Hi,
Quick overview. I’m new to all this, but decided that the Vera Edge system was the right solution for a lighting control system instead of Rako etc. So far so good, I’ve managed to get it working pretty much as required and overall extremely happy with it all.
The problem.
The main focus on my system is with my bathroom. For obvious reasons switching the lights on and off needs to be relatively quick, but I’m finding the first switch on of the day (or prolonged period) can take up to 10-12 seconds to activate my lighting. After the initial switch on, they go on and off happily within less than a second of pressing the scene button. So the question is - where is the hold up? It feels to me that one of the devices is going into a sleep mode. Note, I have run a Network Heal, without any improvements) Any thoughts?
System Setup applicable to this problem
Vera Edge
Qubino Dimmer Module
MCO Home Scene Plate MH-S314-EU
(I also have Sonos successfully integrated, Fibaro RGBW controller, Fibaro 2 load relay and numerous TKBHome Plugs)
Further info:
Currently the MCO home scene plate is operating via Z-Wave Only. Ie press button 1 and it runs a scene dedicated to that button. I did try using a feed from the L1 terminal of the MCO plate into I1 of the Qubino and setting the parameter on the Qubino for a bi-stable switch (which the MCO Home plate is). This brings the lights on instantly, but then prevents the Vera controller getting a status update from the Qubino. It tries several times and then gives up. This isn’t an issue when the I1 input isn’t used.
Thanks!
This initial delay sounds like a signal quality/routing issue. The command is likely failing on the first attempt and then, after trying a different route it is successful and Vera uses that route, at least for awhile. You should add additional intermediate nodes to improve the routing mesh between Vera and the Qubino.
Your lack of status update when the switch is directly attached to Qubino is due to Qubino’s lack of Instant Status feature. The the status on Vera will not be updated until Vera polls the Qubino and if the network has communication issues, this might take a very long time. You should consider using a Fibaro, which supports Instant Status, with the switch directly attached to Fibaro.
I have never noticed that much delay, but then I am not using it for a purpose like yours. Could be routing issues. I guess you could cycle them early in the day to warm them up. (15 seconds on then off)
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Thanks for your replies. I’ve done some further testing based on your comments.
I don’t think it is a routing issue for these reasons.
I’ve done several tests between Vera and the Qubino at different times, all results come back with 100ms reply time with no dropout.
If I activate the Qubino directly on the vera app - it works pretty much straightaway.
If I use the MCO Home switch to run the scene that switches on the Qubino / Fibaro RGBW Controller and Qubino Flush Relay the delay applies to all devices and they all switch on together (more or less).
I think it’s something to do with the MCO Home Switch and the Vera - I just can’t work out what. I’ve checked the logs while operating the switch, but there doesn’t seem to be any particular issue flagging up. Certainly not obvious to me anyway. I can’t exactly check what time Vera is receiving the request as the Vera clock always seems to be out by over a minute (which is odd), so it’s difficult to verify exactly where the delay is.
I did wonder if I did a direct association with the MCO Home switch and the Qubino if that might resolve the problem with a work. - If that is even possible. In the meantime, I’m going to send Qubino a message, as I can’t understand why the module reports it’s status and energy usage fine normally, but as soon as you use the I1 input to switch it, it then decides it won’t reply to the network, which result in a no status update and no energy usage info.
Just as a further update:
I thought I would add a direct association between the Qubino dimmer and MCO Home Switch. It didn’t go well.
Set auto configure to On on the Qubino. Added in Group 1 in the association section, then selected my No.1 switch on my MCO home switch. ; All I get is N/A - the Qubino and other random devices in my network seem to lose all of their settings and renders it useless. Only fix was to do a restore from backup. In fairness I don’t know what I’m doing, but logically the steps seemed to make sense.; obviously not!
Update - I’ve fixed it. It’s now very snappy and almost instant.
I read someone elses post who was having a similar slow network problem. They deleted the Ergy app. So I did that too and ran the heal network utility. Sorted. I admittedly also moved the controller over by about 1 metre away from my wall. This of course may have caused and issue. Over the next few days I will move it back to its original position to check if there is a difference. - we are only talking a metre though and when I ran the heal test, every device had a good 5 stars.
I’ve also changed the z-wave settings to only wait 1 second before polling and to only wait for the network to be idle for 1 second, with polling set for every 30 seconds unless otherwise stated. I note my MCO home switch is set to be polled every 10 seconds.
Overall; gut feeling is that it was the Ergy app causing the delay - as I’ve done network heal before and have also reduced polling times before with no noticeable difference.
The main thing is it works and if anyone else experiences similar problems, it might be worth carrying out similar steps.