Do Insteon keypads only work with Insteon devices?

[smarthome_newbie]

Hi! Will a z wave garage opener work with the keypad?  Also, my ceiling fan is not smart and has no light.  Is the Insteon ceiling fan controller my only option for controlling with Insteon keypad?  If yes, would the six button keypad work and I could just use three buttons to control the speed, low, medium and high?  Thanks for the help!

[oberkc]

Will a z wave garage opener work with the keypad?

5 minutes ago, smarthome_newbie said:

Will a z wave garage opener work with the keypad

Not directly.  Certain versions of the ISY controller will work with both, and bridge the communication between the two types of devices.z

[paulbates]

Hi and welcome to the UDI forums!

One of the advantages of the ISY is integrating different powerline controls like Insteon and Zwave. There are a couple of ways with dependencies:

1. You have version 4.x or 5.x of ISY firmware can write a simple ISY program to receive input from a keypad and operate a zwave garage door opener 
   • If your zwave opener also senses and reports up/down, you can write another simple ISY program to sense that and turn the keypad key light on off.
     • This handy if someone opens the door from the garage or an remote opener in the car
     • The keypad key being lit means the door is up.
   • ISY programs will likely add a second or 2 latency from press to the opener actually moving.
      
2. If you have version 5.x of ISY firmware, Insteon and zwave devices can be added to scenes. Its a relatively new feature and some "depends" on if the zwave opener can be added to a scene and behave the way you want it to

Item 1. will be a simple program and likely work well.

I've not worked with a fan controller, can't comment.

Paul

[oberkc]

8 minutes ago, smarthome_newbie said:

Is the Insteon ceiling fan controller my only option for controlling with Insteon keypad? 

May not be only, but it sure seems like the obvious solution.  Yes, you could use the six button keypad.  Yes, you could use only three buttons as you describe, except this would not provide means to control light (if needed).

[smarthome_newbie]

@paulbatesThanks for the response.  Seems like it may be easier to get a non smart garage opener with the insteon controller.  I'm building a new home and the builder automatically installs z wave garage openers so that's why I was asking.  

[larryllix]

15 hours ago, smarthome_newbie said:

Hi! Will a z wave garage opener work with the keypad?  Also, my ceiling fan is not smart and has no light.  Is the Insteon ceiling fan controller my only option for controlling with Insteon keypad?  If yes, would the six button keypad work and I could just use three buttons to control the speed, low, medium and high?  Thanks for the help!

You could use a single button to control three speeds on a fan as well as the light with some ingenuity and ISY programs.
Insteon devices can put out six codes from one Switchlinc.

A single click could rotate through off, low, med, high, while a double click could alternate the light on and off.

ISY has no limitations... only our minds.

 

[oberkc]

If your house already has a zwave fan, I would not replace it.  Certainly, programs should work well.  I have also had pretty good luck with scenes, should you care to try.

[mwester]

Z-wave garage door operators are head-and-shoulders above what Smarthome sells as a garage door kit.  I'll not explain further, we've discussed it in detail on other posts.

I use my z-wave garage door operator with an Insteon keypad - works very nicely.  Programs are the easiest (and in my experience, the best) way to interface.  In addition to the obvious logic (open and close door when the button is pushed, and make the button's light match the door's status), one can re-check the door's status a short while after closing (say 30 seconds - I've forgotten what I coded in) to detect the case where the door has reversed and re-opened.  That lights up a red button on my main keypad (alarm/fault indicator), so I know to go to the garage and move the wheelbarrow or tool or whatever it was that someone left too close to the door again. (sigh).

You'll want the z-wave module in your ISY -- that's the only extra bit you'll need.

[smarthome_newbie]

10 hours ago, mwester said:

Z-wave garage door operators are head-and-shoulders above what Smarthome sells as a garage door kit.  I'll not explain further, we've discussed it in detail on other posts.

I use my z-wave garage door operator with an Insteon keypad - works very nicely.  Programs are the easiest (and in my experience, the best) way to interface.  In addition to the obvious logic (open and close door when the button is pushed, and make the button's light match the door's status), one can re-check the door's status a short while after closing (say 30 seconds - I've forgotten what I coded in) to detect the case where the door has reversed and re-opened.  That lights up a red button on my main keypad (alarm/fault indicator), so I know to go to the garage and move the wheelbarrow or tool or whatever it was that someone left too close to the door again. (sigh).

You'll want the z-wave module in your ISY -- that's the only extra bit you'll need.

Thanks for the info.  Do you think z-wave is better than MyQ?

[lilyoyo1]

There are pros and cons to both. With zwave it's locally supported hardware vs needing to use myq's servers. You don't have to worry about the internet being down etc. On the other hand, you'll need to invest in enough zwave devices to ensure a strong mesh network for reliable communication. 

[mwester]

22 minutes ago, smarthome_newbie said:

Thanks for the info.  Do you think z-wave is better than MyQ?

Far, far superior!  MyQ is cloud-based, as far as I know.  And "cloud" is one of those words like "pre-owned" --it's a euphemism... in this case, for "somebody else's computer".  I'd never want a critical part of my home automation dependent on somebody else and my internet connection to them...  operating garage doors, and especially checking their status is something pretty important to me.

But, there is a MyQ plugin (polyglot node server) so if you're not concerned about cloud-based services and internet connections, it should work fine.

[smarthome_newbie]

9 minutes ago, mwester said:

Far, far superior!  MyQ is cloud-based, as far as I know.  And "cloud" is one of those words like "pre-owned" --it's a euphemism... in this case, for "somebody else's computer".  I'd never want a critical part of my home automation dependent on somebody else and my internet connection to them...  operating garage doors, and especially checking their status is something pretty important to me.

But, there is a MyQ plugin (polyglot node server) so if you're not concerned about cloud-based services and internet connections, it should work fine.

Do you have a recommendation for a good z-wave opener?  Will it matter if I don't have other z-wave devices to create a strong mesh network?

[dbuss]

I have been very happy with this z-wave controller. When we purchased our current residence it had a MyQ system. I wasn't using Polyglot at the time. So, I installed one of these controllers for programs I like to run in conjunction with my garage door opening and closing. The MyQ system has been ok for me. But, as @mwester stated, it does open the possibility for issues that you won't have with Z-wave.

[smarthome_newbie]

5 minutes ago, dbuss said:

I have been very happy with this z-wave controller. When we purchased our current residence it had a MyQ system. I wasn't using Polyglot at the time. So, I installed one of these controllers for programs I like to run in conjunction with my garage door opening and closing. The MyQ system has been ok for me. But, as @mwester stated, it does open the possibility for issues that you won't have with Z-wave.

Thanks! Is there an opener with z-wave built in?

[simplextech]

The link provided by @dbuss is to the GD00Z-4 you can find them marketed by Linear, GoControl, Nortek... same thing.  They Z-Wave Plus and work well.  I have one and I like it.  It does have a "warning" beeping and lights flashing for 5 seconds that it does before it opens and closes... just an FYI.

Because it is Z-Wave you will need to have a somewhat decent mesh for it to communicate with the ISY over any distance.  Unless your ISY is in your garage you will need some powered devices to act as repeaters for things to work.

[smarthome_newbie]

44 minutes ago, simplextech said:

The link provided by @dbuss is to the GD00Z-4 you can find them marketed by Linear, GoControl, Nortek... same thing.  They Z-Wave Plus and work well.  I have one and I like it.  It does have a "warning" beeping and lights flashing for 5 seconds that it does before it opens and closes... just an FYI.

Because it is Z-Wave you will need to have a somewhat decent mesh for it to communicate with the ISY over any distance.  Unless your ISY is in your garage you will need some powered devices to act as repeaters for things to work.

Gotcha. Is there no opener that also includes z-wave, or do I have to connect the GD00Z-4 to an existing dumb opener?

[simplextech]

9 minutes ago, smarthome_newbie said:

Gotcha. Is there no opener that also includes z-wave, or do I have to connect the GD00Z-4 to an existing dumb opener?

Now I'm understanding what you're asking.  None that I'm aware of.  You're best bet is to get a good "dumb" opener so you then have many options and choices of how you want to control it.  Today you're looking at Z-Wave (been there... I switched to using an Insteon IOLink for now...)  some day you may want to switch to ZigBee or to WiFi or BlueTooth or who knows what.... Myself I like the ability to easily switch this without a lot of cost or effort.

[smarthome_newbie]

12 minutes ago, simplextech said:

Now I'm understanding what you're asking.  None that I'm aware of.  You're best bet is to get a good "dumb" opener so you then have many options and choices of how you want to control it.  Today you're looking at Z-Wave (been there... I switched to using an Insteon IOLink for now...)  some day you may want to switch to ZigBee or to WiFi or BlueTooth or who knows what.... Myself I like the ability to easily switch this without a lot of cost or effort.

Gotcha.  Why are you switching from Z-Wave to Insteon IOLink?

[simplextech]

8 minutes ago, smarthome_newbie said:

Gotcha.  Why are you switching from Z-Wave to Insteon IOLink?

A few reasons.  One I work with many systems so I'm always changing things up

I still run Z-Wave and plenty of it within my home.  So there was no "technical" reason for the switch but more for an evaluation of the Insteon technlogy and experience using it within my own Home before advising others to use it.  There are pro's and con's with each.  I will say I have found Insteon to be superior than Z-Wave for lighting.  I run multiple controllers at Home and I've found that I prefer the ISY for Insteon and HomeSeer for Z-Wave and some plugins I have not yet ported to Polyglot.  I run a Hubitat hub for ZigBee as well plus I have several other systems that are left overs or development boxes.

[gzahar]

Now I'm understanding what you're asking.  None that I'm aware of.  You're best bet is to get a good "dumb" opener so you then have many options and choices of how you want to control it.  Today you're looking at Z-Wave (been there... I switched to using an Insteon IOLink for now...)  some day you may want to switch to ZigBee or to WiFi or BlueTooth or who knows what.... Myself I like the ability to easily switch this without a lot of cost or effort.

Or get a good ‘smart’ opener with MyQ built in and have even more options. Just FYI, if you are considering MyQ, I have found the add-on controller to be temperamental and requires frequent battery changes for the door sensor. MyQ built-in to the opener has worked great for me.


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