Adding a Zigbee switch to eisy

[burke]

One of my motivations for upgrading from ISY994i to eisy was the death of an Insteon toggle switch that started malfunctioning last month. I figured this was perfect time to start evolving my houseful of devices beyond Insteon (everything I have is Insteon, no Z-Wave devices). Considering Z-Wave vs. Zigbee, most of the discussions I found seemed to suggest the Zigbee/Matter direction would be more future-proof (and possibly more robust) compared to Z-wave. So, I bought an eisy, a Z-Wave+ & Zigbee/Matter USB Module, and a Serial PLM Kit to replace my ISY994i and a Zigbee Light Dimmer. to replace my defunct Insteon switch. I upgraded the eisy to 5.5.4, enabled Z-Wave support, and migrated to Matter Z-Wave. Everything I see thus far, including in the UD Mobile app, points to Z-Wave support. There's a "Z-Matter Hardware" toggle in the UD Mobile app I've enabled, but I'm assuming that's for future (possibly not-yet-existent) Matter-capable devices, of which the Zigbee switch I purchased doesn't belong.

Forgive me. I'm learning.

At this point, I'm guessing:

• Zigbee support will come when Zigbee devices adopt the Matter standard.
• The Zigbee Light Dimmer I purchased is essentially useless to me (I have no interest in getting a Zigbee hub).
• For now, if I purchase a Z-Wave Light Dimmer, I should be able to swap it in and easily add it to my network using UD Mobile.
• When Matter-compatible Zigbee devices exist, they eisy+dongle will be able to act as a Matter hub, so I won't need to purchase a separate Zigbee hub – i.e., I can use a single Z-Wave switch for now, but can expect to migrate Insteon → Matter over the coming years.

Am I on track? Or is there some way the Zigbee switch might work with the eisy that I haven't yet discovered?

[DennisC]

ZigBee support will be added in near future, as per UD. 

[TRI0N]

2 hours ago, burke said:

One of my motivations for upgrading from ISY994i to eisy was the death of an Insteon toggle switch that started malfunctioning last month. I figured this was perfect time to start evolving my houseful of devices beyond Insteon (everything I have is Insteon, no Z-Wave devices). Considering Z-Wave vs. Zigbee, most of the discussions I found seemed to suggest the Zigbee/Matter direction would be more future-proof (and possibly more robust) compared to Z-wave. So, I bought an eisy, a Z-Wave+ & Zigbee/Matter USB Module, and a Serial PLM Kit to replace my ISY994i and a Zigbee Light Dimmer. to replace my defunct Insteon switch. I upgraded the eisy to 5.5.4, enabled Z-Wave support, and migrated to Matter Z-Wave. Everything I see thus far, including in the UD Mobile app, points to Z-Wave support. There's a "Z-Matter Hardware" toggle in the UD Mobile app I've enabled, but I'm assuming that's for future (possibly not-yet-existent) Matter-capable devices, of which the Zigbee switch I purchased doesn't belong.

Forgive me. I'm learning.

At this point, I'm guessing:

• Zigbee support will come when Zigbee devices adopt the Matter standard.
• The Zigbee Light Dimmer I purchased is essentially useless to me (I have no interest in getting a Zigbee hub).
• For now, if I purchase a Z-Wave Light Dimmer, I should be able to swap it in and easily add it to my network using UD Mobile.
• When Matter-compatible Zigbee devices exist, they eisy+dongle will be able to act as a Matter hub, so I won't need to purchase a separate Zigbee hub – i.e., I can use a single Z-Wave switch for now, but can expect to migrate Insteon → Matter over the coming years.

Am I on track? Or is there some way the Zigbee switch might work with the eisy that I haven't yet discovered?

Yes the USB Z-Wave Zigbee/Matter Module in all you need. Zigbee like DennisC said, will be added soon to eisy per UD's schedule.

One thing they didn't mention or add in the box is the correct antenna locations. Yellow Ring Band on Z-Wave, Purple on Zigbee.

 

TRI0N

[lilyoyo1]

11 hours ago, burke said:

One of my motivations for upgrading from ISY994i to eisy was the death of an Insteon toggle switch that started malfunctioning last month. I figured this was perfect time to start evolving my houseful of devices beyond Insteon (everything I have is Insteon, no Z-Wave devices). Considering Z-Wave vs. Zigbee, most of the discussions I found seemed to suggest the Zigbee/Matter direction would be more future-proof (and possibly more robust) compared to Z-wave. So, I bought an eisy, a Z-Wave+ & Zigbee/Matter USB Module, and a Serial PLM Kit to replace my ISY994i and a Zigbee Light Dimmer. to replace my defunct Insteon switch. I upgraded the eisy to 5.5.4, enabled Z-Wave support, and migrated to Matter Z-Wave. Everything I see thus far, including in the UD Mobile app, points to Z-Wave support. There's a "Z-Matter Hardware" toggle in the UD Mobile app I've enabled, but I'm assuming that's for future (possibly not-yet-existent) Matter-capable devices, of which the Zigbee switch I purchased doesn't belong.

Forgive me. I'm learning.

At this point, I'm guessing:

• Zigbee support will come when Zigbee devices adopt the Matter standard.
• The Zigbee Light Dimmer I purchased is essentially useless to me (I have no interest in getting a Zigbee hub).
• For now, if I purchase a Z-Wave Light Dimmer, I should be able to swap it in and easily add it to my network using UD Mobile.
• When Matter-compatible Zigbee devices exist, they eisy+dongle will be able to act as a Matter hub, so I won't need to purchase a separate Zigbee hub – i.e., I can use a single Z-Wave switch for now, but can expect to migrate Insteon → Matter over the coming years.

Am I on track? Or is there some way the Zigbee switch might work with the eisy that I haven't yet discovered?

https://forum.universal-devices.com/topic/39372-curated-answers-to-general-eisy-questions/

[burke]

Thanks @DennisC, @TRI0N, and @lilyoyo1. I'll install a Z-Wave dimmer switch today and hold onto the Zigbee dimmer switch to try out in the near future (when Zigbee support is added to the eisy). I've got a house with ~50 Insteon devices. This will be my first experience with Z-Wave and Zigbee, so will give me a chance to compare them on reliability & responsiveness. First impression of the Enbrighten switch is the toggle feels more solidly built than the Insteon switches (hopefully the internal electronics are as well).

I should be able to make it at least another year or two without investing heavily in non-Insteon replacements. During that time, it probably doesn't Matter what I choose to use. 😉

[lilyoyo1]

3 minutes ago, burke said:

Thanks @DennisC, @TRI0N, and @lilyoyo1. I'll install a Z-Wave dimmer switch today and hold onto the Zigbee dimmer switch to try out in the near future (when Zigbee support is added to the eisy). I've got a house with ~50 Insteon devices. This will be my first experience with Z-Wave and Zigbee, so will give me a chance to compare them on reliability & responsiveness. First impression of the Enbrighten switch is the toggle feels more solidly built than the Insteon switches (hopefully the internal electronics are as well).

I should be able to make it at least another year or two without investing heavily in non-Insteon replacements. During that time, it probably doesn't Matter what I choose to use. 😉

Keep in mind that the performance of both depends on a strong mesh network so you may need more than 1 device depending on where you choose to install the device.

[DennisC]

28 minutes ago, burke said:

Thanks @DennisC, @TRI0N, and @lilyoyo1. I'll install a Z-Wave dimmer switch today and hold onto the Zigbee dimmer switch to try out in the near future (when Zigbee support is added to the eisy). I've got a house with ~50 Insteon devices. This will be my first experience with Z-Wave and Zigbee, so will give me a chance to compare them on reliability & responsiveness. First impression of the Enbrighten switch is the toggle feels more solidly built than the Insteon switches (hopefully the internal electronics are as well).

I should be able to make it at least another year or two without investing heavily in non-Insteon replacements. During that time, it probably doesn't Matter what I choose to use. 😉

Remember, for adding Zwave devices, you should first exclude, then include the device.

Edited January 23, 2023 by DennisC
Spelling

[burke]

10 hours ago, DennisC said:

Remember, for adding Zwave devices, you should first exclude, then include the device.

Thanks for the tip. First impression of Z-Wave with eisy isn't so great.

Before I saw this tip, I tried & failed adding Z-Wave Dimmer Switch using UD Mobile's SmartAdd via QR. I managed to get Add to work, but couldn't control the switch from the eisy. When I tried removing the switch from the eisy, it started repeatedly adding entries:

After clicking the "Stop Adding or Removing a Z-Wave Device" several times and spending a while deleting entries one-by-one, I managed to clean up that mess. I selected eisy's Z-Wave > Remove a Z-Wave Device option, toggled the switch on, it spent a few seconds "removing" and then automatically switched to an "Add a Z-Wave Device" pop-up. I toggled the switch on again and it seems to have properly registered with the eisy now.

Getting five eisy entries for one dimmer switch is a new experience. Adding the switch as a responder in scene was straightforward. I have yet to figure out how to get the Z-Wave switch to properly behave as a controller (on works, off doesn't) or to turn on/off instantly (still ramps on/off over a few seconds despite settings in eisy suggesting ramp of 0 seconds).

I found some clues on parameter values for GE/Jasco devices here, suggesting for an "In-Wall Smart Dimmer" setting parameters 9 & 10 to 1 (1 byte) might work. I've tried setting parameters 7-12 to 1, clicking "Set Configuration" for each, but no luck. 😕 

Hopefully the Zigbee experience will be better. I didn't realize how good I had it with Insteon.

 

 

[burke]

It looks like I'm not alone in my inability to convince GE's Enbrighten dimmer not to slowly ramp on/off when the switch is physically toggled. 😕 

[oberkc]

On 1/24/2023 at 1:12 AM, burke said:

I have yet to figure out how to get the Z-Wave switch to properly behave as a controller

 

I have just migrated my system from the legacy ISY-994 to the polisy (not the EISY) but I understand EISY and Polisy are same in this regard.  Zwave switches that could formerly act as scene controllers no longer do so.  I submitted a ticket for this issue, and was told (loosely) that they are aware of the problem and that an update is coming that should help.  Hopefully, we will have good z-wave capability soon.

 

 

[TRI0N]

On 1/23/2023 at 10:12 PM, burke said:

Thanks for the tip. First impression of Z-Wave with eisy isn't so great.

Before I saw this tip, I tried & failed adding Z-Wave Dimmer Switch using UD Mobile's SmartAdd via QR. I managed to get Add to work, but couldn't control the switch from the eisy. When I tried removing the switch from the eisy, it started repeatedly adding entries:

After clicking the "Stop Adding or Removing a Z-Wave Device" several times and spending a while deleting entries one-by-one, I managed to clean up that mess. I selected eisy's Z-Wave > Remove a Z-Wave Device option, toggled the switch on, it spent a few seconds "removing" and then automatically switched to an "Add a Z-Wave Device" pop-up. I toggled the switch on again and it seems to have properly registered with the eisy now.

Getting five eisy entries for one dimmer switch is a new experience. Adding the switch as a responder in scene was straightforward. I have yet to figure out how to get the Z-Wave switch to properly behave as a controller (on works, off doesn't) or to turn on/off instantly (still ramps on/off over a few seconds despite settings in eisy suggesting ramp of 0 seconds).

I found some clues on parameter values for GE/Jasco devices here, suggesting for an "In-Wall Smart Dimmer" setting parameters 9 & 10 to 1 (1 byte) might work. I've tried setting parameters 7-12 to 1, clicking "Set Configuration" for each, but no luck. 😕 

Hopefully the Zigbee experience will be better. I didn't realize how good I had it with Insteon.

 

 

Sometime just a reboot after adding Z-Way will make ZY functions correct themselves with On/Off abilities.

ZY 014 Dimmer Switch is the one that should show up with On/Off only while the others are Scene "Controllers" not responders. The Dimmer Switch would be the responder in a scene with one of the ZY 014 Scene Button # at the scene controller for On/Off at the device itself. 

TRI0N

[burke]

I made a little progress with my Enbrighten Z-Wave ZW3011 dimmer switch.

First, I discovered how to query & set Z-Wave query parameters by right-clicking on the switch and choosing Z-Wave > Set Configuration Parameter. This was a lot more useful than the Set Configuration section at the bottom of the right panel of the admin console.

I also discovered by right-clicking on the device and selecting Z-Wave > Z-Wave X-Ray, then choosing "DH Command Classes" in the selector and clicking the Go button, I could get a dump of data from the Z-Wave switch, including a section labeled "Command Class 112 0x70 CONFIGURATION" with entries prefixed with names like "devices.16.instances.0.commandClasses.112.data.16" containing data like:

Integer val = 0 (0x00000000)
Integer size = 1 (0x00000001)
String  format = "signed"
Integer min = 0 (0x00000000)
Integer max = 1 (0x00000001)
Integer default = 0 (0x00000000)
String  title = "Switch Mode"
String  description = "Set control mode:0 dim mode,1 switch mode"
Boolean readonly = False
Boolean reinclusionRequired = False
Boolean advanced = False

From perusing these, I realized the "data.16" meant configuration parameter 16 and the information for that parameter included useful information like the description, default value, current value, and readonly status. The values ("val") I saw for each parameter in the x-ray output matched what I would get when querying the configuration parameter. Aha!

The configuration parameters I was trying to change based on GE/Jasco information I could find online (like this), weren't defined on my switch based on the x-ray results. Instead, I found configuration parameter 16 was exactly what I was looking for (putting the dimmer into "switch mode"). I changed configuration parameter 16's value from 0 to 1 and the switch now goes instantly on/off when physically toggled. A small victory!

I still get ramping when I control the Z-Wave dimmer within a scene. I wish I could set up my scene to always sent Fast On/Fast Off to the Z-Wave responder, but not sure how to do that in the scene definition. I suppose my only recourse will be to remove the Z-Wave dimmer as a responder in the scene and write program(s) to send it Fast On/Fast Off when the scene is triggered. Something I can do with a single Z-Wave dimmer, but not something I'd care to have to do for dozens of switches around the house.

Crossing my fingers and hoping the pending Zigbee experience is more reminiscent of Insteon.