Having mostly insteon devices and now facing a lack of stock, what has been your luck with any specific make and model of Z-Wave devices? I am finding more frustration than anything no matter how many repeaters are installed, etc. Before I go "all in" on something I would like to have some confidence behind it. I didn't worry so much about insteon as it just worked more time than not. Their embedded modules were perfect as I use reproduction push button switches in my home which was built in 1919. I have a few Z-Wave devices on my desk right now which I removed with "much passion" today. They are inches from the trash. I am really looking forward to your feedback here.  

 

Most of the Aeotec Zwave devices have been tested and are compatible. See link below.

    Compatibility of Aeotec products with Z-Wave and Zigbee gateways

The Zooz Zwave devices are also popular with forum members.

Most of the device manufacturers are experiencing chip shortages so some of the devices may not be currently available.

The Aeotec Zwave repeater 7  is both a repeater and signal amplifier. The ISY Zwave dongle has a limited range so it's best to install a repeater within about 15 feet of the ISY. Being that you're working with RF signals it's best to install the repeater in a location that is both free from obstructions and as high up as possible.

If you don't have the 500 series dongle installed in your ISY it would be to your advantage to put one in as it has an increased range and overall better performance over the previous 300 series dongle.

 

 

 

Thank you for the insight!

I am fully Zwave, as I switched from Insteon in 2014.  The main reason was issues with the PLM. I have learned from others in this forum that most likely Insteon has  (had ?) advantages over Zwave, but I just did not like the PLM and the dependence  on a sole manufacturer.  Learning from everything I am reading in this forum, you should consider going from Insteon to Lutron, with some Zwave as Lutron has  a limited variety of devcies.

With my +/- 80 Zwave devices I have an excellent mesh network and I do not use repeaters which, in my mind, make no sense. They cost the same as a plug-in device and all non-battery Zwave devices repeat signals. The plug-in devices serve double purpose, repeat and can be used for a lamp etc.

My preferred Zwave brands are GE/Jasco, Homeseer and Zooz.  Whenever possible buy Zwave series 700 devices or at the very least Zwave Plus-Series 500.

Edited February 14, 20223 yr by asbril

I plan to move Z-wave lighting devices off a Ring alarm hub to ISY on Polisy. I will keep my Ring keypads and sensors associated with the Ring Hub because I have a monitored alarm system.

Is there a preferred sequence to add new Z-wave devices (closest to Polisy and then further away)? I use a Zooz USB dongle on the Polisy.

Will the Z-wave repeater that comes with the Ring Hub still repeat Z-wave signals for ISY even if it stays associated with the Ring Hub?

14 minutes ago, bhihifi said:

(closest to Polisy and then further away

I would definitely use that method. In theory, with Zwave 500 and 700, the mesh network automatically selects the best route for each device, but I suggest to do  'Update Neighbors'  for newly added devices. That should help when adding devices further away from the dongle.

Sometimes,  however,  the inclusion does not work because tne new device is too far from the dongle. I built a  "portable"  switchbox with a plug and I temporarily connect the new switch to that box close to the dongle for inclusion. Then I move the switch to its intended location. 

Over time the mesh network will (should) automatically select the best route for all devices.

@asbril My switches were installed prior to Policy. Not keen to remove them.

The portable box is an excellent idea; I used one when starting fresh in a new location. 

Is Update Neighbors the same as Synchronize Z-wave devices? Edit: Found the Wiki entry and these are separate.

Do you know if the repeater for Ring will also repeat for ISY without associating it to the ISY?

 

Edited February 27, 20223 yr by bhihifi

59 minutes ago, bhihifi said:

Is Update Neighbors the same as Synchronize Z-wave devices? Edit: Found the Wiki entry and these are separate.

No Update Neighbors is the same as what used to be Heal Network in previous version of ISY, excelt that it is now individual for each Zwave device. Synchronize is synchronizing the Administratve Console with the Zwave dongle.

1 hour ago, bhihifi said:

Do you know if the repeater for Ring will also repeat for ISY without associating it to the ISY?

I know nothing about Ring......other than it exists  

Edited February 27, 20223 yr by asbril

BTW a lesson learned.  This morning I performed a Synch All and some 5 old Zwave devices showed up that I had removed some time ago, either because I forgot to exclude or because the switches just failed and could not be excluded.

They remained in my network, possibly creating interference. I now removed these as remove failed node, something I should have done long ago.

2 hours ago, bhihifi said:

I plan to move Z-wave lighting devices off a Ring alarm hub to ISY on Polisy. I will keep my Ring keypads and sensors associated with the Ring Hub because I have a monitored alarm system.

Is there a preferred sequence to add new Z-wave devices (closest to Polisy and then further away)? I use a Zooz USB dongle on the Polisy.

Will the Z-wave repeater that comes with the Ring Hub still repeat Z-wave signals for ISY even if it stays associated with the Ring Hub?

If your devices all support network wide inclusion, then you would remove those furthest from the isy first and those closest last. When setting up again, you'd add those closest first and farthest last. For new installations, I add all devices to the ISY first, test, install, test, run heal (update neighbors) if necessary.

Your repeater will not work with the ISY if its associated with your RING hub. It MUST be part of the network in order for it to be included in the path.

 

 

 

I have an assortment of Z-wave devices already installed and don’t know if they support network inclusion or not. Because they are all currently included in the Ring Z-wave network, should I delete them all from Ring before adding them to my new ISY Z-wave network (in order of increasing proximity)?


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