ELK or Omni

[WayneW]

The ELKRP has a builtin real time clock with sunrise and sunset calculated from your latitude and longitude. Also the M1XEP Ethernet interface now will go to WWV or a time server each day and update the real time clock. I have a watch with WWV radio settings set for 6:45 alarm each morning and the M1 makes a wakeup voice announcement at 6:45 also. They occur within the same second each morning.

Spanky, the XEP will go to an NTP server?!? Am I missing something? I asked about this here last june, but didn't know that it had been implemented.

Very glad to hear if this does exist.

Not yet, but coming soon.
http://www.cocoontech.com/index.php?showto...amp;#entry72647
But I still don't think the Elk XEP can receive WWV :huh:

 

[gcimmino]

Not yet, but coming soon.
http://www.cocoontech.com/index.php?showto...amp;#entry72647
But I still don't think the Elk XEP can receive WWV :huh:

WayneW, thanks. Missed that. Yes, I doubt WWV too. And I too hope the NTP server will be configurable.

 

[Spanky]

NTP server not WWV radio broadcast. When I think of atomic clocks, I think of WWV. :huh:

This will be available in the next M1XEP update coming very soon.

 

[Digger]

NTP server not WWV radio broadcast. When I think of atomic clocks, I think of WWV. :huh:

This will be available in the next M1XEP update coming very soon.

Cool beans!

 

[brodgers]

Spanky -

 

[brodgers]

Spanky -

 

[brodgers]

Spanky -
Will the ELK z-wave module be 2-way with the HAI z-wave thermostats? Is there a better lighting system out there to use with the ELK? Insteon? UPB?

Thanks.

 

[Steve]

Is there a better lighting system out there to use with the ELK? Insteon? UPB?

The 'better' lighting system is one that works best for you and includes such factors as your environment, tastes and budget. The M1 supports most major lighting systems. There are essentially 3 broad types, hardwire, PLC (Powerline) and Wireless. Hardwire is the best/most reliable but is not an option for you (based on you not being able to pull new wire). That leaves PLC like x10, Insteon and UPB or Wireless like the Vizia you mentioned, Radio RA, ZWave and others... Both PLC and wireless have their own sets of issues. I prefer PLC for several reasons and within PLC I like UPB the best. Many people do use and like wireless so thats certainly an option. Some things to consider to help decide - do you have neutrals in your switch boxes? If not, then PLC (at least UPB and Insteon) are pretty much out unless you plan on pulling neutrals to the boxes. On the wireless side - with your plaster walls is there a wire mesh/lathe behind them? With alot of metal/plaster you could potentially have issues with wireless. I would narrow it down mainly based on above types of factors then make final decision based on budget and taste (look and feel of switches, options, expandability, etc)

 

[HighTest]

Spanky - Thank for the link. That is very helpful. It looks like the Omni may be a little more flexible, but I'm not sure its in areas that I will use. There were two things that caught my eye that you might be able to shed some light on. It looked like the ELK did not have a atomic clock so that you can set rules by relation to sunrise or sunset. Is this true, or did I miss something? Also, does the ELK, with the z-wave module, handle 2-way communication? It looked like it might only be 1-way.

Thanks again.

The ELKRP has a builtin real time clock with sunrise and sunset calculated from your latitude and longitude. Also the M1XEP Ethernet interface now will go to WWV or a time server each day and update the real time clock. I have a watch with WWV radio settings set for 6:45 alarm each morning and the M1 makes a wakeup voice announcement at 6:45 also. They occur within the same second each morning.

The current M1XZW Zwave module for the M1 is two way from the M1. Due to the Lutron Patent, any switch controlling a light is not relayed to the M1. We are beta testing the Leviton Zwave to RS232 controller which does give two feedback from a light switch. We can support up to 4 Zwave thermostats.

Centralite's new JetStream with Zigbee technology also looks very promising.

As I said the comparison chart has some errors and is not up to date as ELK has made many new enhancements.

Spanky,

Sorry to resurrect an older thread, but I'm looking at doing Z-Wave. I noticed you said the M1XZW is two way from the M1. If I setup Z-wave with a controller and then copy to the M1XZW and then hide the controller (to be used for setup/changes only) would I be able to do the following?

1. Have M1 controll all the lighting.
2. Have the M1 receive status of "manual" switch changes (using the switch directly, not anything with the remote).

Or should I just wait for the XSP update and purchase the Leviton RS232 controller to pair with it?