Smart things vs. Vera

Just to wrap this up, I have a co-worker who runs Smart Things so we have had some back and forth.  It appears that ST does have a few things to work out with regards "system stability" during and after an internet outage.  Just as a quick example, he has a vacation home 5 hours away from his house.  They lost internet, and he has to manually reset ST after an outage before it will start to report back to him.  Maybe there is a work around he does not know about and ST is always bringing on more capabilities.  Not trying to bad mouth any technology..HomeSeer seemed like a better fit for my penchant for research and diy.
 
Quick note.. our home was built in the 60's.. I have been having fun dealing with the lack of neutrals in some of the three ways.  Three wire must have been really expensive then..  why anyone would run a three wire through a ceiling light is mind numbing.  Fortunately I have a controller going at the opposite end of most of these three ways that have no neutral.  Need to take the light fixture down.. pass the line and neutral to the box that will be housing the controller and problem solved. 
 
hockeypuck said:
Just to wrap this up, I have a co-worker who runs Smart Things so we have had some back and forth.  It appears that ST does have a few things to work out with regards "system stability" during and after an internet outage.  Just as a quick example, he has a vacation home 5 hours away from his house.  They lost internet, and he has to manually reset ST after an outage before it will start to report back to him.  Maybe there is a work around he does not know about and ST is always bringing on more capabilities.  Not trying to bad mouth any technology..HomeSeer seemed like a better fit for my penchant for research and diy.
 
Quick note.. our home was built in the 60's.. I have been having fun dealing with the lack of neutrals in some of the three ways.  Three wire must have been really expensive then..  why anyone would run a three wire through a ceiling light is mind numbing.  Fortunately I have a controller going at the opposite end of most of these three ways that have no neutral.  Need to take the light fixture down.. pass the line and neutral to the box that will be housing the controller and problem solved. 
Click to expand...
My house is from the 50's - even has a bomb shelter in it!  I also have several locations that don't have neutrals. It's odd though... some do, some don't.  Not sure why they didn't wire everything in the same manner.  
 
For light switches that don't have neutrals, it is possible to install "2-wire" switches. These would include the GE 45612, Cooper RF9534 and RF9518 and the Leviton VRI06. All of those would work. However, the "catch" is that you'd be limited to running incandescent bulbs; LEDs and CFLs will not work.
 
For clarity, is your co-worker's SmartThings hub v1 or v2?
 
hockeypuck said:
Just to wrap this up, I have a co-worker who runs Smart Things so we have had some back and forth.  It appears that ST does have a few things to work out with regards "system stability" during and after an internet outage.  Just as a quick example, he has a vacation home 5 hours away from his house.  They lost internet, and he has to manually reset ST after an outage before it will start to report back to him.  Maybe there is a work around he does not know about and ST is always bringing on more capabilities.  Not trying to bad mouth any technology..HomeSeer seemed like a better fit for my penchant for research and diy.
Click to expand...
 
Older houses didn't get anywhere near as many outlets.  That and it was typical to have a bunch of things together on a circuit.  So there probably was a fair difference in the amount of wire they'd have to install with the hot running from one junction box to another and not through the switches. 
 
Now that there's more outlets and code requires separating lighting from outlets it's probably less likely.  But I had to specifically cite a neutral being required in ALL wall switch boxes AND verify that was what the electricians were doing.  One junior guy kept trying to avoid it for some 3-way setups.  Ugh, don't get me started on how dumb some trades can be...
 
I'm muddling along with a bunch of the modern hubs.  I've got a ST2, Staples, Wink and soon possibly a Vera+ (if/when it ever actually ships).  
 
The way ST handles programming is interesting.  The use of a cloud-based setup and IDE makes for an interesting way to avoid a heavier-weight management program on your local computer.  That and it's cross-platform (basically, anything with a modern browser).  This comes with all the usual issues of cloud reliability (and lack thereof).  Their API and web IDE do make for a clever way to handle adding code.  You can cut-and-paste a single text chunk and it does all dirty work for you.  It's not anything that couldn't be done before, but they have put a fair bit of energy into making it work smoothly.
 
macromark said:
My house is from the 50's - even has a bomb shelter in it!  I also have several locations that don't have neutrals. It's odd though... some do, some don't.  Not sure why they didn't wire everything in the same manner.  
 
For light switches that don't have neutrals, it is possible to install "2-wire" switches. These would include the GE 45612, Cooper RF9534 and RF9518 and the Leviton VRI06. All of those would work. However, the "catch" is that you'd be limited to running incandescent bulbs; LEDs and CFLs will not work.
Click to expand...
I could just use Linear-WT00Z-1-Z-Wave-Wall-Transmitter  for a virtual 3way?  Will have to rewire the light box again to put power down to the "slave" switch. 
 
http://store.homeseer.com/store/Linear-WT00Z-1-Z-Wave-Wall-Transmitter-P1623.aspx
 
I'm late the to party on this conversation but let me throw in my two cents.  I've played around with many of the platforms out there.  Mr Home, Elve, Homeseer, Mainlobby, Insteon Hubs, Vera, ISY, and Smartthings  I have to say hands down the Smarthings Hub was the nicest looking interface out of the box and the easiest to just make work.
 
If the devices you want to enable are supported officially or via the community it is almost a no brainer at the price point.  I had my Z-wave devaleices (lights, fans, smoke detectors, water sensors, and Yale locks), Sonos, Ecobee, and Hue turned up in very short order.
 
The only downsides I saw were:
 
Limitations of the events and logic conditions - I saw some 3rd party software that should expand this but didn't experiment
Fixed interface - It works out of box and is functional.  I like to tweak but I'm also the guy whose Phillip touchscreen remotes and Mainlobby interface was "going to be finished next week" for a decade.
 
My experience with Vera was veeeeery different.  I think 3 days elapsed from when I opened the Amazon Prime box and clicked the RMA button.  The device HAS potential but just never seemed to get out of its own way.  Device support was kludgy, the interface kept hanging, registering devices was hit and miss at best.  I really wanted to love it but just couldn't see it worth the continued experimentation.
 
One guys opinion for what it is worth.....
 
The HomeSeer Zee S2 is working great.  Installed 10 light switches/dimmers with a 7 button wall control and it is very easy to set up zwave device control.  It takes a little more brain power to set up "events", but still more than manageable.  The Enerwave ZWN-SC7 controllers will need to use lighting events rather than just setting up the node to operate a device, but a minor issue and those controllers only cost $40. 
 
FYI... my HomeSeer Unit has a minor firmware issue (brought on when I did a factory reset), but they solved it over the phone inside a 10 minute phone call.. try getting that type of service from Korea.  Major props to their customer support team.  This was one of my major reasons for going with HomeSeer.. local US support and they did not let me down.   :rockon:
 
Glad you like it. Homeseer is like all the others out there and has some issues, but overall they have a great product and its stable. I came from Vera and that thing was a mess and only getting worse.
 
hockeypuck said:
The HomeSeer Zee S2 is working great.  Installed 10 light switches/dimmers with a 7 button wall control and it is very easy to set up zwave device control.  It takes a little more brain power to set up "events", but still more than manageable.  The Enerwave ZWN-SC7 controllers will need to use lighting events rather than just setting up the node to operate a device, but a minor issue and those controllers only cost $40. 
 
FYI... my HomeSeer Unit has a minor firmware issue (brought on when I did a factory reset), but they solved it over the phone inside a 10 minute phone call.. try getting that type of service from Korea.  Major props to their customer support team.  This was one of my major reasons for going with HomeSeer.. local US support and they did not let me down.   :rockon:
Click to expand...
Excellent!  FYI, I was curious and did a search on orders from Amherst, NH.  Looks like you're 1 of 3 customers who've purchased from Amherst in the past couple months.  Almost enough for a user group! :)  
 
Went to Homeseer in the 1990's and using it today and a happy camper here.
 
One time at band camp.....
 
Yup; here didn't know much of anything about the town of Amherst, NH so googled it.
 
Amherst is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 11,201 at the 2010 census. Amherst is home to Ponemah Bog Wildlife Sanctuary, Hodgman State Forest, the Joe English Reservation and Baboosic Lake.
 
Amherst is a bi-polar town.  We have Lowes, Walmart, restaurant chains and then we have a village center that is tightly controlled by the historical society. I live just outside the village.  Great place all around.
dsc_43711.jpg
 
Personally like that old fashioned conservation style of management.  
 
Here in the Midwest we had one (1) big box entry a couple of years back. 
 
What a ruckus it caused.  
 
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