The Future of OmniPro II

[dytanaka]

Hi,  
 
I was looking for some help.  I have an older Omni II system that is about 14 years old and need to upgrade it.  I have three thermostats, a companion console, temperature sensor and fire alarms.  I have vera, alexa, tons of  Z-wave and a little Insteon that I am tyrying to get rid of.  I called and Leviton said that my current HAI Omni products should work fine with the OmniPro II.  But pain point is that Leviton has not done anything with the Omni line in a long time.  You go to their website and you have to search or Omni products.   Its not their forefront or their flagship product, in fact it looks like they are trying to hide it (IMHO).  In today's home automation world I would think they would be pushing it hard.  But they're not,  would leads me to believe they are phasing it out.  Sorry for the long winded post, but I don't know if I want to invest 1200 dollars (or more by the time its finished) for something they are not investing their selves in.  Does anyone see this differently?  Would Elk be a better choice or something else?
 
Thanks
 
David
 

 

[Dean Roddey]

To be fair, the M1 hasn't been updated in a pretty long time either. Though I guess one could assume that Elk depends a lot more on the M1 remaining a viable product than Leviton depends on the Omni remaining a viable product.

 

[kwschumm]

The OPII is a little long in the tooth but it's very solid and very good at what it does.
 
I installed one in 2000 (well, an OnQ, but the same basic board) and will install another one in the new house we're building. The only bummer for me is the lack of thermostat control for the variable speed heat pumps we'll be using. Maybe there will be supported and simple zwave solution for OP2 in the future but I'm OK with the equipment manufacturer control app for now.
 
FWIW, I view the OP2 as an appliance, have no interest in voice control, and don't view automation as a hobby, I just want it to work.
If you like to tinker a lot with automation I think the OPII is a good starting point and that homeseer would be a good addition to update it.
 
Don't know much about the Elk panel, I looked at it, but my Omni experience was good and it's familiar so I'm back for more.
 
Elk is a good brand so I'd guess their panel is solid.

 

[picta]

As the old saying goes "Don't fix it if it arent broken". The Omni panel's main purpose is a security system with automation capabilities, and it does it well. It has more automation capabilities than Elk, which is a better security system. So depending on your preference of stronger security or stronger automation, these are the 2 serious systems for a serious DIYer who wants to automate his/her home, as opposed to enable cloud dependent voice control and such. Sure it would be great if Omni got a faster processor and a better programming software, but it does its functions well and reliably and I'll take that over "niceities" and "novelty" any day. Once you have that piece of mind working as a core of your automation, you can always expand your system and add a software controller like Homeseer or CQS to extend its features.

 

[LQtechvn]

I dont think have an other controller better than OP II, I have a lot OP II working over 10 years without any maintenance. I agree OP II need some upgrade to meet technology today. But I think OP II still best choice until today

 

[dytanaka]

Thanks everyone,  I think I might just have to stay with Leviton/Omni systems.  My Omni has work fine for the last 14 years and that says a lot.