Not new user to ISY, but new user to Z-Wave

[asbril]

9 hours ago, lilyoyo1 said:

I'm open to any technology that allows me to accomplish what I'm looking for. No system is perfect. This is true from x10 to Savant and Crestron. What it boils down to is whether the the pros outweigh the cons and if you can live with the bad parts. 

As I stated previously, I want to like zwave. I think it's great technology. However, until they work out the fractured nature of it, I can't use it as the backbone of my system. The cons outweigh the pros. They have come a long way so I'm not writing them off. In 5 to 7 years when I upgrade my house, I will take a look at where things are and decide then. Hopefully most devices and how to work will be universal by then

lilyoyo1 You have obviously invested a lot of time and money in a well working Insteon setup. It works for you and gives you great satisfaction. You are used to, and feel comfortable, with Insteon's pros and cons. Why would anyone want to convince you that your choice of Insteon is not a good one ? 

But that is not the issue here. This is a new user of Zwave, wanting to make the best of it. Why dissuade him rather then pointing out to him which brands and devices have given people the best experiences ? 

Objectively, unless Smart Home dramatically changes direction,  Zwave has a clearer path forward than Insteon. The Zwave Plus devices have better uniformity than the previous generation and a HA enthusiast who starts from zero ought to give serious consideration to Zwave. 

[lilyoyo1]

1 hour ago, asbril said:

lilyoyo1 You have obviously invested a lot of time and money in a well working Insteon setup. It works for you and gives you great satisfaction. You are used to, and feel comfortable, with Insteon's pros and cons. Why would anyone want to convince you that your choice of Insteon is not a good one ? 

But that is not the issue here. This is a new user of Zwave, wanting to make the best of it. Why dissuade him rather then pointing out to him which brands and devices have given people the best experiences ? 

Objectively, unless Smart Home dramatically changes direction,  Zwave has a clearer path forward than Insteon. The Zwave Plus devices have better uniformity than the previous generation and a HA enthusiast who starts from zero ought to give serious consideration to Zwave. 

I'm not trying to dissuade him from anything. Whether it's insteon, zwave, or some other unit, I try to make sure anyone knows exactly what they are getting into. Yes there are known brands that users have success with including myself. However, within those same brands (except aeotec from what I've seen) there are still gotchas that you must watch out for. Warning someone of that is not the same as dissuading them. In fact, I also stated that they've gotten much better than in the past and hopped it would be uniform by the time I upgraded my house in 5-7 years.

Me commenting negatively about zwave isn't me hating zwave. As I've mentioned numerous times, I want to like zwave to use it myself. However the cons of how it works prevents me from investing heavily into it for the backbone of any system. With that said, I comment because I want to see them do better. Acting as if it's perfect only leads to complacency. 

As much as I have invested into insteon, I have just as much invested into zwave. I still have about 30 zwave devices in my current home as well as having installed numerous zwave devices in other locations. I try not to comment on anything unless I have a lot of experience with it.

Despite the numerous devices Ive purchased over the years (while things have improved) I still have to watch what I purchase and play around with it to see how it's parameters and such work. I just feel a person shouldn't have to do that. Especially a newbie who is in the early stages and thinks it'll be simple.