks, managed device associations, and optimized their overall system architecture. Any insights or advice would be invaluable as I take this fresh start with HA.
Thanks in advance for your wisdom and experiences!
Best regards,
Michael