Hi all,
I’ve been in Vera/Z-Wave land for years. I’m not as invested as many of you, but I have my Sonos linked up, have about 15 switches & outlets, 3 Schlage locks, various door sensors and smart switches, carbon monoxide alarms, garage door opener, thermostats, and a dozen or so scenes. I guess I’d say I’m an advanced novice with Vera.
I just bought a new house; only after closing and moving in did I discover it has a Control4 system. I’m not sure which devices exist in the home yet (in taking apart a dimmer switch is how I discovered this), but I found the controller hidden away and plan on installing it. I’m trying to get in touch with the company that did the install after the house was built (by the previous owner) to see which devices all exist in my house.
A few questions, as I have zero Control4 knowledge:
–Do C4 devices all use ZigBee? I’m getting conflicting answers to this online
–I have a Vera Lite, but if I had a Vera Edge, would I be able to pair directly to the C4 (ZigBee?) devices, or do I need to do so via the C4 controller? In other words, take the C4 dimmers that are installed, can I simply pair them directly to my Vera controller?
–Should I simply look into converting to a C4 system altogether and ditching Vera?
I apologize for my ignorance on this issue, just figured I’d pick the brains of you all to support my steps in self-education!
For the record, these are the dimmers currently in the home, there are 3 of them: Control4 C4-FPD120 120V Wireless Forward Phase Dimmer - White for sale online | eBay
I am just now seeing that there is a fee of $99 to use Control4, each year! Ha! No way would I do that. I’m really hoping these switches can pair directly to the Vera controller. I only have a Vera Lite right now - which does not support ZigBee. I’m only going to invest in a new controller if these devices can directly pair with a Vera controller that supports ZigBee.
Bottom line question: Can I pair Control4 light switches directly to a Vera controller that has ZigBee functionality, without having a Control4 Controller hooked up?
There are different flavours of ZigBee so they may not Include, if they are ZigBee; however you’re not sure and I have no idea.
Personally, by the time you buy a new controller and spend countless hours trying to Include these, most probably failing in the process and then find that you need a bridge (maybe), you would have been better off just converting it all to Z-Wave in the first place.
At least with Vera & Z-Wave you know that you’re safe and which devices will work and which don’t.
Just my 2c and an honest opinion.
Haven’t had much success here. My dimmers are FPD120. I now own a VeraPlus. I didn’t buy this just to get these to pair, I was going to upgrade anyways, but I can’t express how much I’d love to pair these dimmers with the VeraPlus if possible. Anyone seen these switches and/or gotten a C4 device to pair directly to a VeraPlus?
http://media.datatail.com/docs/installation/389882_en.pdf
control4 devices will only work with a control4 controller. and if you are cringing at the 99 dollar a year use fee. you have no idea what control4 is all about… you can’t even add a device to the system without having to pay a “partner” to come and do it. and think about appliance repair person service fees… then triple them because it’s a specialty thing. the prices for the controllers is high but not so high that it is out of reach of the average joe. but once the install fee hits that is 3-5 times what the controller costs. and every time you want to make a change again you gotta open up that wallet.
better off buying new switches.
@fleetmack only control4 devices will connect to control4 controllers 100 per year for remote access and software to customize your system is cheap. I’ve got a vera and it’s weak on what you can actually do with it. It’s easy to judge a system from the outside but if you get a quality dealer you won’t have to call them much. Jump on c4forums and talk to the guys on there.
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