prairiecode

Interestingly, I've viewed Home Assistant as the "single pane of glass". Also it seems to support Lutron: https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/lutron_caseta/ https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/homeworks/ https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/lutron/ Of course, the ISY is also supported by HA, in addition to Z-Wave, Insteon, etc.

This is key news for me -- thank you! Can you tell me a little bit more about your 3-way setups? What kinds of switches? Did you just use the same models for the "remotes" as Insteon does, or did you use different remote (control-only, no load) models?

I would not be opposed to using Zigbee, particularly if it solves the 3-way switch problem. Wifi sure seems like a terribly poor fit for HA though, and the lack of a standard for "what protocol do you use over wifi" is even worse. I do not want 10 different apps all hooked in to some cloud service that requires Internet and Google. I really like that my ISY setup makes the house feel like a regular house. I don't have to use a phone to control it; I have switches and panels that are much more convenient.

Did you have any Insteon 3-way switches, and if so, how did you deal with those in Z-Wave? AFAICT, every Z-Wave device communicates with exactly one controller, so if you have a 3-way in Z-Wave, it will communicate with its partner but NOT the ISY or something. Is that accurate? Somewhat different to Insteon where devices could be part of an arbitrary number of scenes.

I did search before posting. I didn't turn up useful results, particularly for my desire to have the switches able to link directly (in a virtual 3-way), but then the search here is sub-optimal. I'd be happy if you have any links to share!

Good points. HA as an ISY frontend could be perfect. As far as "how do you know" - we had a storm in the area last week. We have power flickering. After that, I had to replace the power supply for my ISY-994i and the PLM stopped communicating. I moved the PLM to a different room (away from my utility room where I also have my network switches, etc.) and that seems to have helped, but I strongly suspect I've got a problem with it that may or may not be the standard caps.

So I'm trying to figure this out too. My PLM is on its last legs, but I have tons of devices in my house - virtually every switch, love the keypads, etc. What to replace with though? Z-Wave? Zigbee? Something else? Things I like about the Insteon: - It works over the power lines, so my shed is integrated into the system also (though I could conceivably place a second Z-Wave dongle or something there) - The switches pair with each other for scenes, so dimming/etc doesn't require the controller (not sure if Z-Wave/Zigbee can do this). I've used this a lot for 3-way type setups. - I have a number of Insteon keypads that I really like. I may stick with the ISY, may go with Home Assistant (I'm a Linux programmer anyhow, and I've used HA to do a simple setup at a remote site). I wouldn't limit my search to ISY, but ISY compatibility is nice-ish. I have some Z-Wave already (locks and thermostats mainly) but I wouldn't want that to be a limiting factor. Ideas?

I wound up rebooting the ISY, which appears to have cleared this up for now. I have read on occasion others reporting programs not running until the ISY is rebooted; frankly I'm rather concerned about this... Incidentally the state of things has changed since reboot on all these programs.

Hi Xathros, Good suggestions. 1) I know it's not in a folder with conditions, since no folder in its tree has conditions. I double-checked this just now. 2) All of my programs use += 1 to modify the state variable, rather than = 1, so this should avoid that problem. 3) It's not disabled. Here, in fact, is another program that has the same issue: If Status '2nd Floor / Master Bedroom / Zone2 Thermostat' is Fan - Off Then Wait 2 hours $Thrm_Zone2_Fan_Long_Idle += 1 Else - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action') And here's what it looks like in the Programs - Details view: And here's what it looks like in the Programs - Summary view: Since this is directly polling a Z-Wave thermostat, and the system is showing the Fan is Off, and the program is True, why is the program still idle? (Yes, the program is Enabled!)

Hi folks, I've been using my ISY-994i (v4.2.18) for awhile, and am having some issues with some simple programs not working. For instance: If $Thrm_ZoneK_Has_Stopped_AwayAsleep_Today is not 0 Then Wait 6 hours $Thrm_ZoneK_Has_Stopped_AwayAsleep_Today = 0 Else - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action') Now, $Thrm_ZoneK_Has_Stopped_AwayAsleep_Today is a state variable. I can see it set to nonzero values by other programs, and this program still doesn't run. In the Program Summary tab, it shows the program state is true but the last run time is empty, and in the Program Details tab, it has a "half green / half white" icon, and the program is enabled, but it doesn't run. I finally had to add, to a different program, this: "Run Program 'ZoneK Reset Today AwayAsleep' (Then Path)" which finally causes this program to run. What am I missing here? I also have another program that controlls a Z-Wave appliance relay switch. It is simply this: If Status '2nd Floor / Master Bedroom / Curling Iron Power Switch' is On Then Wait 45 minutes Set '2nd Floor / Master Bedroom / Curling Iron Power Switch' Off Else - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action') The idea is to switch off the curling iron if it was forgotten on. The log shows the Z-Wave communication is working fine. However, this program only even bothers to start running about 20% of the time. I also tried it with the condition "is switched on" instead of "is on", but that didn't help, either. (Either option is acceptable to me in this scenario.) I've tried rebooting, but that hasn't helped. Any ideas?

One thing I will say - it is a repeater, but its radio/antenna is not nearly as good as the Aeon switch that I bought specifically to use as a repeater (it's cheaper than Aeon's repeater-only device, somehow!) The range is probably 1/3 to 1/2 of that of the Aeon switch. Perhaps that's because it can only draw so much current from the 24VAC line? I don't know. Anyhow, I found that I still needed the Aeon switches around. They let my motion detectors work reliably instead of intermittently, despite the fact that it's about twice as far away as the nearest thermostat!

I don't have any secure devices, no door locks, so I can't check directly. I can give two somewhat contradictory hints: one is that the Trane thermostats seem to sometimes be co-branded by Schlage. The other is that there is no mention at all of its repeater capabilities in the manual, let alone secure repeater capabilities.

Yes, in case I wasn't clear, I was responding to the Mobilinc question.

I see options to change: System mode: Heat/Cool/Auto Fan: Auto/On And the temperature setpoint. It also reads out the current temperature in the room.

I'm just a day or two into it, but so far quite happy with this stat. Really my only gripe is that I cannot remotely command it to call for heat (I can change the setpoints, but I can't say "turn on the furnace now, even if your setpoints say you shouldn't need it.") Ah well, there are probably good reasons for that anyhow.

Thought I'd post an update - I wound up with a Trane TZEMT400BB3NX N N SL from Amazon ($102). It is one of several Trane models that is basically the RCS TZ45 with a Trane sticker on the front. It is working flawlessly. Quite pleased with this purchase! Thanks everyone for your advice.

I've been trying to figure out, but striking out so far: how exactly do you integrate the T5900 into the ISY? It doesn't seem to support either Z-Wave or Insteaon?

Which Venstars have you used, stusviews?

And just to be clear - the zone system may be a red herring here. I'm not looking to replace it, and it is not hard to find thermostats that work with it -- basically any modern thermostat works fine. Just looking for advice on what thermostats work well with the ISY.

Nope, it's not Bryant Evolution. It's an older one that has no outside communication features. It's a Bryant ZONEBB3ZAC01 which uses completely standard 5-wire thermostats everywhere, so that's nice at least.

Hi folks, I am pretty happy with my current Insteon and Z-Wave Setup with the ISY-994i Pro ZW (see post 1 and post 2). My next step, and the one that's really big for me, is thermostats to join the system. I have found a number of threads on this topic, which I will link below, but for various reasons I still lack a good conclusion. First, two bits of background. Back in 2006, during renovation of my old house, I installed a 3-zone system with a Bryant controller for this specific system. There is a single furnace and AC, but dampers controlled by this controller. There are, therefore, three 5-wire standard thermostats (including the 24VAC and common wire) throughout the house: one in my 1st-floor kitchen covering the west side of my house, one in my 1st-floor living room covering the rest of the 1st floor, and one in my 2nd-floor master bedroom covering the bedrooms. These are all run-of-the-mill "programmable" digital thermostats (4 setpoints per day, 7 days of setpoints.) The system leaves my house quite comfortable -- it has both eliminated hot/cold spots and reduced my power bill. So background bit #2 is I really want to integrate a thermostat with my lights, motion sensors, and Keypadlincs on my ISY to make it smart about "nobody's home, so let's lower the temp in all three zones" sort of thing. (I plan to have an "AWAY" button by my front door.) I typically set my thermostats a couple of degrees cooler than comfort in winter and hotter than comfort in summer, and then adjust it as needed. This works well, but it is a hassle to reset three thermostats when leaving the house, etc. It is also a bear to reprogram these things, and I have a schedule that varies on alternating weeks. Not only that, but a Nest would not work well because it may be unable to detect presence in my other two bedrooms, or a geofence may do the wrong thing because it assumes I'm home, but I'm in another part of the house and don't need heat to be sent to the upstairs. (Or how would it tell a difference between when my kids are home and not, as they don't have phones?) So I think that what I really want is a basic thermostat with the ability to control it over Insteon or Z-Wave. I am a programmer by trade and quite comfortable with writing programs to control things. So here's what I've found so far: A thread from July 2014 talking about a basic Trane thermostat that seems to integrate well with the ISY over Z-Wave. Many, many, many threads saying the Insteon-brand thermostats are to be avoided. So noted. A thread from September 2014 talking about thermostats. Some people suggested the Venstar T5900, but there was also much discussion about temperature instability due to poor placement of its temperature sensors too near heat-generating circuitry. I also do not really want some bright touchscreen device. I'd prefer no touchscreen, but if it has to be, I'd want it understated and refined like the EcoBee3. Two threads (thread 1, thread 2) from 2013 discussing options, but they both appear to be before Z-Wave was working well on the ISY, and therefore too dated to be useful. An Engadget review of another Trane model that seems to support Z-Wave, but also wants a $10/mo subscription (bah! to that, I say) EcoBee3 looks interesting, but is probably overkill for what I need, and apparently does not integrate well with the ISY. Since I have to buy three of these, I would prefer something in the $100-$150 price range, but I'm willing to pay more for tangible benefits. What have people had good luck with? Am I barking up the right tree with my thought processes so far? Thanks!

Thanks to both of you for your tips. @LeeG, this makes sense; the bit I missed was that the "is switched" would trigger the If clause each time. I suppose, though, that we must also have a second program, set to run at startup, that jumps into this program's Then clause at each startup? (To guard against the program never being triggered if the leak detector is broken with the ISY boots?)

Hi folks, I am considering adding some water leak detectors to my ISY-994i system, using either Insteon or Z-Wave. I notice on the Insteon page for their leak detectors, it mentions that they send an update every 24 hours so an automation controller can detect if they're still working. Made me wonder: hmm, how would I detect this on the 994i? I notice there is a "is responding" or "is not responding" condition that is undocumented in the User Guide. However, http://forum.universal-devices.com/topic/7869-responding/page-2 suggests that this test is not useful for this sort of purpose. Not only that, but it seems to have no "timeout" so I don't know what to make of it. How exactly would one go about detecting that a leak detector is or is not working on the 994i? I have a similar problem with motion detectors. I had one on Z-Wave that had a marginal RF link, apparently. Sometimes it would drop off the system when the last state it had indicated was "on" (motion), and thus the ISY thought there was motion for hours. In this case, the ISY did somehow recognize that it wasn't responding (how? Does it have some timeout where it expects to hear from it every x minutes?) based on the icons/alerts in the admin console. But based on the other thread, that "responding" test may not have helped there either. Ideas? Thanks!