Experienced ISY/Insteon but newb on Polisy & ZWave building new house

[SSchmidt]

 

My last house was controlled by ISY for about 15 years and had over 100 Insteon switches, keypads, outlets, sensors, irrigation, etc.  I did all of it myself with exemplary tech support from Michel in the early days.

I want my next house, foundation just started, to be much smarter with ZWave and controlled by Polisy Pro.  Other than what I have read here, I do not have any knowledge of ZWave or Polisy so I have many questions and your answers will be greatly appreciated.

My builder agreed to have his electrician install smart switches, that I designate, instead of installing generic switches that I would need to remove/replace. Which ZWave 700 switch do you think is best?

Does a Polisy still needs to run along side an ISY or does it contains all of the ISY functionality?

Does a Polisy need a PLM or does it have a non-Smarthome way to connect?

What is the difference between Polisy and Policy Pro?

Is there a link for the companies like Tesla whose products can be controlled by a Polisy and sensors accessible to Polisy?

Is anyone controlling Trane Wave thermostats along with weather sensors?

Thank you,

Steve

[oberkc]

3 hours ago, SSchmidt said:

Does a Polisy still needs to run along side an ISY or does it contains all of the ISY functionality?

Either, but can run ISY software internally.

 

3 hours ago, SSchmidt said:

Does a Polisy need a PLM or does it have a non-Smarthome way to connect?

Only if you want to include Insteon devices, and only if you want to run ISY software internally.

 

3 hours ago, SSchmidt said:

What is the difference between Polisy and Policy Pro?

I don't know, at this point.  Originally, I recall that the pro included a few extra features, but I understand that this may have evolved.

 

3 hours ago, SSchmidt said:

Is there a link for the companies like Tesla whose products can be controlled by a Polisy and sensors accessible to Polisy?

https://polyglot.universal-devices.com

3 hours ago, SSchmidt said:

Is anyone controlling Trane Wave thermostats along with weather sensors?

I don't see Trane on the list

[lilyoyo1]

Your house probably won't be much smarter with zwave since insteon is much more robust and flexible than zwave. But then again zwave is available while insteon is not. 

The IOP subforum  above this one is all about using Polisy as a stand alone device. It's still in testing but is pretty stable.

Zwave doesn't require a PLM.

Best is relative when it comes to switches. There are different variables involved. Most popular seems to be Zooz devices. You can find them by doing an Amazon search.

When I typed trane in the search bar, It did show people using Trane thermostats with the isy so i assume it works. 

Currently Tesla Node server does not work. See polyglot cloud Node server forum for more info.

 In regards to other products capable of being used with polisy, there are subforums dedicated to them. Scroll down on the forum main page and you'll see  listings for PG2/PG3. As more come online, that will be updated. Personally, if focus on PG3 since PG2 is deprecated.

[asbril]

52 minutes ago, lilyoyo1 said:

Your house probably won't be much smarter with zwave since insteon is much more robust and flexible than zwave. But then again zwave is available while insteon is not. 

The IOP subforum  above this one is all about using Polisy as a stand alone device. It's still in testing but is pretty stable.

Zwave doesn't require a PLM.

Best is relative when it comes to switches. There are different variables involved. Most popular seems to be Zooz devices. You can find them by doing an Amazon search.

When I typed trane in the search bar, It did show people using Trane thermostats with the isy so i assume it works. 

Currently Tesla Node server does not work. See polyglot cloud Node server forum for more info.

 In regards to other products capable of being used with polisy, there are subforums dedicated to them. Scroll down on the forum main page and you'll see  listings for PG2/PG3. As more come online, that will be updated. Personally, if focus on PG3 since PG2 is deprecated.

@lilyoyo1 I am surprised that you did not suggest Lutron to @SSchmidt

[lilyoyo1]

8 minutes ago, asbril said:

@lilyoyo1 I am surprised that you did not suggest Lutron to @SSchmidt

It doesn't work with Polisy at this time and he said he's using zwave otherwise I would've. RA3 is great but you are taking a step back if you don't have access to a compatible advanced controller

[vbPhil]

5 hours ago, SSchmidt said:

Does a Polisy need a PLM or does it have a non-Smarthome way to connect?

The PLM is required for Insteon.  Polisy requires a Z-Wave controller USB plugin. Zooz 700 has been tested with it and it's what I'm using.

[Bumbershoot]

6 hours ago, SSchmidt said:

Which ZWave 700 switch do you think is best?

I have three different types that I've been testing, and while all good, the best for me in general lighting applications has been the Zooz Zen7x series.  The ergonomics of this switch are good, and they respond very quickly, especially with a series 700 controller.

Other switches I've used successfully are the GE/Jasco Embrighten (which are Z-Wave+, not series 700) switches/dimmers/motion sensors/fan switches (the switches/dimmers with the built-in motion sensors solve several problems for me), and Homeseer switches (to be fair I haven't installed their HS WX-300 yet, but the previous version is very good, and the status RGB LEDs can be useful in some situations).

I'm still relying on Insteon for most of my lighting, so I haven't done anything fancy with the Z-Wave switches -- I just control them with ISY programs, but they've all been reliable, and I could (and do) live with any of them.