Homeseer Hometroller Pro vs. Vera

Community Playground General Discussions
#1

Maybe this is a stupid question, but…

Is a home gateway/controller like the Homeseer Hometroller basically an expensive Vera on steriods? What I mean is if I’m looking for a DIY z-wave home controller (like Vera), but I want the “Rolls Royce” version (and am willing to pay the premium), do I get everything Vera does for me today, with no compromises, and preferably more reliability? Or are there things that Vera can do that even something as expensive as the Homeseer Hometroller cannot? Is Vera more flexible? Or is the Homeseer what Vera aspires to be someday?

I’m asking, not because I want to get rid of my Vera, but because I use my Vera in my vacation home, and while it’s basically getting the job done, I sometimes feel like I just don’t know what I’m in for every time I login to Findvera.com. I’ve had device issues, dongle lockup issues, Findvera not accessing my unit, etc. All that stuff has been mostly manageable, except that I’ve come to rely on Vera to manage my vacation home remotely, and I just don’t have huge confidence in reliability. I guess I’m getting tired of wondering whether or not I’ll be able to turn on the A/C before my next visit - half the time it works, the other half of the time something seems to go wrong.

So, the thought was to go ahead and setup Vera in my main home - make it a little hobby/science project where I can at least have direct access to it most of the time - and put something rock solid in the vacation home so I don’t have to think about it anymore.

Would I be achieving my goal by spending a boatload of money on a Homeseer Hometroller? Or would I be wasting my money? Interested in opinions.

Thanks.

#2

Slackner,

My advice to you would be to spend some time on their forum. You will see the real issues from existing users.
http://board.homeseer.com/forumdisplay.php?f=876

On the Vera side, I think we all need to band together and get our issues FIXED. I’m gonna say this at every opportunity I get. I’ll quote myself. “Vera has the potential to be an awesome piece of equipment” However, the software/FW/Mios whatever you want to call it NEEDS to be fixed.

JOD.

#3

Maybe they can answer that question on Domoticaforum. http://www.domoticaforum.eu properly the right forum is Z-Wave Forum - Home Automation Domotica Forum Europe, Bwired Forum

There are a lot of (European) Homeseer users on that forum, some of them own a Vera too.

Homeseer is hard to set up and expensive. But I think it will do more than Vera. If you want to use non-Z-Wave devices, I am sure it will do more.

#4

I’ve been looking at their web site and Homeseer doesn’t seem that expensive to me. The software is only $219.95. That seems like a real bargain for a product that is so much more mature than Vera and has much broader functionality.

#5

I used to have Homeseer a couple years ago and I don’t think you can access Homeseer remotely with the PC being shut off. The PC had to be always on if I’m not mistaken. I switched to Vera for this particular reason.

#6

Yes, if you don’t have a computer that is always on like I do, you’d need a box (similar to a Vera) for the software to run on. That definitely makes it a bigger investment.

#7

AFAIK, the Hometroller is actually a Windows PC with Homeseer. I haven’t used it myself, but was told you could get a netbook and buy the software version of HomeSeer and basically get the same thing as a Hometroller.

#8

and you get a monitor
Good point… but it is still windows

#9

I know it has been awhile since anyone has posted on here, but here are some info for you guys…

First off any Vera to date even using a Vera 1, 2, 3 or Lite combined together doesn’t match to the power of a HomeSeer Hometroller Pro. I used my Vera 2 as a stepping stone & does what it’s intened to do, but if you start going over 15 devices you’re going to have issues. I had almost 50 devices & kept on having ghosting issues (lights that would turn on whenever they wanted to throughout the house) “not very verde!”

Since we are now a dealer for HomeSeer I had to make the switch, but wanted to do so since the glitches were driving me NUTS! I must say, I’m VERY impressed with HomeSeer. Yes, it may seem expensive, but it is not for the average user & you get what you pay for. I’m running a Hometroller Pro at work & running HSPRO on my old notebook at home & it is solid as a rock, both using Z-Trollers.

I can run events now that was just a dream with Vera. Again, Vera is nice for what it is, but very glitchy.

Here’s my config
Notebook Windows XP Pro
HomeSeer Pro Software
Z-Troller Z-Wave Controller
X10 CM15A Conrtoller
2 Rain8Net Controllers 16 Zones
DSC Alarm 20 Zones
Weather Intergration
Remote, iPhone & Android Intergration
Z-Wave Thermostats
Coming Soon: Voice Command Intergration throughout the house.

Oh, as for running on Windows. The HomeTrollers OS is locked down to prevent mishaps. Any issues is a simple restore of the data & I’m back running. One of the reasons the Hometrollers high price is that the DOMs (disk on memory) are industrial grade VERY expensive…

Hope this clears it up some.

#10

Before using the Vera 3 and Vera Lite, I was using a Vera 2 and I have not experienced any annoying issues like lights turning on when they are not suppose to, etc. Only minor issues that were due to minor bugs in the Vera UI firmware e.g. thermostat fan would not show the correct status and so forth. I have many many z-wave devices and plugins on my system. I did have to use a usb drive for logging and added a swap file. Now on Vera 3 and Vera lite, there is no need for the swap and usb logging. They have been running pretty rock solid.

One thing I do not like about HomeSeer is that in order to develop you need to pay them. There is also no real api’s to have 3rd party remote software. I do not like that kind of tie down.

  • Garrett
#11

For sure you can do more with Homeseer. The question is do you need that. My main system is Homeseer. Homeseer is a good system when you can maintain that. Windows updates weekly, restart, blue screens.
I Hope Homeseer 3 will bring more. The current version is sooooo year 2000 and X10.

#12

the new version will also have Linux ::slight_smile:

I have to admit I like Homeseer. There are so many things you can do there that I would want to try.
Customizable touchscreen controls with Proper plugins for Sonos, Pool controller, irrigation not to mention some nice event triggering features.
Zseer is pretty nice for zwave optimization also…

#13

Linux would be good, if it means my NAS or Mac Mini can run it. That’s what I like about Vera, it’s a nice self contained box that can sit in the closet without pretty much never needing to be looked after. The NAS and Mac are the same (they live in the same closet)

#14

Some info on the update…

This FAQ will summarize the changes in HS3 that affect developers of Plugins, scripts, web pages, etc.

Q: Will the plugin/scripting API change?
A: Yes, full details of the changes are not yet available, but a survey was sent out to get feedback from developers. Based on the results, we will finalize the API.

Q: Are there architecture changes in HS3 that affect the API?
A: Yes, the following are some of the major changes:

  • Device status is gone, only device value is available. Value pairs are used to represent device status such as ON=1, Off=0, etc.
  • Device control is done use the CAPI api. This API was introduced in HS2, but has been expanded. Old functions like ExecX10 have been removed.
  • Plugins are now EXE’s, rather than DLL’s. This will help increase reliability and also make it easier to debug. Also, plugins can run on other PC’s on the network or over the Internet.

Q: Is Linux supported?
A: Yes, Linux is supported using MONO. This allows .NET code to be run. Run your plugin under MOMA to see if it is using an incompatible API’s. Redirecting…

Q: Is VBScript supported?
A: Right now, No. Only vb.net, and later C# scripting is supported. VBScript is not supported on Linux.

Q: Is ASP support for web pages?
A: No, not classic ASP. This requires the VBScript engine which is not supported on Linux.

Q: Is ASP.NET supported?
A: Yes. This is fully supported on both Windows and Linux.

Q: Is there an alternate method to create web pages?
A: Yes. We have created classes that allow you to create robust HTML5 compatible web pages with full jquery support. We provide API’s to a rich set of screen elements. No javascript or jquery experience is required.

Q: Will my scripts have to change?
A: If they are written in VBScript, then yes, they need to be converted to vb.net. If they are written in VB.NET then they will just need some minor modifications as the scripting API has changed.

Q: Will my vb.net scripts run under Linux?
A: Yes.

Q: I want my plugin and scripts to run under Linux, but I know nothing about Linux and I don’t know how to install it. How can I test my code?
A: We will provide a virtual machine file that you can simply download and run. This will provide a complete test environment for you.

#15

I used Homeseer for many years… before they changed their cost/pay model and it became WAY to expensive to do anything beyond the basics.

If you want all sorts of trouble and a buggy code from year 2000 that has a UI to match… go for it. Yes, you can do “more” with Homeseer than most apps but to do that will cost you both time and lots of money. Homeseer has a great history of poor coding and building add-ons to about 20% of what they need to be then abandoning them. Go read the forum on HStouch - the 100% overpriced total POS they puked out and people wasted tons of time on. As for it running on Linux… HA! It is still the same crappy hacked together VB code from Homeseer v1, ported to .NET for v2, and hacked again to run on MONO. That is NOT a formula for stability or supportability. I’m sure HS3 will be more of the same. They have a cash cow some people are dumb enough to keep supporting/paying for, so they have no incentive to fix their software.

If you want a PC based HA app, you’d be much better off looking into Elve which has much better developers and a much better code base. If you want simple and work, look into mControl - just don’t expect any support, it is what it is… and it works - I used it for a year.

I moved to Vera so I could run a dedicated, small device for ZWave and Insteon with some basic events and tie it into XBMC. So far, if I can get the Insteon to work, I’m happy with it. For the $, I have not seen anything that can compare to the Vera. If you want something similar, but has a better history of product quality and community/developer support, look into the ISY products. You will pay more for it but it might be worth it depending on your needs.

#16

Interesting perspective.

I’d like to hear more about what these companys are and are not doing and how it compares to our product.

#17

I keep hearing you can do more with Homeseer, but what are those things? I only run Z-Wave & a USB-UIRT, (hardware wise), and I’ve been pretty impressed with the LUUP stuff to custom design your scenarios when the GUI doesn’t have an option.

#18

I had a much bigger house and went crazy with home automation. homeseer was a great platform, basically if you want to “tinker” and play with home automation as a hobby homeseer is the best its compatible with almost everything and has a great scripting language and members forum.

however when i got my smaller place i got busy with other projects and just wanted my home automation to work and be easy to set up. after looking at Verizon’s new offering of home control, puking at it and sending it back ( Way too locked down ) I did a lot of research and decided on the Vera lite 3 , it was easy to set up and had support for x10 and insteon devices which I already have some, plus the zwave door locks which i wanted. the energy monitoring was great as well. simple and i can control the basics of my home that I need without giving up weekends programming.

I think these are aimed at 2 different markets. you just have to decide which one you want

#19

Well put.

#20

I can’t compare the two but I am trying to minimize things. Much of the storage I need is going to the “cloud” so I wanted to be rid of desktop computers and servers. Went to a laptop this year and maybe a tablet next. Vera just seemed like a good fit for me at this point in time.
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