Where to go from here?

[vbPhil]

I'm using the ISY994i with insteon devices and HomeSeer 2 and I see where the latest firmware, 4.2.18 supports Z-Wave. I've thought about expanding into the Z-Wave world but where do I go from here? Do you suppose I can control Insteon and Z-Wave through the ISY994i all while using Homeseer software as my front end user interface?

[vbPhil]

So it looks like i'm answering my own question.

 

I nedd to order the Z-Wave Assembly Kit, 50005003 for $99.00

Perhaps the Antenna Assembly, 50005004 as well for $14.00

 

I see in the Wiki there's instructions for configuring Z-Wave.

http://wiki.universal-devices.com/index.php?title=ISY_Z-Wave_GenII_-_Instructions

 

I guess I just need to determine how that will work with Homeseer 2. Perhaps I should abandon Homeseer but Im so used to the interface. I started out with it back in the X10 days maybe at least 20+ years ago.

[oberkc]

You will also need to download the zwave software. I think it is a dollar.

 

I vaguely recall an ISY interface for homeseer, but I have no first hand knowledge of this. I would be surprised if it was sufficient to preclude the need to access the ISY interface completely, so you will likely be needing to use both if you want tk keep using homeseer.

[416to305]

I don't think it's possible, as I remember looking before and not seeing any plugins for it.  The ISY is far superior to HomeSeer though so if you really want Z-Wave it's probably best to get the Z-Wave module for the ISY.  I was using the Vera with the ISY plugin which worked fine, but it just "feels" better being all on one, no plugins required or trying to make things work together that weren't designed to.  So far been super happy with the ISY and Z-wave.  I have Insteon motion sensors trigger Z-Wave lights, and they turn on just as fast as if it was part of an Insteon scene vs a program doing it.

 

I'd get the antenna just because it's only $14, but when I first got my kit I didn't even have it enabled, and my 3 story home worked totally fine with all my Z-Wave devices which are spread out among each floor.  Then I realized and switched the settings to use the external antenna, but the built in one is still pretty good, but again, $14 so might as well get it.  The built in antenna on the Vera is probably similar to the Z-Wave built in one, so with the external antenna I'm pretty sure the range must be significantly better.

 

A few things I've learned with Z-Wave from using it and Insteon as well.  The main one is don't let the RF only thing scare you or let you think it's not as good as Insteon being dual band.  There's virtually no delay in turning devices on, it's just as fast as Insteon and just as reliable.  Adding devices is super easy, and the Z-Wave devices all include their own options usually, like instead of just being a motion sensor, it can do temperature, light level etc.  I just tend to prefer Insteon because mentally I like the feeling in my head that all devices are designed for one another etc, but I have a mix of both.  When buying new devices though I'd most likely still stick to Insteon, as the Insteon wall switches are much much nicer than the Z-Wave Linear switches I have.  The GE or other brand Z-Wave switches are much more expensive than Insteon.  So mostly going to use it for thermostat and door locks.

[johnnyt]

I was a HS2-only user before I got an ISY about 4 years ago but I use only insteon and a few X10 devices at this point. I still have HS2 and use Bob's ISY Plug-in, which has been reliable and well maintained. Bob even fixed problems I had not that long ago despite HS2 being EOL. The problems seemed to have been because I have lots of ISY programs (>750), variables (>200), nodes (>160 nodes off 76 unique devices) and several always on "users" (GUI, DSCLink, ISYLogger, Autelis, and HS, of course). 

 

I moved everything I could to ISY but still use HS for the weather forecast (from Weather Underground) and math calculations that require decimals and exponents (heat index, equivalent humidity, etc.). I had a thermostat connected to HS but it's comms interface died. I'm hoping the ISY weather module issues get fixed (data provider problems really) and am really looking forward to anticipated improvements to variables, math capabilities, and 2-way network resource capabilities in the 5.x firmware. Performance problems, which caused the HS plug-in problems I had and others in the past, are keeping me from adding much more to it but I still greatly prefer the programming capabilities and overall reliability of ISY compared to HS. I can't help but think if I could get rid of HS, I would lighten the load enough that I wouldn't experience performance problems. I can't really test that theory until the weather forecast and math are there in ISY because it's a big part of my HVAC automation.

 

Anyway, you can certainly use both  - I did a lot of bouncing between them in the early days - but if I was a betting man I would bet once you've gotten comfortable with ISY, you'll start favoring it over HS. And getting comfortable with ISY is comparatively easy thanks to this forum and UDI support (which is second to none.)

 

[Guest Digger]

I was a HS2-only user before I got an ISY about 4 years ago but I use only insteon and a few X10 devices at this point. I still have HS2 and use Bob's ISY Plug-in, which has been reliable and well maintained. Bob even fixed problems I had not that long ago despite HS2 being EOL. The problems seemed to have been because I have lots of ISY programs (>750), variables (>200), nodes (>160 nodes off 76 unique devices) and several always on "users" (GUI, DSCLink, ISYLogger, Autelis, and HS, of course).

 

I moved everything I could to ISY but still use HS for the weather forecast (from Weather Underground) and math calculations that require decimals and exponents (heat index, equivalent humidity, etc.). I had a thermostat connected to HS but it's comms interface died. I'm hoping the ISY weather module issues get fixed (data provider problems really) and am really looking forward to anticipated improvements to variables, math capabilities, and 2-way network resource capabilities in the 5.x firmware. Performance problems, which caused the HS plug-in problems I had and others in the past, are keeping me from adding much more to it but I still greatly prefer the programming capabilities and overall reliability of ISY compared to HS. I can't help but think if I could get rid of HS, I would lighten the load enough that I wouldn't experience performance problems. I can't really test that theory until the weather forecast and math are there in ISY because it's a big part of my HVAC automation.

 

Anyway, you can certainly use both - I did a lot of bouncing between them in the early days - but if I was a betting man I would bet once you've gotten comfortable with ISY, you'll start favoring it over HS. And getting comfortable with ISY is comparatively easy thanks to this forum and UDI support (which is second to none.)

Because of the HS3 reliability issues I dropped HS and went to the ISY. Its does 90% of what HS was doing for me at a fraction of the cost. But I restarted HS to update the time on my ELK. So a few thousand dollars to update the clock on my alarm is what became of HS. But HS has potential it just cant seem to stabilize. I hope it does someday.

 

The ISY is very reliable and much better support (not that I even needed it).

 

 

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[416to305]

I actually really liked HS when I was using the trial of it, but I think it's far too expensive.  $250 for just a piece of software is pretty expensive as is, then if you want to customize your mobile device interface it's $200 for that software (admittedly pretty cool though).  Then if you want to buy their hardware which is just the software running on a Linux box, it was something like $450+ and you still need the PLM or antenna for Z-Wave if using either of them.

 

I did like though how HS was programmed, as it had sort of common scenarios I remember where the ISY is more general.  Things like "This or that switch has changed from a different state to being on" etc.  I was close to buying it a few times but I found the Insteon plugin not that great as it would crash a few times on me, and I decided no more devices where something is just a plug in.  I want something where it is native, which is ISY is.  I'd even consider Z-Wave native on the ISY since there's no plugin or anything but the module fully adds native Z-Wave support to it, which is actually very good.  

 

Insteon just needs better dock lock and thermostats as otherwise I don't think Z-Wave is all that necessary.  If I had to go back and do it again I'd just stick with Insteon as the Vera marketing is very good in terms of making it look more amazing than it is.  I only have Z-Wave for my ISY since I have like 7 Z-Wave devices and figured not worth trying to sell them.

[paulbates]

I started with HS1 and migrated to HS2. I tried HS3 and just couldn't get in to it and lost patience with it getting stabilized. I had custom scripting for my ezfloras and wasn't ready for a rewrite. I used Mark Sandler's 3rd party Insteon plugin, which is excellent and has the best functional Insteon diagnostic features I've found. It does cost extra money, but Mark faithfully manages his plugin and actively supports it. 

 

To follow what Digger and Johnny t said, it was easier for me to convert to convert from HS2 to ISY than from HS2 to HS3. It's a better solution for me.

 

Paul

[vbPhil]

Thanks. Lots of good comments.

I've already purchased HS3 but haven't converted over from HS2 as the HS3 ISY Insteon plugin is still in development. At this point I'm not sure I will go to HS3 if i can come up with a better web front end to the ISY directly. I've just discovered the HAD UI for ISY. How long has that been around? It's much better than the UDAjax UI. I see where the HAD UI is customizable although the link to more information about it is stilll not posted in the Wiki. They mention that you can modify the page that's stored in the ISY (had.htm) or host a page on your own web server. I can do all this as part of my skill set is web development (MS Visual Studio; ASP.NET, HTML and the like). If I go in this direction I'd have a easier time with incorporating Z-Wave as I wouldn't have to depend on the performance of a HS ISY plugin. It would be nice to simplify and sunset HomeSeer and use ISY exclusively. I'm using the ekISY on my iPhone and that works pretty good around the house.

[Jimbo.Automates]

vbphil, There is a separate forum category for HAD. I have not tried to customize it yet, still on my to-do list but the author is very helpful here http://forum.universal-devices.com/topic/12419-home-automation-dashboard-402-beta/

 

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