Smart Boat 7: Adding a Zigbee dongle to Raspberry Pi and Home Assistant

Whether your boat is old or new, my goal with this channel is to assist you in turning it into an incredible smart vessel. The best part is, you don't need to be a tech whiz to achieve this! I've designed the content specifically for those with no technical background, so everyone can benefit from it.

In today's video, we will guide you through the process of setting up a low-power sensor network for your boat using a Zigbee USB coordinator or dongle. This setup will enable you to easily incorporate various battery-powered sensors, including bilge water monitors, fire or smoke sensors, intrusion alarm sensors, warning sirens, temperature/humidity sensors, and more.

Zigbee is a wireless communication protocol specifically designed for smart homes, offering a network with exceptionally low power consumption. By utilizing Zigbee, the sensors in your boat can enjoy extended battery life, typically lasting 1 to 2 years.

You might be wondering why Zigbee is necessary when you already have Wi-Fi. The key advantage of Zigbee lies in its optimization for low power consumption, making it ideal for battery-operated devices. In contrast, Wi-Fi tends to consume more power, resulting in shorter battery life for connected devices. Additionally, installing battery-powered Zigbee devices is quick and straightforward. For instance, you can install four bilge high water sensors in your boat's bilge within an hour, whereas doing the same with cable-powered devices would take days due to the challenges of routing cables and connecting them to the boat's DC power. As a result, you might end up postponing the installation indefinitely.

Another benefit of Zigbee is its cost-effectiveness. Numerous low-cost Zigbee devices are available on the internet, making it an affordable solution for your boat's sensor network.

By incorporating Zigbee into your boat's setup, you will establish a reliable and low-power sensor network that enhances safety and monitoring capabilities. Moreover, the convenience and easy installation process make it an attractive choice.

By the end of the video, you will have the knowledge and guidance to set up your own Zigbee-powered sensor network on your boat, ensuring a safer and more efficient boating experience.


✔ 1. SONOFF Zigbee 3.0 USB Dongle Plus Gateway

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Chapters
0:00 Introduction
2:28 Wild Dolphin
2:37 Discussing the different types of Zigbee dongles available
3:30 Connecting the Zigbee dongle to the Raspberry Pi
4:15 Open up dongle and explore firmware update procedure
5:31 How to connect the Zigbee dongle to Home Assistant
6:44 Drone footage. Mallorca.
7:04 Outro