Am I forgetting anything? Review my simple home setup

[WSeverino]

I can respect that opinion but I look at it this way. Yes, Zwave does have the advantage that (at least in theory, and mostly in practice) all manufacturers products are interoperable. So, you can build a standalone ZWave network with devices that communicate with each other. And yes, there are alot of choices. But, there are issues too. There are several different hardware devices (some locks come to mind) that don't play nice in a 'standard' ZWave network. So, while interoperability may be the norm, it is not guaranteed (like you have between all the UPB manufacturers). There are many manufacturers of Zigbee based lighting including Crestron, Centralite, Control4 and Colorado Vnet. They all have their separate implementations.

Steve - I agree with your take also. All technologies have their pro's and con's.

While ZWave is limited to 232 nodes and Zigbee is theoretically 65K nodes, the Zigbee Stack as continued to bloat even further from the first stack. Our first stack used around 40K of FLASH memory, Zigbee Pro is now 112K and this does not even include the AMI (metering) profile. The problem I see with Zigbee is there is so much in-fighting of what should be or not be in the stack that they never get anything done. This is why you have so many products that are interoperable.

You mention the lock issue with the Schlage Link, Schlage tries to lock people in with having to use their bridge. This is not the case though, MiCasaVerde already has support for the Schlage Link in Vera. I have it installed in my house and when I open the door lock, Vera turns on the light in my foyer.

 

[drozwood90]

Let's stir the hornet's nest! UPB!!!

Just kidding...great information on Zigbee and Z-wave.

I personally have nothing against, Z-wave...I just don't really like Wireless stuff for anything that is permanent.

All of my sensors (inputs to my Home Automation system) are wireless, however I'm going to be replacing them with wired (as soon as time and $$ allow). However, there's nothing like a wireless solution to get you up and running fast, as well as to test WHERE to put a sensor. Maybe it didn't work well "there", so move it. When it's close to where you want, then hard-wire.

Just my opinion...even if it's humble!

--Dan

 

[Steve]

I personally have nothing against, Z-wave...I just don't really like Wireless stuff for anything that is permanent.

All of my sensors (inputs to my Home Automation system) are wireless, however I'm going to be replacing them with wired (as soon as time and $$ allow). However, there's nothing like a wireless solution to get you up and running fast, as well as to test WHERE to put a sensor. Maybe it didn't work well "there", so move it. When it's close to where you want, then hard-wire.

I agree 100% - HOWEVER, I don't think you can compare your sensors to lighting unless you are talking something like ALC. Your wire to your sensor is dedicated to that 1 thing and it is not shared so theoretically it is 100% reliable. In retrofit lighting to achieve the same thing you need a dedicated wire for control and ALC is the only solution there. As great as it is I just personally don't like the ALC solution. With respect to say UPB vs Wireless, they both uses a shared medium. UPB does use a wire, but its your powerline which is shared by lots of stuff and therefore potentially will not be as reliable as a dedicated wire. In my case my UPB network is severely affected by several different types of powerline noise. The wirleless protocols (and some will remember I used to be very anti wireless/Zwave) also have the potential to be disturbed by anything in the airwaves, like WiFi, cordless phones, microwaves, etc. The advantage to wireless is that you can tweak the frequency to increase your chances of not having interference. I keep hearing a ton about how reliable Zigbee is and how they work pretty much 100% even in the harshest of RF environments, so, taking their word for it, I guess I would have to say a PLC or wireless based lighting system have about an equal chance of working properly in any given environment. There are great success stories and horror stories in both camps.

 

[ahreno]

I should have known better than to ask the difference... I would prefer this thread not turn into a this vs that type thread... just looking for opinions on my actual wiring / sensors / etc... not a format war

 

[beelzerob]

*snicker* Oh, you're not the first.

Next you should ask about which gauge and type of wire is *BEST* for speakers....

 

[WSeverino]

I keep hearing a ton about how reliable Zigbee is and how they work pretty much 100% even in the harshest of RF environments, so, taking their word for it, I guess I would have to say a PLC or wireless based lighting system have about an equal chance of working properly in any given environment. There are great success stories and horror stories in both camps.

Believe or not working in a harsh environment is more or less dependent upon whose stack your using and not everyone's stack is created equal. We have a customer that has a Zigbee compliant network in an environment where there is a ton of stainless steel and the network has to communicate with the back office. We made numerous tweaks to our stack for it to be almost 99% effective. The nice thing about Zigbee at 2.4Ghz is you have 16 channels to operate on. If a channel is busy in software you can channel hop if the software supports it!

I am very much pro-zigbee just not pro alliance. They need to get their act together!