Zwave beaming?

Do all of my Zwave devices need to be cabable of beaming, if I need any of them to be beaming?
 
I read alot about beaming and instant status, but I still haven't connected the dots. I can't determine if beaming is something a particular device does, or if it's a protocol that is transmitted from device to device.

There are two different parts to your inquiry. Beaming is a portion of the protocol that allows communication with certain devices such as door locks; further door locks generally use the encrypted/security class of the Zwave protocol. If you want to add a door lock/deadbolt, you will need [some] beaming devices to allow the lock to communicate [via mesh] back to the controller.
 
Instant status is a separate portion that reports the status of the device (e.g. dimmer) any time it's used. Generally speaking, most controllers are able to keep track of status if controlled solely by the controller. The issue is when you use a switch/dimmer manually. If the device does not support instant status, and you use it manually, the controller will be unaware of it's state.
 
One method many people use as a work-around for the instant status is to use polling; which will poll all devices and ask for their status every X minutes. I don't use this method, because I have battery powered deadbolts, and don't want my locks having to expend battery power every X minutes to report it's status. That said, some locks (e.g. Kwikset) do report their status any time they are used, whether electronically or manually, and they report the status back to the controller.

Okay, so based on your comments, I don't need all of the devices to be of the beaming type, just the ones near my locks. Which by the way are Kwikset.
 
It sounds as instant status may be a good thing though. How do you determine which devices are instant status?

frijoli said:

Okay, so based on your comments, I don't need all of the devices to be of the beaming type, just the ones near my locks. Which by the way are Kwikset.

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I believe all the devices that are on the pathway through the mesh from the controller to the lock need to support beaming, not just those that are near the locks.

RAL said:

I believe all the devices that are on the pathway through the mesh from the controller to the lock need to support beaming, not just those that are near the locks.

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This is what confuses me. I keep getting conflicting data, or maybe just unclear data.

Z-Wave devices form a mesh network and a beam command from your controller to the lock may have to pass through other devices in the network to get to the lock. These intermediate devices need to recognize the beam command as a valid command and then retransmit it to the next device in the network.  If the intermediate device doesn't support the beam command, it may simply drop it on the floor and it will never get to the lock.  If your controller is able to be in direct communication with the lock, without any intermediate devices, then it wouldn't matter whether the intermediate devices support beaming or not.   But you won't really know whether that's possible until you install the devices and allow the mesh to be configured.

RAL said:

I believe all the devices that are on the pathway through the mesh from the controller to the lock need to support beaming, not just those that are near the locks.

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I believe this to be the case as well.
 

frijoli said:

This is what confuses me. I keep getting conflicting data, or maybe just unclear data.

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Hence my statement, "If you want to add a door lock/deadbolt, you will need [some] beaming devices to allow the lock to communicate [via mesh] back to the controller."
 
You're house may be small enough, or the distance between the controller and locks short enough that you only need a couple beaming devices.
 
I bought all of my Zwave devices before I really knew enough, and got all beaming devices (dimmers, switches, and receptacles). However, none of them support instant status. So, while my locks work fine, when I get into bed at night, I can't rely on my controller to display what lights are actually on/off. Ideally, where I'd like to move to, is either instant status Zwave dimmers (a la Leviton) or switch all my switches and dimmers to UPB, and leave the receptacles to communicate with my locks.

frijoli said:

Okay, so based on your comments, I don't need all of the devices to be of the beaming type, just the ones near my locks. Which by the way are Kwikset.
 
It sounds as instant status may be a good thing though. How do you determine which devices are instant status?

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Here is a good place to start:
http://store.homeseer.com/store/HomeSeer-Z-Wave-Dimming-Wall-Switch-Comparison-W16.aspx

"If you want to add a door lock/deadbolt, you will need [some] beaming devices to allow the lock to communicate [via mesh] back to the controller."
 
While I understood I needed some to control the locks, I still didn't grasp that to beam to the locks, they needed to essentially have an unbroken path to the locks.
 
If I understand this properly, and since I only have a couple zwave compinents currently, the network should be set up FIRST for the locks, and then add the rest of the z wave items into the mix.
Would that be a fair statement?
 
 

There are plenty of ways to skin the cat. Personally, based on budget, I'd try to do as much as possible at a time - simply because I hate having to learn devices via USB to laptop, upload configuration to secondary controller, etc. I prefer to do that the least number of times as possible. YMMV.

Ideally all Z-Wave devices would support the same basic Z-Wave command classes such as security, beaming, and association. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. Leviton light switches use an older Z-Wave firmware that doesn’t support security/beaming. If you have Z-Wave locks spread around your house, you will most likely need to install a dimmer switch or plug that is capable of relaying secure packets. When communicating with locks, the routing protocol is smart enough to select intermediate slaves that support the encryption protocol. My network requires 2 intermediate nodes that are 50% the way between locks and secondary controller.
 

Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. Leviton light switches use an older Z-Wave firmware that doesn’t support security/beaming. 

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That statement is incorrect.  Leviton started switching over to beaming compatible units early last year. IIRC the blue boxes are the older units, the green boxes are the newer ones.  There is also a way to determine it based on the stock number.  I know I posted it somewhere, but not sure if it was here, or over in the HomeSeer forum.

I recently purchased some of the Leviton dimmers, which do support beaming... as stated on the box (see the last bullet):
 

 

I wouldn’t have thought to check to see that all Leviton Z-Wave devices are now shipping with latest 4.5 Zensys firmware. By chance, I purchased a VRR15 last week; it came in green box.
 
What’s even more interesting is the mention of Network Wide Inclusion. I wonder if Leviton RFIT will be updated to support this feature (http://support.zen-sys.com/modules/iaCM-DocMan/download.php?get=2747d12409c4070fe4e8e8f715030afe, Section 6.2). It would be nice to flip a few circuit breakers to build a network and not have to walk around house with laptop.