Are there any way anyone knows to do this? An esp32 with Zigbee instead of wifi? Or anything of the sort? Just a thought…
Nothing for zigbee or Bluetooth ( well Bluetooth there is some guys who did that ) , I assume you mean on something like ESP32-H2 so short answer is no
There’s talk about the new ESP32-H boards possibly allowing this, but that’s pure speculation at this point.
What are you hoping to accomplish via Zigbee?
There’s a number of possibilities when you add Home Assistant to the mix…
Yup. I have both ZHA and Zigbee2MQTT set up (I have some devices that work better with one or the other) figured that it would just take a bit of strain off my wifi… And just permit me to use the Zigbee network more. And maybe even ask as a Zigbee repeater since its plugged in…
So I guess I wait for ESP32-H.
Zigbee wled would be awesome as I have use cases where wifi signal is a huge issue but zigbee works fine.
AliExpress does have a zigbee addressable LED driver module that works with home assistant, however there’s about 4 “effects” and they are boring… Basically just good for colour changes, blinky Christmas lights, a bit of scrolling/chasing and a lame “fire” type effect.
Once you’ve seen what wled can do, the zigbee module is so disappointing to use😂… But it’s about the only one that works with addressable LEDs
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mqowoGi
There are heaps of zigbee rgb controllers available, but this is the only addressable one I could find.
I’m basically using this until a zigbee wled solution is available and then I’ll swap the controller…
Can’t wait for a proper wled+zigbee+homeassistant solution 
Well I suppose you could leave the controller in AP mode if you don’t want it on your wifi and then connect to it’s AP from your phone or pc and create a bunch of presets. Then use 1 or more zigbee relay’s to act as buttons connected to the controller to cycle presets/call certain ones.
That’s one solution I’ve considered…
Looking forward to a board that has wifi and zigbee that can integrate the board…