First post here! I’m currently setting up my VeraLite and four CA600 dimmers. I got everything configured and working but I am running into a range issue with the VeraLite.
I’ve currently got my VeraLite positioned underneath a dresser in the spare bedroom (see picture #1) and all four CA600’s are less than 8 feet from it. A little more background on the setup: a single-gang box controlling under-cabinet lights (see picture #2… switch is just past the faucet) and the other three dimmers are in a triple-gang box in the hallway (see pictures #1&2).
The problem: the single-gang works 100% of the time whereas the triple-gang box only works when I move the VeraLite box ON TOP of the dresser.
Any ideas? My initial thought is that the refrigerator is blocking the signal, but even with the VeraLite on top of the dresser the line-of-sight still includes the fridge. I would like to avoid moving the VeraLite to a more visible location for obvious reasons.
The dresser itself may be attenuating the signal. Wood contains water, which in its pure form is as good as sheet metal at blocking RF. That’s easy enough to test if you can move the dresser aside and put Vera on a shoebox to raise it to the same spot in space.
Or the fridge may not be so homogeneous as it seems in terms of its Faraday Cage appearance. Just raise the fridge on a shoebox and … Maybe not.
But seriously… You have a couple of options.
One is to add another Z-Wave device somewhere in the house. Pick a location that is somewhere “between” the switch and Vera, or “between” the working switch and the problematic one. It will act as a relay and the signal will get through. (I say “between” in quotes because I’m not talking Cartesian geometry but RF transparency. The best place may be where you took photo #2 from, because it is line of sight to both.) Almost any Z-Wave device will do: a plug-in switch module is probably cheapest. It just has to be there to participate in your Z-Wave mesh.
Two is to extend the antenna of the Vera. There is a thread somewhere on the forum. If you can’t find it let me know and I will try to locate it. It’s a bit DIY-y, but others have had success with it in situations more marginal than yours.
It just dawned on me that the boxes I installed the switches in are metal… it’s likely that, or the fridge, or a combination of both. I will have to think about where to relocate the VeraLite to.
First of all; thank you for the pictures which make the situation perfectly clear.
Your issue is all of the above. Your refrigerator is definitely blocking a LOT of the signal, but some is still ricocheting around enough to get there some of the time. Your metal gang boxes make the situation much the worse.
By far the easiest solution will be to use an intermediate node to route the signal around the fridge, though this will almost certainly require manual routing. (The partial signal will cause Vera’s automatic routing to prefer the less reliable route.)
Probably the most difficult, will be to replace the metal gang boxes with plastic ones(provided that’s legal in your area). The fridge will still be the major blocker, but enough of that ricocheting signal will get through, as is demonstrated when you put the Vera on the top of the dresser.
Relocate the Vera to another part of the room, or to another room completely, that has direct line of sight to the switches without a metal refrigerator in the way. Also, having the line of sight going to the front of the switch (where the antenna is) rather than behind the switch and through the metal gang box will make a huge difference.
Last night I purchased a Z-Wave outlet. There is an outlet right behind me where I took picture #1 above. It faces directly at the VeraLite and should have 100% clear line-of-sight (unless the bedroom door is closed but even then it should still permeate). I can then pass the signal along from that outlet to the switches across the hall (again, clear line-of-sight). I don’t need a controlled outlet in that location of the house, but I’m willing to put one there assuming it makes everything else work.
The external antenna will be my next step if the new node does not fix the problem. Moving the VeraLite is an option, but a lot of work to keep it hidden yet in the center of my home.
Got the outlet installed and configured in the hallway… the 1st attempt to control the lights was a success! I’ve now got a couple scenes set up and everything is working perfectly!
All the outlet boxes in my house are metal. The first device I added was on a lower level and about 40’ away from Vera but I didn’t even have to unhook Vera from power source to add.
One issue I did run into later on limited my Z-Wave range to about 12 feet. We have two baby monitors, one of them affects Z-wave but the other one doesn’t. None of my devices could communicate except those right next to Vera. May want to check out that article on what interferes with Vera.
Best Wishes!
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