I have been reading the forum for a few weeks now as I was considering purchasing a Vera… but with all the problems I’m reading about - I’m wondering if it’s the right decision.
Initially I want it to control a few lights (Leviton Vizia RF+) in which one will be triggered by a driveway sensor (I need logic like; if it’s after dark, before morning (needs to adjust by time of year) and driveway sensor is triggered, turn on outdoor lights for 20 mins then turn them off). The driveway sensor has dry contracts that I thought I would interface to a HRDS1 contacts.
Last time I did this (at another location) I used X-10 and an Ocelot (which worked fine except X-10 being triggered by lightning a few times). I suspect Zwave will be a lot more reliable???
My questions are;
Is there a stable release out there that will do these simple tasks?
If so - what features are missing in it that the newer releases have?
If there are no stable releases - what alternative systems would you recommend (something that I don’t need a PC running 7 X 24 - in other words - self contained)
I have looked at Control4 but they seem to be Zigbee based (though they just announced interoperability with Zwave - what ever that means)
Any other input, feedback etc would be appreciated
I have similar goals in mind for my system.I now have about 40 devices including two thermostats. I also want to be able to use sensors and a camera. paragraph. I first bought the home remote Pro gateway. Here are my problems with that system: tech-support is the worst I’ve experienced. First, they don’t answer the phone, you get voicemail, and they don’t return phone calls. You can and devices two ways. Get yourself about 100 feet of ethernet cable and carry the gateway around the house to your devices. or get a remote to carry around to add the devices.but I had trouble getting my remote and a gateway to talk to each other at times. finally, there is no forum like the one for Vera which has some active contributors and a lot of information.
I am starting to use Vera, which allows me to add devices with the dongle. The main problem is that I lose the connection between my router and Vera.
When I bought my first switches, I used a GE handheld remote (in fact I bought 4 of them.) They have been great, but I can’t control them with the Internet, or my phone or use motion detectors with him, and I can only control one thermostat.
I would be interested in hearing other forum members describe their experiences and what works and doesn’t it
lescombs, note that most the posts from users with problems are from people beta testing our new Luup release. When you buy Vera it comes with our stable release, version 616, and you have to explicitly upgrade to the Luup version
The complaining you see around the forums are from users like myself who are testing the cutting edge beta firmwares and asking more from vera than what is currently offered as Stable.
If you stick with verified firmware with verified working devices, you will have a great time with vera.
Is there a stable release out there that will do these simple tasks?
If so - what features are missing in it that the newer releases have?
If there are no stable releases - what alternative systems would you recommend (something that I don’t need a PC running 7 X 24 - in other words - self contained)[/quote]
Rob,
to answer your questions:
Yes, 616. After painfully testing some of the beta stuff I’m happy with that release. Stable, reliable but limited functions.
That really depends on your needs. Switching lights on and off, using sensors is no rocket science. Using IP cameras or battery operated controllers is another story as well as having exotic devices (from MCV’s point of view) like window coverings (rolladen).
There are some on the market. You will see differences more in price and design but in features. More important and for me being the decisive factor is MCV’s responsiveness, the way how they interact with their customers. One on one if you really have a problem and in this forum.
I am running 0.900 LUUP version for 3 weeks now and it has been stable during that time. This is a Beta version of the LUUP software, which I needed to upgrade to so that I could replace the defective ZWave dongle I had.
My network currently is pretty simple, I have 5 Switches, 6 Appliances modules, 4 Light Modules and an HSM100 3 in 1 sensor. In addition I have 2 handheld controllers (an HA07 and HA09) and my scenes are pretty basic for the most part, but everything has run as expected for 3 weeks.
Regarding purchase, there are no real good alternatives at this price point, so if you are looking for an economical solution that can be remotely accessed and centrally control ZWave devices I would say Vera is probably your best option. I would caveat this recommendation to say that Vera is still in “Early Adopter” phase and be prepared to work through issues as they arise, as many of us using Vera have experienced.
I’d say got for it. If you have a DIY bone in your body and don’t mind working through some of the quirks, Vera is the way to go and nothing is going to touch it at this price point with these features. Other products also don’t have free remote access with free email notifications, etc.
We did a detailed review of the Vera system (using older Non-LUUP) firmware and it was very stable. The only issue we really had was the Schlage lock being too far from Vera after initial pairing, and the 3-in-1 sensor needed a special flag set to re-arm itself after 5 min instead of the default 20. Otherwise this has been an automation dream come true.
I urge you to read our review and we really see some amazing benefits by automating with Vera. As an X-10 user, Vera has me PSYCHED to ditch X10 once and for all in the near future. I am however looking forward to bridging some Z-wave to X10 with the new firmware and will report on that in the next update at MyHomeServer.com