Any update on Leviton Vizia RF availabiliy?

[Herdfan]

I have grown tired of the semi-monthly replacement of my Insteon switches and am hoping the Vizia RF will be a solution. But here are a couple of questions:

1) Am I correct that you can link any Z-Wave switch to any other Z-wave switch like you can with Insteon?

2) Will the 5-button Vizia controllers also be able to control a load?

3) How is linking performed? I have read about handheld controllers, but is this the only way?

4) Any word on availability?

Thanks.

 

[KenM]

I posted a response to this question earlier today in this forum and the response seems to have vanished.

For 'non-vanishing' Z-Wave answers I recommend:

ControlThink Forum

I'll not waist too much of my time here again.

Regards,

ken

 

[pkoslow]

I posted a response to this question earlier today in this forum and the response seems to have vanished.

For 'non-vanishing' Z-Wave answers I recommend:

ControlThink Forum

I'll not waist too much of my time here again.

Regards,

ken

Ken,

Seems the Message board was moved to another server and some posts were lost... I don't think you were censored?

http://www.cocoontech.com/index.php?showtopic=6273&hl=

Cheers,
Paul

Ps. Edited for poor spelling

 

[electron]

Ken, you know we would NOT censor any posts! Paul is right, anything posted after 4pm yesterday seems to have gotten lost. It was out of my control, but I still feel bad about it. If it was a big post, let me know, and I will try to find the post in the backups I took, and PM you the content.

 

[Squintz]

I have grown tired of the semi-monthly replacement of my Insteon switches and am hoping the Vizia RF will be a solution. But here are a couple of questions:

1) Am I correct that you can link any Z-Wave switch to any other Z-wave switch like you can with Insteon?

That is correct. Z-Wave uses Class Types. As long as the type of class one device uses is supported by another device then the two can control each other. I am pretty sure that even if they do not both support the same class that one device will use another device as a node in the mesh network.

2) Will the 5-button Vizia controllers also be able to control a load?

Not sure! I will try and find out for you tho.

3) How is linking performed? I have read about handheld controllers, but is this the only way?

Linking is performed using a master controller. There are many types of master controllers on the market today including, Intermatic USB Controll paired with ThinkEssentials or other software, HomePro handheld controller, Intermatic Desktop controller, Monster AVL300 universal controller, Logitech Harmony 890 pro. So the answer is that there are really hardware and harware paired with software solutions. ControlThink has software which you can use on a PDA also. And viewsonic just came out with a touchscreen with built in z-wave support which can probably be used as a master controller.

4) Any word on availability?

I am not sure about the ViziaRF line but I know the monster line looks identical and it is already shipping. I have a few monster devices in my house already. Take a look at this press release for a whole bunch of links to manufactues sites
http://www.zen-sys.com/index.php?page=590

Also, take a look at http://www.zen-sys.com/index.php?page=196 and look down in the other section. Click on Z-Wave Node Type Overview and . You may need to enter your e-mail address and a small amount of other information before you can view the documents on those pages. But after reading them you should have a good grasp of how z-wave works and what it can do.

Hope this helps!
Feel free to use the Ask the expert section of www.zwaveworld.com if you have any good questions.

 

[mbreeden]

There was a comment on the Worthington board that the products were shipping on Dec 15 and they should have them in the store by the 18th. They are taking pre-orders over the phone. They did not state which products would be availble on that date

Here is the link to the discussion:

http://www.worthingtonsolutions.com/cgi-bi...?num=1147902126

- Mike

 

[KenM]

Herdfan,

As far as linking, there are Z-Wave switches that are only responders. The ones that can control other switches are sometimes called transmitters. So the answer is that not all devices can control other devices. I have a house full of 'responder only' switches and am fairly happy. I am waiting for a multi button keypad type 'controller' wall switch to become available, I have a place where one is needed.

In a very basic system, devices can be included or deleted from a Z-Wave network only by the master controller. The master is just the first controller that you use and is necessarily a hand held unit. During the inclusion or removal of devices the controller needs to be within a few feet of the remote devices (security feature). The network database can then be copied to other 'secondary' controllers. I'm guessing having only one master controller makes the routing table easier to manage.

An example of setting up a link on a controller is something like - press the control buttons once to select, hold the include button, then press the switch on the remote device and select the desired 'on level', release the include button and the link is made. I do not know of any current software that will manage the links in the controllers. I suspect that something like that may be in the works though.

I miss the link 'everything to everything' ability that INSTEON has. The newer Z-Wave switches will probably have a similar feature available. It just isn't on all switches at the moment. I have had Z-Wave installed in my house for five months and have not had to replace any in that time. The Z-Wave switches are more expensive than INSTEON, but the reliability and longer warranty make them a better value in my mind. Also, having a choice of manufacturers is nice. I think competition helps drive quality up.

Z-Wave has battery remotes available that can store and run timers without any PC required. I find that feature, and the fact that small battery remotes are available, enough to overcome the current limited linking ability. Z-Wave also has motion detectors available. The software to manage them is still in the works but there are hardware devices that can be used. You would want to investigate what model of controller will set up a detector prior to buying any. Some controllers have more options than others.


Ken

 

[ChrisWalker]

Ken,

ThinkEssentials Installer can set up groups/scenes on remotes

Also, if you have a central controller (like the new Wayne-Dalton Ethernet Bridge) in your network, you can add/remove devices with multiple controllers in your network. They work as "proxies" for the central controller.

Chris

 

[AutomatedOutlet]

I just got off the phone with Leviton.

The Leviton Vizia stuff will not be available before the end of January at best. There may a release of a limited supply of plug-in modules before that but that won't do anyone any good because the Leviton Zwave stuff will require the Leviton Zwave remote (yes, required) that won't be released until the switches are available.

 

[IVB]

I just got off the phone with Leviton.

The Leviton Vizia stuff will not be available before the end of January at best. There may a release of a limited supply of plug-in modules before that but that won't do anyone any good because the Leviton Zwave stuff will require the Leviton Zwave remote (yes, required) that won't be released until the switches are available.

Does that mean that our existing controllers are useless with them completely?

 

[AutomatedOutlet]

That's the understanding I got from talking to a Leviton person that was in a training class on it this week. Not 100% sure though.

 

[IVB]

Thanks. Chris/etc - Who would be able to confirm/refute that point?

It seems highly irresponsible of a company to claim zWave compatability, but miss something as fundamental as this. From a "brand management" perspective, it's very very damaging to zWave as it's hard to take zWave claims seriously if you're allowed to create products that aren't interoperable.

If I were the king of the zWave consortium, I'd either squash this rumor or get Leviton to retract from their claim of zWave support immediately.

 

[Micah]

No kidding. As if not requiring that every MC has to control every device, having Z-Wave devices brand specific is ridiculous.

It really shouldn't be this easy to bitch about stuff, Chris. I'd love my complaints to be limited to how the people at Intermatic are color blind and that the LEDs shouldn't be on unless the light is off (why? So you can see the switch in the dark, that's why! Why do you need an LED to tell you if a light is on anyhow? Can't you tell because, you know, the friggin' light is on?)

Please tell me someone is miss-informed and I can go back to bitching about the icons not being in the manuals fast enough.

 

[AutomatedOutlet]

I think their reasoning is that the new switches will have a lot of functionality that is not currently available. It's kind of like trying to program an ACT Zwave motion sensor without using the ACT remote....

 

[Micah]

I understand the reasoning but it looks like the whole Z-Wave protocol is on the verge of turning into a mess where we'll be stuck buying all our hardware from a single vendor.

I opted for Z-Wave because, at the time, it looked like you'd be able to run a whole gaggle of different devices simply and easily. What is starting to happen, however, is that if you want something that a particular vendor doesn't have their name on, you'll have to run multiple networks with separate Master Controllers to get everything that you want.

Kinda defeats the whole purpose of having a single do-it-all protocol in my opinion and I really hope I'm way off base.