Hi everybody,
Anyone here is doing Vera and Home Automation for living? I’m looking for your experiences with Vera and end-user customers? I have started to offer it some time ago and some people had complained that the interface, device and scenes setup is a little geeky. Off course, no comments about have to code Luup for more advanced things.
I’m doing it full-time, but not for a living 
hahahaha 
I am currently installing the Intermatic Multi-wave controllers for pools and spas but I am waiting on MCV or some company to help manage the unit on the internet before I can start selling web-based controllers. Once that happens, our business opens up to installing additional zwave products but I cannot seem to get MVC to finish the task and Schlage just says they plan to work on it “sometime in the future”. Homeseer is still too pricey, but my current clients are happy with the Multi-wave controller as is. I do have one install that is using the Multi-wave remote to also control lights in the house and is happy with that as well.
Of course this is all just supplemental business and not full-time.
LOL, I just realize my mistake in the subject. Issues of a non-native English speaker :D. Hopefully you understand what I meant.
@CMRancho, are you doing it full-time for yourself or as a business?
@mcoulter, besides the lack of support of the Intermatic Multi-wave controller on MCV. Do you think Vera interface is “right” for your kind of customers?
mcardenas: there was nothing wrong with your English. It was my vain attempt at irony that was the problem.
My day job is running a software company, and that’s pretty easy. It’s my Vera hobby that requires my full-time attention.
Mcardenas:
I have had Vera in my home for about 1.5 years. If I was a customer who had this installed by an outside company and then had to rely on them to keep this thing running, I would have thrown the Vera in the pool 6 months ago and both the installer and I would have lost money! You cannot possibly charge enough to cover the required support with this unit.
Mcardenas:
If the Vera ever controls the Multiwave I would try it out on some test installs for free to see how it goes. I do not think it would be a problem for just controlling the multiwave, it is when you get a larger, more complex setup that I think you get into trouble.
hate to say it- but i too think your call backs will be insane. You’ll wind up losing money on most boxes your sell.
Getting paid to install vera at the current time is likely to ruin your reputation.
I own my own small business. My reputation is the most valuable asset that my business possesses. I would not trust it to MCV/MIOS/Vera.
Wow, that’s exactly what I was afraid you are going to say. It looks that all of us agree that MCV needs to improve their reliability and support.
@MCV: Can you share with us what are your plans to address this issues? Maybe, your roadmap, next features?
[quote=“mcardenas, post:10, topic:167262”]Wow, that’s exactly what I was afraid you are going to say. It looks that all of us agree that MCV needs to improve their reliability and support.
@MCV: Can you share with us what are your plans to address this issues? Maybe, your roadmap, next features?[/quote]
I don’t think that is their market. This is for home use. To get a system like this stable enough for commercial use you would have to greatly reduce the feature set, completely disable all scripting, and have some sort of major qualification requirements for plug-ins or disallow them. A system like this will never have the user base to justify the cost of infrastructure from MCV. Think about what it takes Apple to monitor their plug-ins. HOw many millions of phones do they sell?
MCV’s market is home users who occasionally want to dabble or folks who want to open it up and dig into the guts. I’ve introduced it to several friends who are technically savvy. I would never suggest it for my parent’s home.
If we want a feature rich and flexible product we are going to have to put up with some hiccups (OK maybe not as many as we are having now, but still).
Having said that here at my office we are installing vera’s to control lighting, HVAC, security cams and sensors and turn on some equipment that needs to warm up. It is perfectly stable enough for that and well worth the investment. Compared to other industrial quality stuff z-wave stuff is almost free and is much more versatile.
There are a bunch of us that want to see the light at the end of the tunnel and resell this, but I agree that you would be getting so many calls on “why this event didn’t happen” and “why this sensor is tripped and sending multiple emails” or better yet, “why did I stop getting email notifications”
It would be a full time job supporting this. Until there is stability, flawless scene and event triggering and notifications, and then making sure you fully support all Z-Wave devices. The problem is the direction MCV is headed - or should I say direction(s) - they are walking on way too many paths right now and fixing the platform for rock solid stability and interopability should be #1
My home is a testbed for this stuff, and as much as my girlfriend hates it, I can’t resell this unless I test and it works for me flawlessly.
As a new MCV owner I can say that if I did not “tinker” with Vera when I first received her, she would have been returned. Now that I am understanding more how she works and how she doesn’t work, I can say it is more of a hobbyist platform.
I install Televisions and audio/video equipment on the side. I first started my zwave hobby when the Harmony remote included a zwave transmitter. I used this an several installs including my own house. My opinion on MCV making it to the everyday user and/or a professional install job would be that it needs to remove some of it’s options. They could make two units, one as MCV is now and great for the hobbyist and one for residential use. The residential use product would not have nearly as many features and would most likely be limited to only supporting a handful of zwave devices to ensure a great end product. I feel the reason MCV has some problems is that there are so many different manufacturers for Zwave devices that they couldn’t possibly test them all. To me that is why it is “BETA” and we are the testers. If MCV only had to test a Trane thermostat, Kwikset deadbolt, ONE window/door sensor, ONE motion sensor/temperature sensor, and the full line of Vizia RF+ switches and dimmers they could probably have a flawless end product. But to have it work with EVERY zwave device (as I know that what the point of Zwave) seems impossible for smaller startup company to take on.
@MICHAELMN, I believe thats what the whole TrickTV thing is all about:
well you have some good points that a great many of us have already expressed to MCV. MCV is not willing at this point to single out a certain product manufactures.
The whole promise of Zwave is to be compatible and iteroperable. Zwave is failing in that point if you look at those words in a utopian world. It is my understanding is that Zwave does a better job of this than competing technologies, fine. I as well as others feel that is just not good enough. The zwave code is being changed all the time an product manufactures are contantly bending the rules of the code to add a feature or a command so another company will not work with it easily.
Schalge tried this with the link system. They tried to make the lock work only with their system and then only with a preffered authorized controller. This did not work as MCV got the lock to work with out the initial help of Schlage. Then schlage locked out use of non Schlage branded thermostats. I contacted the Legal dept and created a lot of flack theat resulted in threatening letters fromSchlage to take legal action if I did not cease and disist. Schlage within a week or so unlocked the thermostat feature to work with other Zwave thermostats.
As long as this goes on and the public puts up with this we will continue to have issues. Zwave is much better than it was. I think MCV is trying to get it right.
Z
Z
I agree that Zwave is a solid technology and that MCV can be great. I love being able to remotely check the status of my house.
Strangely
Thank you for that… now I need to decide if TrickTV is the better solution for me ???
As much as I love playing with Vera, my girlfriend would probably love for me to return Vera for the “dummy” version of Zwave control. IF this TrickTV is all its cracked up to be they should have called it “Tom”. The male version that doesn’t require constant attention to work.
[quote=“MICHAELMN, post:17, topic:167262”]Strangely
Thank you for that… now I need to decide if TrickTV is the better solution for me ???
As much as I love playing with Vera, my girlfriend would probably love for me to return Vera for the “dummy” version of Zwave control. IF this TrickTV is all its cracked up to be they should have called it “Tom”. The male version that doesn’t require constant attention to work.[/quote]
lol, another Vera widow, I’ve been in the dog house with my lady more than once over the time I spend with Vera (the other woman)
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