Zwave Vs RTS to Zwave

Other Devices & Integrations Garage & Window Covering Control
1

Sanity Check, please correct anything I get wrong. I want to make sure I know what I am gaining or losing before I buy.
So, I am trying to buy motorize shades for my home (roman) 32x60? battery powered (can?t run outlets all windows) after reading thread after thread (Shady seems to be the man everywhere). I am trying to decided if I should buy

  1. Shades with RTS motors and ZRTSI unit to control with my Vera3 system. This seems to be the easiest way since you can almost buy shades anywhere with RST Motors installed already (homedepot , lowes , online ect?)
  2. Shades with no motor, then buy DC1-zw(dc shade controller), Somfy 9013742 Batt Wand and a dumb motor (don?t know which one yet) and install it all my self
  3. Buy Shades with zwave units and motors all installed

Option 3 seems to be the easiest but it?s hard to find anyone that dose this as a complete solution I suppose you might find online but it?s hard to get a feel for the fabric and quality of the shade online. Haven?t found anyone that does it all zwave(non-rts)

Option 2 seems Harder to do and pricier at the end of the day. I think you get the option of better control of your blinds ? ? ect? and Zwave talks back to your system telling it where it is. Not sure if that?s worth the extra time money and effort. Also let me know if there is more your getting this way

Option 1 seem to be the best as I can go check out the shades I need color style ect and get the Motors installed for me. Then buy the ZRTSI unit and link it to my Vera3 system. I wont get the ability to see where the shades are or stop them mid way but I can still use the RTS remote if I wanted to do that anyways.

That seem about right or are there better option?

2

sounds about right.

Personally I went with option 1, got Somfy shades that use RTS (available from many places as you said) then got the ZRTSI to bridge between Z-Wave and RTS. Works really reliable, and supports up to 16 channels. So I could add more RTS shades in the future!

For option 3, check out this post: http://forum.micasaverde.com/index.php/topic,10661.msg109801.html#msg109801 and http://forum.micasaverde.com/index.php/topic,4811.msg112181.html#msg112181

3

I saw someone connecting his RTS remote with a fibaro device and control his sunscreen this way

4

I would make the decision based on bi-directional control (Z-Wave embedded motors or Z-Wave motor controller, not ZRTSI), vs. wanting other remotes and accessories like RTS. You are corerect the main advantage of RTS is the ease in finding it and the remotes and accessories that go with it. But Somfy standard motors are even easier to find and cheaper and if you add a Z-Wave motor controller or even get the zwave embedded motors you will have feedback from the shade for position and confirmation of movement for when you aren’t there. They can also be used to move the shade in 1 % increments if you wanted to track the sun and bring the shades down as needed.

It is worth the expense to get an installer with knowledge, just make he knows what he is talking about by checking here first. There are a lot of tricks to the trade, but there are people who figure it out on their own too.

5

Thanks for the input guys.
-Shady, I get what your gaining and losing by going either zwave(bi-directional) or rts to ZRTSI(no feedback) That being said I just want to get a rough estimate on price diffrence

Senrio -4 Roman Shades from Bail 200 each

  1. Using RTS motors and ZRTSI
    Shades 200 each
    RTS motors installed 145
    batt pack 45
    ZRTSI Price: $325.00 /4 = $81 (since i have to buy this i am splitting it up between the 4 shades)

about 475 a shade

  1. Zwave motors or dumb motors with zwave Mod

    using Same Shades 200 each
    somfy Dumb Motors =?
    Zwave Mod =?
    Batt pack =?

I know you cant give me exact number but can you give me a rought estimate on the price of things i am missing or if there are other things i need. I want to see how much or if i will save by doing it all myself.

6

Sorry @Glebron, it is difficult to estimate price with all of the different window coverings and their motor options and any accessories.

Dumb motors are the cheapest motors in any comparison. With a radio (RTS) motor you are paying extra for the internal motor controller.

There are a lot of factors, but I would have to assume that using either embedded Z-Wave motors or a dumb motor with an added external Z-wave controller has to be cheaper than buying an RTS motor and needing an interface on top of that (ZRTSI or URTSI + USB cable). This is a general comparison assuming 50mm AC tubular motors. I think the comparison should carry through to smaller motors too.

If you are dependent on using batteries to run the shades, I think you will forced into using Somfy RTS since they have the Wirefree battery product line. Otherwise you’ll be cobbling together something yourself and the external Z-Wave motor controllers don’t “sleep” to save batteries like the RTS Battery motors do.

I hope this helps.