UBE vs Zwave

[Timoh]

Hi folks,
 
If you guys were retrofitting for a new installation, which way would you go?  Zwave wall dimmers or UBE? 
 
There are probably not more than 20-25 switches I would ever swap out, so wifi contention shouldn't be an issue on UBE.  I don't forsee every getting rid of Zwave completely due to some planned multi-sensors, door locks, etc.
 
Zwave is proven.  UBE is so new, it's not out yet.  Price points look about the same.  You could get cheaper zwave dimmers, but I wouldn't.
 
Curious on thoughts
Tim
 
PS:  Don't even mention Insteon, been there,  done that, have the T-shirt, 1st generation, never going back.

 

[neillt]

Well, lots of home control systems support Z-Wave today, and the devices themselves are sold by a wide variety of manufacturers.  Nothing supports Ube, and it's only one startup company at the moment.
 
To be honest, I would think it's more a choice between Z-Wave, UPB, and Zigbee.

 

[tmbrown97]

Ube sounds interesting and I've heard of a couple early adopters trying it out; as neillt stated though, so far integration support is all but non-existent, but it does seem like it may be the way of the future.  If you don't mind having to do everything through its own app then I'd say go for it.
 
That said, without the integration, you loose some of the cool factors of automation - like All Lights On during a fire, Flashing Lights during an Alarm, Automatically lighting up certain things based on certain types of alarms, automatically turning off all lights as your exit timer counts down, etc. 
 
Hard to say what's the better bet... but if the IP control interests you, go for it!  While Z-Wave may be more popular, it seems a lot more problematic from what I can read...  I personally don't have the patience to retrain devices... but then again, z-wave does have appliance modules for things like xmas lights, and UBE doesn't have that yet either...
 
Lots of factors to consider.

 

[pete_c]

 I would think it's more a choice between Z-Wave, UPB, and Zigbee.
 

 
And Insteon. 
 
Personally I do not think X-10 is dead yet; but that is me. 
 
Its mostly about wireless, powerline and hybrid.  Each is battling it out. 
 
I use UPB, Z-Wave, Insteon, X-10 and soon Zigbee in my home automation sandbox.
 
Personally my whole thing is why use wireless to control HV when the medium (powerline) is already there to use as a transport?
 
Then again its nice to be able to control something wirelessly with life long batteries.

 

[Timoh]

Thanks guys.   I am somewhere in the middle of a broken Housebot and moving to OpenHAB.  The community behind openHAB has really taken off in the past several months, so my plan was to write a OpenHAB plugin for UBE.  But to you guys point, that is still an unknown as how long it will take me + the other openHABers + the unknown of the API at this stage.  (Although I did see the Almond+ will be supporting UBE).
 
+ Point taken re technology wise....  I still have this visions of an UBE scene activating or someone pressing a switch which results in lots of UBE transmissions...  Then my hockey game wifi stream breaks up just at the point of a goal. 
 
+ I totally forgot about Adora which is another touch switch which will do wifi, zwave or zigbee (if they hit their funding goal).  Too bad they aren't gangable.
 
I think I'll stick with zwave for now.
 
Thanks guys.  Always good to bounce ideas off people.
 
Tim

 

[ChrisCicc]

I find it interesting you'll never go back to INSTEON because of your first generation experiences, even though it's on Gen3 now and rock solid, but you're willing to go with a Kickstarter who hasn't even launched their Gen1 yet? Stick with Z-Wave, or gasp, INSTEON. 

 

[pete_c]

I've not seen too much stuff on the Securifi forum relating to the UBE.  That said mostly chit chat is Z-Wave and Zigbee. 
 
While the Almond + works with both; I see the battle lines being drawn relating to whom and what is better. 
 
Securifi did post pictures of their going to be provided for testing Zigbee devices on a Kickstarter update. 

 

[tmbrown97]

Now that you mention being able to write a plugin for OpenHAB I find myself wanting to see you go with UBE!  If you can manage the plugin aspect, then I bet you'd be happier with UBE than you would be with Z-Wave.  If you were using a different platform and/or couldn't develop then I'd recommend one of the more mainstream ones, but if you're so inclined to be able to support/contribute to the community, then I think it'd be a good addition!
 
Down the road I could see some interesting combinations in place that allow wifi switches and bulbs to work together in a smarter fashion too... only time will tell - but I just don't see Z-Wave going any further than X10 ever did - it was great for tinkerers but never was a good choice for a high end installation - UBE could truly turn into something rock solid as wifi and IP networks continue to evolve and become more ubiquitous.

 

[neillt]

 UBE could truly turn into something rock solid as wifi and IP networks continue to evolve and become more ubiquitous.

 
I agree.  IP is really where everything will end up.  I have a feeling whenever HAI comes out with an Omni3 or whatever they call it, it will really be IP centric.  You get an abstraction from the physical connectivity so you don't care if it's wired or wireless, you get guaranteed connections if you use TCP, and if people use open standards like XML and JSON it makes it very easy to be inter-operable.

 

[Timoh]

Thanks for the feed back guys...
I think I'll wait for the UBE to grow up a bit.   As for plugin to OpenHAB, my history is littered with a trail of 3/4 finished software projects, so I really shouldn't even be mentioning about writing a plugin.  Moreso I should put the UBE guys onto OpenHAB and get them to write their own darn plugin!
 
I will continue on with zwave for my short term plans.  And now I'm curious about Insteon too.  Maybe it's time to revisit.
 
Tim