Any experience here with ISY - Z-Wave?

[Deane Johnson]

I've been using Leviton RFIT and I've had it with it.  I'm trying to decide where to go next.  I use it with the VRUSB (primary) and VRC0P (secondary) and CQC.  I don't have any locks involved, so I'm not concerned with controlling battery operated devices.
 
I have multiple hubs (Hue, Smart Things, Insteon) and a GC-100 for IR, so I don't need any IR out of the Z-Wave Controller.  Just Z-Wave.
 
I've spent a bunch of time researching possible controllers and have sort of narrowed it down to either the Cooper Aspire hand held controller, or the ISY Z-Wave model.  I don't care about the cost difference between the two, I want to base my decision on what will work best.
 
I have a mixture of Leviton Vizia RF+ and Cooper Aspire devices.
 
If I were to use the Cooper Aspire hand held controller, I would need to use the VRC0P as a secondary to bridge to CQC as I do now.  If I were to use the ISY, I could eliminate that step I believe.
 
I don't do anything fancy so I only need the basics, on, off, dim, would love variable ramp rate, etc.  No door locks.  I only have about 20 Z-Wave devices.
 
I'm wondering if anyone here has experience with either of these two controllers, especially the ISY.  I'd appreciate your comments.  These are pretty radically different devices and I can't decide which way to go.
 
Thanks for any help you can offer.

 

[foxtail22]

I just ordered an ISY with Z Wave.  I spent quite a bit of time researching it and they are still early in the game with ZWave but are working diligently on it.  I looked at Homeseer and ISY and I went with ISY because I want to use the ELK as main automation controller so I can use the ELK security sensors such as doors, windows, motion detectors, etc along with ZWave and Insteon events to trigger automation events.  The ELK interface for the HS does not provide that ability and is instead written to always have the HS as the top dog in the pile which for me was like having tail wag the dog given all the capabilities and sensors that the ELK has connected to it.  The ISY with ZWave also has Insteon and X10 support so it covers all three.  It also allows you to include ZWave and Insteon devices in the same scene.  The drawback for the ISY at this time is that their list of supported devices seems to not only be hard to locate but it also sounds like it is still fairly short.  Having said that, users are controlling door locks, among other things using the ISY.  The ISY folks seem to be working with Aeotec and support a number of the Aeotec products including switches and motion detectors.  I currently have Insteon but am preparing to add ZWave because the device list is more extensive and in particular the ZWave support of door locks is much more secure and lock status can be verified which it cannot with the way Insteon has done its support.  Those who have both ZWave and Insteon say that Insteon is easier to install, reliability of the two networks seems about the same.  Insteon is preferred for lighting control, ZWave had a wider device selection, but also it is a bit of the wild west because you have to carefully research if your controller supports that device.  ZWave often requires repeaters in smaller networks to allow all devices to communicate.  This is less of an issue with Insteon's dual power line and wireless signal paths.  Before going the ISY route, I bought the ELK serial interface and the Leviton modem with a Leviton USB Install stick.  That has been a huge mistake because the Leviton support for ZWave is about 5 or more years out of date and they do not seem to be in a hurry to update things.  The Leviton installer stick and PC app was written for XP and will not run on Win 8 or 10.  It barely runs on Win7 in compatibility mode and is full of bugs.  To use the ELK serial interface, you also need addition programming skills beyond the normal programming because you have to work with text strings from the ZWave network and will use a lot of program rules to get things done.  Having the ISY in the loop if you are mating it up with and ELK is the way to go because you can either have the ELK or the ISY perform the main automation duties.  You can pick a choose which technology you want to use for each thing you want to do and the ELK will see them as the same thing thanks to the ISY.  ISY did a good job with their Insteon support and I would expect that they will work to make ZWave work just a smoothly.

 

[cyberk]

ISY is making leaps and bounds with ZWave. I'm using them for both Insteon and Z-Wave and although I've had some issues with Zwave, their customer support is unmatched. I'm pretty sure my issues are my own and nothing to do with the ISY. They do sell refurbished versions  a little cheaper if price is an issue.
 
I recently did some research as I was giving a zwave controller away as a gift and after an exhaustive search, I gave away an ISY...you can't really beat good support!

 

[oberkc]

I also use the ISY994 with insteon (mostly) but with a small number of zwave devices. I cannot compare the zwave support to anything else, but it works flawlessly for my needs. I have a schlage lockset, abfew outlets, a couple of modules, and a switch. All zwave devices purchased separately without regard to specific brand and all have joined up without issue.

I understand that the ISY does not support multi node devices, and may not support some unique features added by a particular manufacturer, but the core functions have been there.

 

[Dean Roddey]

Multi-node meaning multi-function devices (motion, temp and humidity sensor in one module, for examples), which a lot of folks use, so it would be a fairly big limitation.

 

[oberkc]

Multi-node meaning multi-function devices (motion, temp and humidity sensor in one module, for examples), which a lot of folks use, so it would be a fairly big limitation.

 Yes, I suppose that could be a limitation for some.  I understand that this capability is coming, but the timing is less certain.

 

[Deane Johnson]

I appreciate the responses.  I ordered one for delivery Sunday.  I'm still a bit timid about trying the ISY, but I'm so negative on the Leviton VRUSB/VRC0P combination, I'm about ready to try anything.
 
I'm pretty much locked to Z-Wave since I don't have a neutral in some of my dimmer boxes. 

 

[oberkc]

I appreciate the responses.  I ordered one for delivery Sunday.  I'm still a bit timid about trying the ISY, but I'm so negative on the Leviton VRUSB/VRC0P combination, I'm about ready to try anything.
 
I'm pretty much locked to Z-Wave since I don't have a neutral in some of my dimmer boxes. 

 
I hope you like it.  I sure like mine!
 
I consider the ISY, at this point, primarily a controller for insteon, but I can think of no reason it would not work with z-wave alone. 
 
Make sure you visit the universal devices forum if you have any questions or just want to read up.  They have a section specific to z-wave.

 

[jon102034050]

I appreciate the responses.  I ordered one for delivery Sunday.  I'm still a bit timid about trying the ISY, but I'm so negative on the Leviton VRUSB/VRC0P combination, I'm about ready to try anything.
 
I'm pretty much locked to Z-Wave since I don't have a neutral in some of my dimmer boxes. 

 
I'm sure you'll like it.  It's really flexible and it fits very well with an Elk m1.  I use my ISY almost solely for zwave, and have around 20 devices.  The only insteon I'm using are a couple thermostats and lamplinc's (used as extenders for the thermostats).  Folks on this thread are absolutely correct, it doesn't support multi function devices, which I wish I would have researched further before buying a Leviton VRCS4-M0Z...  Anywho, don't hesitate to post on the UDI forums as well, there are tons of really helpful individuals there.

 

[Dean Roddey]

One obvious advantage of the ISY, at least under CQC, is that there's no configuration required on the CQC side. The ISY allows you to do all of the configuration of the units (including naming) and CQC can just query that info and auto-configure itself. Of course that work still has to be done, so it's not like it's magical. However, in the CQC -> Z-Wave scenario currently, you set up a lot of info in the RFIT software, but we don't have access to that, so you have to do it again in CQC. In the ISY scenario, their equivalent of RFIT basically stores the info in a database in the ISY, and we can read that data.
 
So it just saves a step.

 

[Deane Johnson]

One obvious advantage of the ISY, at least under CQC, is that there's no configuration required on the CQC side. The ISY allows you to do all of the configuration of the units (including naming) and CQC can just query that info and auto-configure itself. Of course that work still has to be done, so it's not like it's magical. However, in the CQC -> Z-Wave scenario currently, you set up a lot of info in the RFIT software, but we don't have access to that, so you have to do it again in CQC. In the ISY scenario, their equivalent of RFIT basically stores the info in a database in the ISY, and we can read that data.
 
So it just saves a step.

With my aging memory, that's a biggy.

 

[elvisimprsntr]

While I don't have many ZW devices, the ISY is a great embedded HA controller with great support and community forum. You can program the ISY to do just about anything and has a very robust REST API.

Not to mention great third party mobile apps like eKeypad Pro and Mobilic HD.

http://youtu.be/26vTRyHy048

 

[LarrylLix]

I have avoided Zwave with ISY so far. I use it with Insteon, a few old X10 modules still. the CAI WC8 board for weather, a RPi as a bridge from a Venstar thermostat, and CAO Tag system for detecting temp, moisture and motion.

Very powerful little self-contained logic engine.