My experiences with Vizia RF

[johnnynine]

I've had quite a few Vizia RF switches installed for a several months now and thought I'd share some of my thoughts. I've completely jumped off of Insteon as it just didn't work out for me. The remarks here are my personal opinions and may vary from other user experiences.

This posting is not meant to be a comparison of Vizia RF and Insteon but since I have used both I will make a few comments when applicable.

What I like:

I like the tactile feel of the switches and it's easy to find them in the dark.

Since they look very similar to a standard Leviton Decora light switch, they can be mixed with standard switches without looking unusual in a multiple gang box. It was not nearly as consistent looking when using Insteon switches with other standard decora switches.

I don't have the click issues that plagued my Insteon switches where a quick paddle tap would be ignored.

I like the led status lights on the 4 zone/scene controllers. I allows you to see what zone/scenes are on.

Most load switches respond almost instantly (faster than Insteon) when turned on from a virtual 3 way switch (1 zone controller).

It is very reliable, however I do have a couple switches that are slow to respond. I would not say that it is 100% reliable because there have been 2 or 3 times when a load switch did not respond to a remote control switch but it did improve when I added more switches.

The lamp modules allow the lamp to be turned on from the lamp switch instead of pressing a button on the Vizia RF lamp module. Unfortunately there is a problem with led synchronization on the 4 zone controllers which I will describe below.

Issues that I have found:

I have a few stubborn load switches that take at least a second to react to a remote control switch press. One of which is 25ft from the control switch and is in the line of site. I almost wonder if it's a bad switch.

The 4 zone controllers can be slow at updating their status leds. It generally take 3 to 6 seconds for the 4 zone controller status leds to update after turning on/off a related switch (even when the switch is immediatley adjacent to the 4 zone controller - perhaps the number of associated devices affects the time).

1 Zone Sync LED issue: Perhaps it's just me but this one really boggles me as a design issue. If you use a dimming remote control switch (1 button scene controller) as a virtual 3 way switch, the light level led's along the side of the dimming remote switch move slowly instead of keeping in sync with the actual light level. Insteon actually worked well in this scenario, but Vizia RF does not. So for instance if you have your dimming load switch set to be instant on/off (no fade rate), whether you press the load switch or the dimming remote switch, the remote switch's led bar will indicate that the light is slowly turning on or off while the load switch accurately indicates that the light turned on/off instantly. I have talked to a level 2 Leviton tech and he said that it was working as designed. In my opinion this is a poor design and in the least case scenario I would like to program the dimming remote switch to have a particular fade rate or none at all. And in the best case scenario the dimming remote switch would automatically know the fade rate of the load switch. (In my scenario all of my 1 button scene controller switches are only controlling one load switch - a virtual 3-way). It may seem like a minor issue, but can cause some confusion.

4 Zone Controller/Plug-In module sync issue: In this scenario we have a button on a 4 zone controller with a lamp module and a 600w dimming switch in the button's area. The 600w dimming switch will always remain off for this explanation. The 4 button controller's button led will turn on when manually turning on a lamp plugged into the lamp module. But the led does not turn off when the lamp is manually turned off. So if the switch and lamp are both off and the user manually turns on the lamp from the lamp's switch, the 4 button controller led will turn on as expected. But when you manually turn off the lamp from the lamp's switch, the 4 zone controller's led remains on which falsely indicates that a light in the are is on.

IR Remote dimming is flakey. When using a Leviton IR remote to dim or brighten (pointing at a 4 button scene controller), the lights sometime do not respond at all, respond too little or respond too much.

Each Vizia RF load module can only be controlled by up to 5 controllers. This is a huge limitation issue for me. I wish it was at least 6 if not more.

I received several bad switches:

• 1 bad 600watt dimmer
• 1 switch came with 2 almond paddles and was missing an ivory paddle.
• 2 switches had paddles that would stick until I shaved down part of the plastic that was rubbing.
• 1 4 scene controller has a bad dim/bright button that is mechanically defective.
• 1 switch that is in line of sight from 4 other switches and is 25 feet away has a very slow reaction time from controllers. (This one is arguably bad).
• Several of the switches had scratches on the metal under the paddle, however they seem to work.

Conclusion

Overall Vizia RF has worked out well. I'm sure its not as reliable/fast as a hard wires solution, but you're paying a lot more for that.

If I were to rate Vizia RF and Insteon on a scale from 1 to 5 where 5 is super reliable and super fast without any quarks, I'd give Vizia RF a 4 out of 5, and Insteon a 3 out of 5.

Elk does not yet support Vizia RF (however HAI does). Elk has indicated that a solution is in the works but no timeframe has been given to my knowledge. I'm really looking forward to this Elk enhancement as I have all kinds of ideas to implement.

Johnny

Edit: typo

 

[MikeB]

Hey Johnny -

How many Vizia RF switches do you have installed so far?

What percentage of your total switches are now Vizia RF?

Thanks!

 

[johnnynine]

Hey Johnny -

How many Vizia RF switches do you have installed so far?

What percentage of your total switches are now Vizia RF?

Thanks!

I probably have about 40 Vizia RF devices installed so far. I am not replacing all of my switches, but I'd say over half of them are Vizia RF. I do have a lot of switches in a small area, ie they are not spread out real far. The furthest distance between any 2 switches on the 1st floor is probably 12 feet, and the same on the second floor.

 

[jarcher]

This is similar to my experience. I have 3 4 button zone controllers along with a bunch of dimmers and switches. Overall, things work very well. I agree it would be nice of the LEDs in the 4 button controllers would work more quickly. I have not played with the lamp modules I have much.

As far as bad components, I have a broken 15A switch I need to replace. It needs to be switched on and off a few times before it will finally activate the load, although it clicks each time. Also, I have a sticking paddle on a dimmer. Maybe I'll look to see if it needs trimming like yours did.

By coincidence, I was trying to get my Harmony 890 PRO to emit IR that the 4 button controller would work with. No joy. I called Harmony and they said that I need to call them back with the IR codes, which they will then add to my account. That’s annoying because the device was in their database, but they still say I need to provide the codes. Makes no sense to me. I didn't buy a Leviton IR remote, although for $20 I might just to have one to play with. Then I could learn the codes from the Leviton remote into the Harmony 890.

My biggest annoyance is one you did not list. Regarding the 4 button controllers, let's say I have a load on each of the top two switches and both are on, with their LEDs lit. I press the top button to turn that load off. Its LED goes off, as it should, leaving the only remaining LED glowing on the second button down, which is the only load left on. Now, I want to dim or brighten that load. The dinner paddle, however, is still set to affect the top button, since that was the last one I touched. Of course it won't, because that area is off. So, I need to push the second button, turning it off, then press again, turning it back on before I can adjust its level.

Also, people should be aware that the LED on a button will light if any single device assigned to that button is on. So if I have a button for all the lights in the living room and another for just one of the reading lamps, turning on just the reading lamp causes both LEDs to light. That’s a feature, not a bug, but I think I would prefer that all devices assigned to the button be on in order to make the LED light.

Finally, I have not been able to figure out how to create a scene using the Leviton Z-Wave remote. I think that with an IR remote I can control 8 scenes (there appear to be buttons for 16 but there are only IR codes for 8) but I just can’t figure out how to create the scenes. Who knows, maybe the Harmony 890 is working, but because there are no scenes the controller does not respond.

 

[ASIHome]

My biggest annoyance is one you did not list. Regarding the 4 button controllers, let's say I have a load on each of the top two switches and both are on, with their LEDs lit. I press the top button to turn that load off. Its LED goes off, as it should, leaving the only remaining LED glowing on the second button down, which is the only load left on. Now, I want to dim or brighten that load. The dinner paddle, however, is still set to affect the top button, since that was the last one I touched. Of course it won't, because that area is off. So, I need to push the second button, turning it off, then press again, turning it back on before I can adjust its level.

Judging by this you have a 4-Button Scene controller and not a 4-Button Zone controller. The Scene would behave as you described but on the Zone, you just have to push the On side of the rocker and then you can dim/bright.

 

[jarcher]

Judging by this you have a 4-Button Scene controller and not a 4-Button Zone controller. The Scene would behave as you described but on the Zone, you just have to push the On side of the rocker and then you can dim/bright.

I didn't know zone controllers had rockers as opposed to toggles. Trying to figure out which Vizia RF devices do what can be a little confusing.

 

[johnnynine]

Judging by this you have a 4-Button Scene controller and not a 4-Button Zone controller. The Scene would behave as you described but on the Zone, you just have to push the On side of the rocker and then you can dim/bright.

I didn't know zone controllers had rockers as opposed to toggles. Trying to figure out which Vizia RF devices do what can be a little confusing.

From my experience, zone controllers (the ones with paddles) work well when you are controlling distinct or overlapping areas. Here is how I have one of mine set up:
1. Master Bedroom (set as a scene so that the lamps are dimmer than the main light)
2. Master Suite (This includes all lights in the master bedroom, bath and closet - so on my way out of the master suite I can just hit the paddle off)
3. 2nd Floor (All the lights on the 2nd floor)
4. 1st Floor (All the lights on the 1st floor so I can turn them off at bedtime if they are still on)

The scene controllers work well for controlling lights that are in the same living space (but they don't have to be all the same lights). Here is a working example for out kitchen:
1. Cooking (Turns on all the main cooking area lights to 100%)
2. Dinner (Dims the cooking area lights considerably and turns the kitchen table light on to 100%)
3. Cleanup (Turns most kitchen lights on most or all the way)
4. All lights - This button is actually set to On/Off as opposed to a scene so that we can turn all the lights off as are on our way out - it actually does not include a couple lights near the door).

Remember that whether you are using a 4 button zone controller or a 4 button scene controller, any of their buttons can be used as a scene button or an area on/off button.

I unfortunately really wasn't able to get a good grasp on which type worked for what until I had them installed and could use them.

 

[jarcher]

I unfortunately really wasn't able to get a good grasp on which type worked for what until I had them installed and could use them.

This is the issue I had as well.

Thanks for explaining your setup. In my case, I have all scene controllers and at the moment they are all in the same room, two at one entrance and one at the other. This way, the lights can be adjusted as if they were on 3 way switches (which they sort of are). The extra controller is for the outside lights and such.

I spoke with Leviton tech support today and although he tried to help me, he just confused me even more.

The scene controllers are handy for, as you said, having overlapping lights at different dim levels, and that's what I want to do.

Hm, I could probably set a master off button by including all the devices in a scene and setting them off. Maybe I'll try that.

Has anyone had any luck creating scenes in the remote?

Also, you said you have an IR remote. I was wondering, that thing seems to have buttons for 16 scenes (1 -4 and A - D). How does that interact with a 4 button controller?

 

[johnnynine]

Also, you said you have an IR remote. I was wondering, that thing seems to have buttons for 16 scenes (1 -4 and A - D). How does that interact with a 4 button controller?

1-4 are for the 4 button zone controller, A-D are for the 4 button scene controller... weird, yes.

 

[jarcher]

Also, you said you have an IR remote. I was wondering, that thing seems to have buttons for 16 scenes (1 -4 and A - D). How does that interact with a 4 button controller?

1-4 are for the 4 button zone controller, A-D are for the 4 button scene controller... weird, yes.

Ha, swell. And if you look at Leviton's docs for the IR codes, they just list IR codes for 8 "scenes" along wit on, off, dim and bright. That's a big help, thanks!

 

[Hiller]

Have you guys had any problems with switches failing once they have been installed? I had a switch die on me last night for no apparent reason. I need to double check the wiring to make sure something didn't come lose but I highly doubt that is the case. None of the LEDs on the switch are on anymore.

Overall, I only have a couple switches that I've been trying the system out with but I really like them. They look nice and have a good feel to them. My only gripe is that their "instant" feedback to an automation system when changing the on/off state of a load locally doesn't seem very fast at all.

 

[ASIHome]

Have you guys had any problems with switches failing once they have been installed? I had a switch die on me last night for no apparent reason. I need to double check the wiring to make sure something didn't come lose but I highly doubt that is the case. None of the LEDs on the switch are on anymore.

Overall, I only have a couple switches that I've been trying the system out with but I really like them. They look nice and have a good feel to them. My only gripe is that their "instant" feedback to an automation system when changing the on/off state of a load locally doesn't seem very fast at all.

If it is a dimmer, check the bulb. If the filament is damaged/broken the dimmer cannot get power to light the LEDs.

 

[Hiller]

It's a dimmer but it controlling the lights on a fixture that has 3 40W bulbs so I don't think that's it. It's a great thing to know though!

 

[ASIHome]

It's a dimmer but it controlling the lights on a fixture that has 3 40W bulbs so I don't think that's it. It's a great thing to know though!

Since those are still all wired together I would check for a blown bulb. I am almost positive that is it.