Just curious why no one has suggested ISY-994iZW? It has well established Elk M1 integration, runs on standalone hardware and supports Zwave natively without need of the VRC0P or installer Stick. Refurb units are available off the Universal Devices webstore pretty reasonably ($155-199). The Insteon people seem very happy with them and while the Zwave support is not as evolved as the Insteon support, it looks like it handles ZWave lighting, sensors and locks decently. I'm curious if anyone else has tried it to bridge Elk M1 to ZWave?
Alternative to Leviton Zwave controller VRCOP and Stick VRUSB
- Thread starter liberty
- Start date
the ISY was suggested in another thread. i guess that info didn't make it's way over to this one.
the Elk supports zwave through the VRC0P, which is the point of this thread. so as long as you can get your zwave devices into the VRC0P, you should see them represented in the Elk. but now you'd be back to the main topic here, how to get your zwave devices into the VRC0P...
the Elk supports zwave through the VRC0P, which is the point of this thread. so as long as you can get your zwave devices into the VRC0P, you should see them represented in the Elk. but now you'd be back to the main topic here, how to get your zwave devices into the VRC0P...
sorry man, i didn't mean to come across as snarky.
the Elk only supports the VRC0P for native z-wave. you can use the ISY as a primary controller to replicate over to the VRC0P, or use the ISY Elk module like you mentioned, but the ISY module would bring the Elk into the ISY and not the other way around. depending on how the Elk is used, that could be a deal-breaker for some folks.
the Elk only supports the VRC0P for native z-wave. you can use the ISY as a primary controller to replicate over to the VRC0P, or use the ISY Elk module like you mentioned, but the ISY module would bring the Elk into the ISY and not the other way around. depending on how the Elk is used, that could be a deal-breaker for some folks.
jkmonroe said:
No worries. The thing about about ISY is it could replace the Leviton Zwave controllers entirely, which would potentially solve the OP's problems.
I will preface the following by saying that while I recently bought an ISY994i-Pro I have not configured it with my M1G yet. I will further state that I purchased the ISY specifically to offload Insteon lighting to it and (greatly) simplify the management of my Insteon devices, which is a nightmare using only Elk's tools. Presently I have an M1XSP connected directly to a PLM, once set up it has proven to be 99.8% reliable...but changing devices is far more cumbersome than it should be. It is my understanding that Zwave devices on the ISY are handled similarly to Insteon devices for the sake of this discussion. In the future I am hoping to use the ISY with the Zwave option to interface Zwave locks and perhaps other Zwave devices to fill gaps in my system. (No need to bring up the whole Insteon debate, I went that way because the devices offered fit my needs the best at the time.)
AFAIK there are 2-3 distinct levels of Elk M1 support on the ISY:
1. Basic lighting control. The ISY connects to the M1XEP over TCP socket and monitors the M1 traffic. When it sees a lighting command repeated out of the M1 it reacts by controlling the referenced "lighting device" appropriately. This requires minimal setup, aside from otherwise configuring the lights in the ISY and exporting the list of devices as an XML to import into ElkRP2. This level of support is "standard" with the ISY and does not require purchasing the "Elk Module." From the M1 control's standpoint it is a "pseudo" serial expander lighting interface. Theoretically, the Elk could also trigger rules on the ISY by turning on/off "pseudo" lighting devices or by sending TCP packets through the M1XEP (using the IP reporting "hack"). This last part I don't know for certain as I haven't tested it, but it seems theoretically possible.
2. Full Elk-ISY Integration through the Elk Module. This optional module adds the ability to more fully interact with the Elk as ISY rules can be created to be triggered by, or use data from, Elk M1 events. ISY rules can also control functions on the M1 directly, such as triggering M1 rules or passing data like counter values. For this reason I disagree it makes the Elk a slave to the ISY, rather I see them as inter-operable peers that can also operate independently if their [network] link is severed. This also opens the door to much more sophisticated automation functions the Elk is simply incapable of. The Elk Module can be added at any time by purchasing the Elk module.
3. Partial Elk Integration using the Network Module without the Elk module. Theoretically, an in-between level of integration could be achieved with the ISY Network Module. The ISY could send TCP packets to the Elk to trigger functions on the Elk directly. Much more cumbersome than option 2, but still an option.
The thing that attracted me to finally get the ISY, aside from greatly simplified lighting device management, is almost all lighting-related schedule functions can be off-loaded to the ISY from the Elk, freeing valuable rule space in the Elk. I don't know about you all but my Elk is approaching 90% full right now and I'd venture to say 1/3 to 1/2 of that is lighting-related. The other thing is the ISY has functions the Elk doesn't, like "random" timing and a more robust rules system with far better conditional statement evaluation, variables, etc. I also like that it doesn't necessarily have the Elk slaved to the ISY as master, but rather a peer-to-peer type relationship.
I was very hesitant to go this route, as I believe in keeping things as simple as possible, but I like this option better than running some additional dedicated HA software (HS, CQC, etc) on a 24/7 PC. The ISY, at least, has a very simple RTOS and by all accounts has proven very reliable (far more so than Vera and other competitors). What the ISY appears to lack is "polish" but I'm more about function than form when it comes to this stuff (at least when I can hide it away in a closet lol). Conversely, I have closely followed posts about native Elk-Zwave integration (with the VRC0P, etc), the trials and tribulations involved, and have concluded that with a few exceptions it is very cludgy and unreliable. The native Elk-Insteon support is cludgy too, but at least it is pretty reliable once configured—which is the reason I put off getting the ISY so long.
I will report back once I get it set up. I could have it all wrong..
ddennerline
Active Member
I don't have any ISY. The point of thread IMHO is that Leviton isn’t working on new RFIT updates. There doesn’t seem to be a good replacement for RFIT as a primary controller. Once you get your Z-Wave networking configured and operating, the Elk M1XSLZW solution does seem to be very reliable (at least for my environment). For me, I don’t want another hardware device for HA rules.
I believe JK was saying that SmartThings V2 can build a Z-Wave network and synchronize VRC0P+3 (Z-Wave Second Controller synchronize). I looked through the Web site. The company does have some documentation that provides excellent Z-Wave information. In addition, the latest V2 version doesn’t require Internet access and provides “Groovy” programmatic API access. SmartThings is a board member of Z-Wave Alliance. I have a 2 and 4 button Leviton wall controller. I don’t know if ST can configure these (same goes for ISY).
From what I can tell about STv2, I think you would have to buy a long Ethernet cable for enrollment to move the ST close to ZWdevice. Also, there does seem to be questions about Z-Wave+ compatibility. I couldn't figure out which Z-Wave firmware STv2 is using.
I believe JK was saying that SmartThings V2 can build a Z-Wave network and synchronize VRC0P+3 (Z-Wave Second Controller synchronize). I looked through the Web site. The company does have some documentation that provides excellent Z-Wave information. In addition, the latest V2 version doesn’t require Internet access and provides “Groovy” programmatic API access. SmartThings is a board member of Z-Wave Alliance. I have a 2 and 4 button Leviton wall controller. I don’t know if ST can configure these (same goes for ISY).
From what I can tell about STv2, I think you would have to buy a long Ethernet cable for enrollment to move the ST close to ZWdevice. Also, there does seem to be questions about Z-Wave+ compatibility. I couldn't figure out which Z-Wave firmware STv2 is using.
IVB
Senior Member
jkmonroe said:
I've gotten the 2 button scene controllers working, but only for the local load that they control. I have one 2 button with only one local load, but I only have the 1 one button with a local load against it. So far, I've seen a thread to do more but haven't had a chance to do it.
