Any experiences with these?

[gman19]

I'm relatively new to Home Automation and am in the phase now of shopping for the core components.  Yesterday I was kind of set on VeraPlus or the new ZipaTile by Zipato.  After doing some research and reading a few others' experiences with the Vera systems, I'm back to HomeSeer and the new ZipaTile.  the ZipaTile is fairly new to the U.S. market so there isn't a whole lot out there yet on it.  HomeSeer has been around and appears to be a good HA system with a very active forum.  It appears that the HomeSeer startup cost will be quite a bit more than the ZipaTile.  I'm trying to stay clear of Insteon and PLM's if possible and leaning hard toward Z-Wave and Zigbee.
 
Any thoughts or experiences anyone can share will be greatly appreciated!
 

 

[drvnbysound]

I haven't used the ZipaTile, but I have a friend who uses Zipato products with his DSC alarm panel and he's been very happy with the setup.
 
What sort of things do you plan to automate?

 

[gman19]

As with most things, I branch out as I get involved.  But to start with I'd like to get into lighting control and with experience maybe replace my thermostat with a Nest or the like.  Door locks and motion sensors will also be on the to-do list.  I don't have or plan to try and integrate a home security system, irrigation, etc.   Weather based triggers are also on the list.  I run a Davis VantagePro2+ system and feed to Weather Underground, WeatherLink, CWOP and WeatherBug.  I do have a spot or two for leak/water detection.  Zipato does seem to be a very likely candidate...

 

[drvnbysound]

Have you started to research lighting control technologies? Leaning toward anything in particular? There are plenty of threads here on the forum about pretty much all of them...
 
You aren't the first person I've seen mention of having a weather station at their residence. What's the appeal there? Just like to know what the conditions are [from a reliable source] or ??? I typically check Weather.com on my phone once every 2-3 weeks when someone mentions that the weekend has a high chance of rain or if I have plans to travel. Other than that the conditions typically don't make that much of a difference to me.
 
I'm familiar with both Davis and Weatherhawk models. Is there a particular reason you chose to go with the Davis?

 

[gman19]

Haven't focused solely on any one thing yet. Just switching and dimming as far as lighting goes. I've been mainly looking into the various protocols and am leaning towards z wave and zigbee. I like the Centralite Pearl thermostat, it's Zigbee. I've also looked at the Ecobee3.

My weather station is the one hobby I can enjoy and pretty much afford! Can't explain it but I've always had an interest in weather phenomenon. I went with Davis for the affordability, durability and the sheer number of them in service, makes for a good support base in weather forums. Davis, as a company also offers great customer support. I got out of the saltwater reef aquarium hobby 2 years ago when we built our new house, and kept/expanded my weather endeavors. Looks like HA might become my latest hobby

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

 

[gman19]

Google KNCKERNE9, that's me Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk[/quote]Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

 

[pete_c]

Welcome to Cocoontech gman19.
 
Here too in to weather some. 
 
Today using a Davis Weather station an running software called CumulusMX running on the RPi2.  I used to run this software in XP.
 
Integrate 1-Wire sensors here with the weather stuff and automation.  Utilize a lightning sensor here too to watch incoming storms.
 
Last automation weather endeavor was to connect a weather radio to the automation box which triggers a screen scrape of the NOAA weather alert then does a text to speech of the alert in the house.
 
Also play a bit with a digital rain guage which can sense fog and still continue to use an old Dallas Rain tipping bucket.
 
Enjoy watching weather.  IE: did the NOAA weather spotter classes a couple of years ago. 

 

[LarrylLix]

Which Zwave?

They require repeaters and most brands aren't compatible with others.
Many don't report events and have to be polled before you can get an update.

 

[Sparkman1]

Which Zwave?

They require repeaters and most brands aren't compatible with others.
Many don't report events and have to be polled before you can get an update.

I have 10+ brands and they do work together.  This may have been an issue when zwave first came out and maybe with certain controllers that are limited in functionality, but is no longer true imho.  Also all of the devices I have do report events and value changes.  There are some light switches that need to be polled, but many do let the controller know of changes made at the switch.  Repeaters are only required if you have very few mains powered devices or have some devices a long distance away from others.  I have 3600sq ft of living space, plus garage and yard and I have zero repeaters and have zwave coverage everywhere.  Based on my experience (and I know of many others with similar experience) I would say:
 
 "They rmay require repeaters and some brands aren't compatible with others.
Some don't report events and have to be polled before you can get an update."
 
Cheers
Al

 

[gman19]

Thanks Pete, sounds like you are a little deeper into Wx than I at the moment. I'm looking at the new station by Wearherflow. I may preorder one, they should deliver in December. Been in our new home for about 2 years now, lightning detection is my next priority. I would like to do some triggers off of certain Wx conditions.

Right now I'm leaning hard toward the Zipatile controller by Zipato. It appears to work well with WeatherUnderground & CWOP.

I hope to gradually build out with this forum's help along the way. Active forums are enjoyable as well as informative, and this one fits the bill quite well!