[OBSOLETE] Rboy enhanced zigbee keypad DTH

[RBoy (www.rboyapps.com - Making SmartThings Easy!)]

Most mains powered ZigBee devices are repeaters (except bulbs because folks tend to turn off the switch). See this topic:

Zigbee Repeaters and Max devices

For those who are looking for quick answer please scroll down 1/2 way through my post. So I started automating my home when I was in a condo and started with the ZWAVE in wall switch/dimmers from AEOTEC. I purchased the smart things hub and it was great for my use. When I moved into a bigger single family home I wanted to automate all the lights (at least on the main floor). The problem I was running into was with 3 way switches. I purchased GE switch thinking I might be able to wire it but couldn’t (not really good with electrical wiring). So I started looking at alternatives, Philips hue was one but it was too expensive at the time and I had about 60 + bulbs I wanted to replace hue had a limit of 50(mostly BR 30’s and A19’s). After seeing the limitation I started looking at the bulbs…

Battery life is a function of usage and how much radio power / retransmission is needed (keeping aside the hardware design). It seems to have a longer battery life when used with a repeater.

For closing the garage door through LUM just assign a door/lock specific/individual “lock” action to close the garage when the keypad is locked.

EDIT: Regarding battery, don’t forget to set the battery type (Lithium, Alkaline, Rechargeable) in the device preferences page (gear icon) as it reports the remaining battery life based on the battery chemistry/discharge curve.