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I never said it was superior to say crestron although I do think that the asthetic appearence of Lutron keypads is superior to Crestron, AMX and Vantage. IMHO Ra is superior to other RF devices (but you pay a premium for it). It operates in a cleaner band and is less likely to suffer...

If you don't know anything about the other product lines and competitor product lines, how can you know?

But you don't really know. Your average consumer would think any LCS is "overkill". Each system type/configuration has it's place and a well trained, experienced installer will select the most appropriate system for the residence or commercial application at hand.

HW8 and HW4 are fundamentally different when it comes to wiring. HW4 is a distributed system whereas HW8 is centralized. There are no "switch legs" unless in a pure home run HW8 system.

More like $15,000-17,000 installed depending upon the configuration (60 zones, 10 WPMs, 15 keypads) and actual floorplan of the home (in HW4). The last Homeworks home I did had 55 keypads, 5 panels, 40 RPMS w/ around 160 loads (HW8). I imagine that the cost for a RA system w/ 60 loads and 15...

They have not released pricing yet on the hybrid keypad

Vacation mode is not available yet, still just in the "pipeline". The hybrid keypad will be available in June. No date yet on the upcoming RA2 thermostat.

I use commandfusion to talk to my RA system via iPhone/Pad/Touch and wrote a plugin for event ghost for RA. The protocol is fairly straightforward.

You can't remotely program directly from Essentials. Essentials locates the repeater via UDP broadcast. You can't (as yet) directly input an IP address for a repeater in to Essentials. You would have to walk through setup of a VPN with the end user.

One factor often not considered in the "light bulb is more efficient" argument is heat. A 75 watt halogen bulb will consume more electricity then a 75 watt incadescent bulb when you factor in HVAC. I am not a fan of CFL's. Color Temp on CFL's is considerably better then it used to be but...

Not sure about MD but there's no conspiracy to get out LV'ers here in MO. You have to have a master electrician to get licensed as a business and have the ability to pull permits for electrical work. There are valid reasons for it, none of which Include forcing com guys out. Are you...

you can do whatever you want after final inspection. NEC says no flexible cords through walls, ceilings, over ceiling tiles or through windows or doors as a permanent installation. An electrical inspector could fail you for it. An alarm installation done like that is lazy and an electrical...

I believe RA thermostats are in the pipeline

By code you can not embed a cord in the wall. You also can not plugin the wall wart and then route the cable back into the wall and out behind the iPad. You can get a recessed receptacle box that will allow you to plug your wall wart in to the receptacle while still allowing you to mount...

The wired/wireless repeater is the same. You can hard wire RA auxillary repaters back to the main (daisy chain) if the distance exceeds Lutrons recommended distance between repeaters (60'). Off the top of my head you can use up to 1000' of wire between the main and remote repeater.

I use CommandFusion iViewer (iPad,iTouch,iPhone) which has a GUI builder that lets you design your own remote. I control RadioRa2 Onkyo875 (3 zones) DirecTV XBMC 60 LG Plasma 32 LG LCD Insignia receiver (cheap, used to power zone 3 on the onkyo) Can't post pix or links yet or I would.

The RA2 protocol is very simple and straightforward. You can either use RS232 or telnet in over your LAN to issue commands and receive status updates. In my own home I use the iPhone/iPad running CommandFusion as my automation remote.

RadioRa2 will have a vacation mode according to the reps which will be added in a future version of the RA2 Essentials software. No european voltage RA2 is currently planned. It is being considered.