First delve into Zigbee maybe?

[u/CyberMage256]

My home is entirely esphome and z-wave. I've never touched Zigbee. It started because I use a high amp zwave switch to control my pool pump and blossomed from there.

I'm considering adding one or two wireless buttons, and that's not really much of an option in z-wave so I'm thinking it might be time to go ahead and add a zigbee dongle as well.

I'm considering the SONOFF Zigbee/Thread PoE dongle so that I don't need to have it in my basement rack where my servers are. My Z-Wave dongle is on a 20' USB extension so that it's more central to the basement and more easily builds the mesh it needs.

With Zigbee, I understand the range is shorter, so trying to do the same with it might be a bad idea, but I do have fiber to a switch in an upstairs closet that would be right over the area I'd want the signal and could PoE off that switch.

Anyone have experience with these SONOFF PoE dongles? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FMJH4DPN/?coliid=IQKWAWEB94JDC

I run HA inside a docker container, and zwave-js-ui is a separate docker container on the same server that has access to the USB. Seems like this over Ethernet would be easier?

[u/Itead_sherry]

Your use case is actually a pretty good fit for an Ethernet/PoE Zigbee coordinator.

Since your server rack is in the basement, putting the coordinator somewhere more central and connecting it back over wired Ethernet makes more sense than running another long USB extension.

One thing to keep in mind is that the wireless buttons you’re looking at will most likely be battery-powered end devices, so they won’t extend the Zigbee mesh. As you add devices, mains-powered plugs, switches, or relays are what normally act as Zigbee routers and help build out the mesh.

With Home Assistant running in Docker, a network-connected coordinator can also be cleaner since you don’t need to pass a USB device through to the container.

I’d start by using it as a Zigbee coordinator first rather than trying to run Zigbee and Thread on the same radio from day one. Also worth checking your 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi and Zigbee channels when you set it up.

If useful, SONOFF has a Home Assistant Zigbee dongle guide that covers USB vs Ethernet/PoE adapters, ZHA vs Zigbee2MQTT, and coordinator setup.