Veraplus and brand new install

Community Playground General Discussions
1

Hi,

I am a first timer here and just received my veraplus today. I plan on installing all of my devices one at a time to not only learn it all but to also diagnose each component as I add them to make sure they install correctly.

My question is in what order should I install these devices? I want to start with the easiest because even though I am an IT guy, I am new to HA and new to vera.

Any tricks or tips would be greatly appreciated.

Here is my equipment:

  1. Schlage Connect Touchscreen Deadbolt (BE469) - I want to setup advance autolocking and locking so I guess pleg is the way to go?
  2. Chamberlain MyQ Universal Garage Door Opener
  3. GE Z-Wave #12724 Smart Dimmer (In-Wall) - hopefully compatible with Poeland G9 LED Dimmable Bulbs - 5W 110V
  4. Qty. 2 - Aeotec Z-Wave Range Extender/Repeater (DSD37-ZWUS)
  5. GE Link Hub + 2 Link A19 Light Bulbs
  6. Hikvision NVR (DS-7608NI-E2/8P) and 2 cameras (DS-2CD2022WD-I)
  7. EnvisaLink EVL-4 - Will be purchasing this to connect remotely to my Honeywell/Ademco VISTA20P security system. All my doors and windows already have the honeywell wired sensors and is connected via 4g to the central station (I still want to continue with the paid monitoring though).
    8 ) trane xl850 “communicating” thermostat - i think its proprietary (nexia) even though it has zwave. Trane told me I cannot use for any other gateways and no one is the forums has tried it yet.
2

I wouldn’t think it would matter but I did mine in this order and all went fine.

DSC alarm through EnvisaLink
Thermostat
Deadbolt
Micro SES
Dimmer
Appliance module.
Wireless door contact.

I have a very small system.

Jim

3

You’re building a wireless mesh network. Therefore, it is always best to start at the middle, closest to Vera, and then build out from the center. This is especially important when your network will cover a large area.

You should add the mains powered Z-Wave devices first. These are the active routing nodes in the network. Battery operated devices do not participate in routing, but will benefit if there is an established mesh for them to use.

Locks are often the most problematic to get working properly. While it is not a requirement, I would recommend that locks be left until after the Z-Wave network has been built out and is functioning correctly.

The rules are similar, though not always the same for Zigbee devices. Start at the middle and build out.

In your case id would install:
Range extenders
Dimmer
Lock

Wink hub then bulbs. - Zigbee (Why use the hub? I thought that Vera Plus could handle bulbs directly.)

Trane xl850, Chaimberlain, cameras, envisalink are all TCP/IP either WiFi or wired. It doesn’t really matter when you install these. They do not create a mesh network.

Note also that the Trane is not Z-Wave. It is TCP/IP (WiFi or Ethernet) and connects to Nexia’s cloud servers. If it was Z-Wave, you could connect it to Vera without Nexia’s involvement.

4

Thanks guys. Great advice.

The veraplus install went very smoothly. I now have the repeaters, a19 bulbs without the hub, imperihome app and the myq garage door all working well.

Regarding the trane XL 850, can I connect that to the Wi-Fi network at the thermostat and then install some sort of plug-in to manage it through vera? If so, what are the steps?

Thanks again!

Steve

5

[quote=“futurescape, post:4, topic:191209”]Regarding the trane XL 850, can I connect that to the Wi-Fi network at the thermostat[/quote]Yes. This is how it works.

and then install some sort of plug-in to manage it through vera?
Maybe, but I don't think so. First, I'm not aware of any such plugin. If one existed, it would have to login to the Nexia servers and diddle the thermostat there. The thermostat's firmware makes it report to Nexia. There's no way to change it so that it will report elsewhere.

It may be possible to decode the thermostat’s netwark transmissions and decipher some way to command it directly, without going through Nexia servers. It may also be possible to upload “rooted” firmware, but I’ve never looked at this. It should be non-trivial, unless they(Nexia) were stupid.

6

Hey there… I am planning on connecting VeraPlus to my Honeywell 20p vista also. Have you do this already? Any tips tricks or links to step by step that you found useful? Any info is greatly appreciated!

7

Yeah, I bought the envisalink EVL4 and installed it (easy) into my Vista 15P panel. I was able to configure the software end of the envisalink for their monitoring, but I ran into a few snags which has held up this project.

  1. After installing the envisalink board, the alarm company called me and said that they lost communication to my alarm system and they were getting 100s of alerts. So I immediately took it off.

  2. I started to configure the panel settings but its confusing as to what I need. See here: https://www.eyez-on.com/EZMAIN/evl3honeywell.php

So I am waiting for my alarm company technician to stop by my house and help me with it. Once thats up and running, I will install the plugin and start with the vera config.

Steve

8

It is most likely that your EVL4 may not have downloaded the Honeywell firmware, and is trying to communicate with the 15P using the DSC firmware (which is what the default shipping firmware). When you first connect the EVL4 to the panel, it has the DSC firmware and that causes the panel to have ECP errors…

Once you have gone to the Eyez-On site and registered the device to your account (and correctly specified that it is used with a Honeywell panel), then the EVL4 will download the Honeywell firmware… Until this is completed (which can sometimes take 20 minutes or more - you will know that it is done when the keypad LED goes solid), the EVL4 will cause communications error with any existing cellular/GSM/LTE communicators.

When installing the EVL4, you should first call the alarm company and inform them that you need to place the account into test mode for several hours… Then connect the EVL4, allow it to update its firmware, then configure the options on the EVL4 and THEN change the configuration on the panel (if needed)…

There is a new configuration document available specifically for the EVL4… The lastest version is available HERE

Basically, you need to use “shadowing”… This allows the EVL4 to work with an existing cellular/GSM/LTE communicator… and should work (at least with basic functionality) with the existing panel configuration…

Hopefully, you noted the previous settings of the 15P, and can restore them… Otherwise, you will need to have the alarm company tech restore the config… (Be careful here… Make sure the tech does not change the installer code or activate the installer code lockout…)

9

Cybrmage, you are the bomb.

I’m surprised they don’t include that info in their documentation.

As for configuring the options on the panel, what do i need besides shadowing?

Also, how do I backup or figure out my existing config?

Sorry, I’m a noob with security systems.

Thanks
Steve

10

The shadowing is configured on the EVL4, not on the panel.

Since you panel is already configured for a LRR (the cellular/GSM/LTE module), you may not need to change the configuration on the panel.

Unless you have the Compass downloader software and a compatible modem and phone line emulation cable, the only way to back up or discover your existing programming is to enter programming mode and have the panel read out the configuration - and write it down…

Note that using programming mode (usually) requires a custom alpha keypad.