I am going to a "training/demonstration" session put on by Leviton at Automated Outlet this Wednesday. If anyone has any questions that they would like answered from "the source", please post them here and I will be happy to act as the conduit.
Scott, I will try to get them to send you a "demo" kit, as integrating their RS-232 module as the Z-wave hardware device in HouseBot would allow 2-way communication. If you can pm or email me your official HB contact info I will pass it along to them.
Osler
VIZIA RF
My impressions....
Well, I spent 4 hours yesterday being the only non-installer in a class put on by Leviton for their Vizia RF line. Leviton has taken an already nice line of switches (Vizia) and added Z-wave capability to them. As would be expected from a relatively high-end company, these switches are hitting the market as "Professional Grade, Level 2", which is apparently the highest grade of product out there. By report from the Leviton rep, the only other company making a product of the same grade that Leviton promises will have "no hassle" interoperability is Wayne Dalton (garage door openers) and HAI. They are currently looking for manufacturers to partner with for additional Z-wave devices (thermostats, blind control, etc.) that meet the Vizia RF grade and level standard. Of note is that Leviton specifically states that "Consumer Grade" Z-wave products (such as the low-end intermatic switches, of which I have many that are now quite satisfied to act as paper weights) are not guaranteed to work in the a Vizia network and these devices may, in fact, be detrimental to the network. Is this marketing or fact? I dunno.....but my recommendation is to avoid intermattic like the plague and when you pick a manufacturer for you Z-wave switches, use them for all switches in the house.
The switches have the exact same look and feel of the standard Vizia line of switches. If you have a multigang box and want to put in one Z-wave switch but have all the switches look the same, a standard Vizia (non-RF) switch can be had for $20 or less. This is a very nice feature and good for the WAF.
The best product I saw yesterday was the controller. Z-wave network maintenance is likely the problem in >50% of complaints about using Z-wave. The ability to discern network topology to some degree and have nodes relearn their neighbors as the network grows is very important to avoid issues with latency that the consumer will perceive as a slow or non-functional network. Up until yesterday, the best device for this was the Z-troller from Homeseer....but sadly this device is Homeseer specific to a large degree. All of the needed functionality for network maintenance is included in the Vizia controller which makes this the MOST important device you can purchase if installing Z-wave. Even if you are going with the cheaper intermattic switches, I would highly recommend using the Vizia controller to set up the network and for routine maintenance.
Does the product work? Yes and no. During the demo we had a zone/scene controller that went belly-up. It just so happens it was at my table and looked remarkably similar to what happened to the majority of my intermatic switches. The 4-button switch could be reset to factory defaults and put in programming mode....but the primary controller never could see it to add it to the network. Though these switches are well constructed from Levtons standpoint, I think the weak link here is the Zensys RF chip. This is just my opinion...but I have ~10 intermattic switches that still work as a switch/dimmer.....they just no longer send or recieve RF signals. This kinda defeats the purpose of a wireless mesh network. I have no doubt that quality control for the Vizia line will be far superior to intermattic or ACT so the switch failure rate is likely to be far lower. In addition, there is a 5-year warranty on all the devices so they can be replaced within that time period free of charge (well...there is shipping....and the pain of removing the switch from the wall.....and then reinstalling a dumb switch.....oh, and removing the dumb switch when the repaired switch is returned to you so you can reinstall it......did I mention you need a screw-driver for this). I will probably go with Vizia....but, just to let you know my mind-set after yesterday, though I was offered a DEEP discount on any Vizia RF gear I purchased immediately following the class I opted to wait a bit to allow a bit more maket saturation and feedback from the early adopters.
The product does have 2-way status reporting. If a switch is turned on manually, there is the potential for the HB server to be automatically updated to the switches state and perform some actions based on this.
Scott....when I asked them about a development kit they looked at me like I was crazy. Automated Outlet does have the RS-232 controller as well as a bunch of other gear though. The RS-232 protocol looks fairly simple (ASCII) and a generic serial device could be used to control it. However, manual device creation for large networks would quickly become a huge PITA.
I hope someone finds this useful.
Osler
The switches have the exact same look and feel of the standard Vizia line of switches. If you have a multigang box and want to put in one Z-wave switch but have all the switches look the same, a standard Vizia (non-RF) switch can be had for $20 or less. This is a very nice feature and good for the WAF.
The best product I saw yesterday was the controller. Z-wave network maintenance is likely the problem in >50% of complaints about using Z-wave. The ability to discern network topology to some degree and have nodes relearn their neighbors as the network grows is very important to avoid issues with latency that the consumer will perceive as a slow or non-functional network. Up until yesterday, the best device for this was the Z-troller from Homeseer....but sadly this device is Homeseer specific to a large degree. All of the needed functionality for network maintenance is included in the Vizia controller which makes this the MOST important device you can purchase if installing Z-wave. Even if you are going with the cheaper intermattic switches, I would highly recommend using the Vizia controller to set up the network and for routine maintenance.
Does the product work? Yes and no. During the demo we had a zone/scene controller that went belly-up. It just so happens it was at my table and looked remarkably similar to what happened to the majority of my intermatic switches. The 4-button switch could be reset to factory defaults and put in programming mode....but the primary controller never could see it to add it to the network. Though these switches are well constructed from Levtons standpoint, I think the weak link here is the Zensys RF chip. This is just my opinion...but I have ~10 intermattic switches that still work as a switch/dimmer.....they just no longer send or recieve RF signals. This kinda defeats the purpose of a wireless mesh network. I have no doubt that quality control for the Vizia line will be far superior to intermattic or ACT so the switch failure rate is likely to be far lower. In addition, there is a 5-year warranty on all the devices so they can be replaced within that time period free of charge (well...there is shipping....and the pain of removing the switch from the wall.....and then reinstalling a dumb switch.....oh, and removing the dumb switch when the repaired switch is returned to you so you can reinstall it......did I mention you need a screw-driver for this). I will probably go with Vizia....but, just to let you know my mind-set after yesterday, though I was offered a DEEP discount on any Vizia RF gear I purchased immediately following the class I opted to wait a bit to allow a bit more maket saturation and feedback from the early adopters.
The product does have 2-way status reporting. If a switch is turned on manually, there is the potential for the HB server to be automatically updated to the switches state and perform some actions based on this.
Scott....when I asked them about a development kit they looked at me like I was crazy. Automated Outlet does have the RS-232 controller as well as a bunch of other gear though. The RS-232 protocol looks fairly simple (ASCII) and a generic serial device could be used to control it. However, manual device creation for large networks would quickly become a huge PITA.
I hope someone finds this useful.
Osler
Re: My impressions....
Yea, I've got that look a few times myself. It's strange that when you offer to do some free (well for the cost of some hardware that they probably have lying around) development that will only help sell their product, you get looked at as though you're trying to pull a fast one on them and get some free equipment. I think they're just focused on getting distributors and installers. Automation software isn't really where they are focused.Osler wrote:Scott....when I asked them about a development kit they looked at me like I was crazy.
I looked at the ASCII protocol, and it does look pretty simple. At some point I'll get to their RZC0P-1LW, but when the device isn't staring me down on my desk, it sometimes gets lost in the priority list.
Anyway, thanks for the review of the class. I'm actually a big fan of Z-Wave... although it would be nice if the prices would come down a bit still.
Scott