If everyone, including race-to-the-bottom-direct-to-consumers manufacturers like monoprice, can’t break the $30 threshold on wall switches, it could be that $30 is the cheapest the components can be made with the constraints of zwave and UL/ETL certification.
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It’s not even about the looks, we complain about the functionality. Almost every plugin with a custom device type does not show up in the mobile app whatsoever, so were stuck with using odd solutions to control plugins. Also the current app looks like its out of 2009, and Ezlo just ‘created’ a new one thats literally the exact same app as the Vera branded one.
Your talk about HomeKit, how are you managing this? This is not native Vera support you need a separate hub or Pi to make this work. So your regular Vera user is stuck with using the app.
Read the forums there are endless users having issues with z wave on Vera, issues that have been present for years. Devices falling offline, ghost devices being created, slow communication, lack of functionality the list goes on. The Vera is only good now for its 3rd party devs, and honestly these devs could probably do way better with other platforms.
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Yes, use ping/mtr and choose that in your servers.conf file.
Problem is, when reporting, it might move to another server - as set in the database.
You can also create a plugin or a lua startup routine that changes the server upon reporting.
For now there is no better way as we do not have servers in every possible area.
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ZWave certification is expensive and pretty difficult in some cases.
Zigbee is different, but has many implementations and some devices that might work with Vera could have problems on other platforms, and the other way around.
You can also go for a DIY route, but given the power required I would not do that.
Power devices really have other certifications besides ZWave, you can’t just run 3000W without being certified for it.
OTOH there are switches on rf, wifi… but IIRC not for more than 5KW.
Best route here (if you really require 50A AND automation) is to use a device that hand also handle contactors, like the ones from Qubino. These are certified up to 65A IIRC. Indeed it’s more than $40.
Automation should cover your costs in time.
We are are long long way from that. We are where the LED tv business was when 45 inch LED tvs were $5k
The moment you pair a zwave switch and a contactor together you have a device that is not UL listed. If there’s a fire, your homeowners insurance is going to not pay out if it’s caused by the setup.
The only high-cap Zwave device I’ve found out there that’s UL listed is the Jasco product that pairs a
GE zwave switch with a 40 amp contactor in a single box.
I recently tried Home Assistant, and I am not going back. After I tested it, I immediately bought an i5 NUC (I have a VPN server on it as well)
I am a very old Vera user, from Vera lite to the latest Vera Secure, going through Edge and Plus.
Vera is now doing 2 things:
- Zwave controller
- Running simply automations where instant reaction matters like a simple turn on a light when sensor trip
On Home assistant you can do ANYTHING, and there is an integration for anything. Things like:
- When I leave office (zone and proximity integration), send a message to my wife (notification integration) with the time it takes me to get home (Waze integration for traffic) and announce it via Alexa (Alexa integration).
- When I work from home (zone integration) and it is a workday (workday integration that take into consideration holidays as well, not just weekends) and the sun is in front of my window (sun integration) lower the blind (Vera wave integration)
Now can you do these with a Vera? With a bit of work YES
How? Of course Plugins!!!
Plugins and Community is the biggest reason why Vera has been successful. PLEG and Reactor are far superior even compared to the Home Assistant automation logic (I wish there was a Reactor there).
You guys are right, I feel Management is poor I am sure they never used products like HA.
No Web interface? I do not want to use my phone for some big automation, I need to see on a big screen states, multiple windows with multiple condition open, test, refine…
My phone can only be a nice remote control.
I have bought 4 different Vera (for 2 homes) over the years, I have a lot of experience and I feel I can express my honest opinion.
I hear things like “let’s have a subscription” for a product that does not exist. Vera was the best for tech enthusiast and the community attracted many, now the target is “the inexperienced person” that want to turn a light on with a motion sensor.
My vacation home still has a Vera Secure, but in my main home I moved to HA, and I am not going back
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This is breaking my heart. Even though I worked in the computer world all my life, I never saw an environment where a company would have their customers do their development for them. I saw this company greatly disrespect their free employees during the UI7 fiasco and now again when Vera wants to go in a new direction and figure out how to cut loose the customer base that they thought they purchased with Vera. I would have had to leave Vera long ago if PLEG had not survived, and now I am in the same boat with all of rig papa’s work as well as your sound writings. I hope that where ever I turn that I find quality individuals like you. I can’t even imagine the hours that you contribute nor the frustration of having a company just expect you to play their games. I wanted to take a second and offer my heartfelt thank you for all that you have done to help me learn and apply new skills to a rewarding hobby. I hope you have a long and happy life.
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Not to be a fanboi or do some ego-stroke here, but if @rigpapa goes, I go. I’ve been toying with HA and may start to dig in harder.
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I fully agree. what vera would be without the plugins. basic functions like the reactor, datamine2 should be able to do in the native app. nor the icons can be changed. we can’t even use the weather information, we need to use a plugin like darksky, which will also end. you cannot recommend a system that is dependent on plugins because vera will not be responsible for that. an example: two years ago, i decided to buy the system because it was possible to integrate the air conditioning (smartthings). I, with lack of awareness, did not want solutions like HA. I wanted everything as simple and practical as vera was with the plugin. however the plugin no longer works. and now? now vera says it has nothing to do with it. It’s ashamed!
Assuming you’re seen this thread?
It’s not instilling confidence amongst the forum community when top level 3rd party Devs are stating they have given up and haven’t received all the support and feedback from the internal Ezlo development teams that they required.
I also assume as a Vera end user yourself that you are fully aware that it’s the 3rd party Devs that kept Vera alive all these years for many of us to remain with the Vera platform.
The 3rd party dev numbers have been much reduced in recent years and it’s only going down hill and worse it seems.
What are Ezlo’s plans to support and assist 3rd party Devs as a top priority with their requests for information and changes that need to be made to the APIs?
Thank you.
I have seen it and i am saddened that Patrick feels that way. He has been part of the skype group with plugin developers and our own developers where there is a constant communication between our developers and plugin developers. Patrick stopped responding to us in that skype group since May. I too pinged him in skype in May and he stopped responding to me as well in May. We have been very eager to work with Patrick.
I think he was expecting things to be delivered at a certain speed in his mind, it is not an issue of support as he has direct communication channel to our developers and our developers do take part and respond in those skype chat groups.
Well there’s always two sides to a story.
This situation however is making me and others very nervous.
Without a full logic engine like Reactor, I won’t be moving forward with the Ezlo platform.
I know you have stated you plan to have your own, but I’m sure you can appreciate we’ve never seen one from the previous Vera Control Ltd company and we had to rely on the older 3rd party PLEG logic engine and our hopes are not so high.
Patrick has also developed many other plugins besides Reactor.
With dwelling numbers of 3rd party Devs it seems things might need to be moving faster in development for their requests.
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Yes and this is our side of the story.
Yes we will have our own version, web based as well as in app.
I can’t speak about the previous owners and what they did.
I really was hoping things would work out here and I foresee a bleak future for Ezlo with out strong 3rd party developers that are obviously in their prime zone to even conceptualise plugins like reactor etc…
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strong 3rd party developers is an important aspect of the ecosystem we are building.
In that regard, will ezlo be offering a free Developer SDK similar to the one Android devs can install from Google? I ask this because, as you know, Vera devs have historically been forced either to roll their own or “discover” obscure programming environments.
The only step-by-step tutorial I ever witnessed, showing how to create a Vera plug-in from scratch, ironically came also from @rigpapa (the top-tier dev whom everybody here knows and feels indebted toward) only recently.
Or will things remain as piecemeal and DIY as they currently are?
Vera vs Ezlo
lets not conflate them please.
they are two different companies and two different architectures and two different plugin ecosystems.When you talk about “historically” it has nothing to do with the Ezlo team now…(we are the new owners and have our own developers etc…)
For ezlo, we already have a group chat with plugin developers where we provide help in how to write plugins.
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I think he was talking about 3rd party devs
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