Z-wave maximum devices

[siegeld]

I'm considering Z-wave for a pretty large installation. I expect to need as many as 150 or so devices. From what I have read, the hard limit is something like 256. I would like to use Vizia RF+, but from the Leviton documentation, it appears that they only support 128 devices. I am wondering if this Vizia limit is in their switches - or it is some sort of limit in their controller. If I use Vizia with some other controller could I have more than the 128 devices?

I'd appreciate if someone could shed some light on the scalability limits of Z-wave.

Thanks!

 

[ASIHome]

IIRC the max number of devices in a Z-Wave network can be 232. Leviton puts a "virtual" limit of 128 devices and 7500 sq. feet (no commercial or out buildings) to ensure a functional and professional installation. You can go larger but they will only support up to the spec they have given.

 

[twilo123]

the largest i have personally done is 75 and you definitely need an rf tool at that point because it is a nightmare to troubleshoot broken links at that point. i know everything is 'mesh' but i have had just one module take out the whole network pretty much or at least reduce it's reliability and speed to nil. definitely read leviton's white paper on designing a network that large. basically take it like a circle and make waves going out like throwing a rock into water. the center modules tend to be key mesh points for the whole network and if you don't go in a circle to diversify this issue then you can run into what i ran into. also there is a 4 hop limitation for communication (unless something has changed recently) so keep that in mind when designing your network.