I have an eisy installed that is controlling a network of Insteon devices. What do I get if I add the Z-Wave dongle for UDI to my configuration? Does it open up more devices that I can use? Does it improve reliability? I am thinking about an off-grid installation where I would have Solar and Batteries. I have been reading another thread about folks who have installed Power Wall 3 systems that ar experiencing lights flickering with Insteon switches. Would z-Wave be a better consideration with this type of installation.?

For me, the benefit of Z-Wave is having the option for less expensive devices in certain applications and having outlets and plug-in modules that don't cause cause low current LED devices to Glow or flash. The downside for me is that I don't find Z-Wave devices to act well as scene controllers, which limits where I want to use then. I also experience a particular device that randomly locks up and, when it does so, renders my Z-Wave mesh Network unreliable.

All my wall switches and plug in modules are Insteon. Nothing quite beats the scene versatility of Insteon. It's also the "mother tongue" of the eisy, around which everything is designed (controllers, responders, scenes, etc). Then I added ZWave for door locks. I have Weiser locks and they work very well. One thing with ZWave is that battery powered devices (such as these locks) don't act as repeaters, so I had to build up a repeater network using ZWave appliance modules. Fortunately a few local marketplace sellers had new-in-box Jasco ZWave appliance modules selling for $10 each, so I picked up several. A couple even ended up being used for kitchen countertop lighting. I also have a ZWave Watercop valve. Getting ZWave simply expanded my control possibilities. There are no Insteon locks or water valves. And just today, I picked up two used Yolink hubs (including a speaker hub) and a vibration sensor, all for $10. More possibilities coming.

Edited yesterday at 01:55 AM1 day by Guy Lavoie

I started using Z-Wave during the Insteon dark time when the continued existence of Insteon was uncertain. And while Insteon is still my first choice, sometimes it does not have a particular device to meet my need. Most recently was for a fan controller. I have Insteon FanLincs for all of my fans except one. I have a fan that is 18 foot up and setting up (and maintaining) a FanLinc in the cowling was just not practical. So I opted for a Z-Wave fan controller in the switch box. I also have several 2 button Z-Wave switches in locations where a 6 or 8 button Insteon keypad was overkill.

Like I said, Insteon is generally my first choice, but I also take into consideration what functionality I need and sometimes a Z-Wave device is a better choice for me. You just have to deal with the fact that while they can respond to a scene, they cannot control a scene, so some creative programs are usually needed. And if you only have a few Z-wave devices, then you might need repeaters to guarantee signal strength.

Z-wave is a learning curve with the EISY - but I am happy with my results. Good Luck!

18 hours ago, j.rieff said:

What do I get if I add the Z-Wave dongle for UDI to my configuration?

With ZMatter you get Z-Wave, Zigbee, and Matter (eventually more beneficial than currently...hopefully).

More information from the UD Wiki: https://wiki.universal-devices.com/Eisy:User_Guide#Z-Wave_Support

18 hours ago, j.rieff said:

Does it improve reliability?

Reliability of what? The ZMatter dongle from UD only supports the above technology. It does not change how Insteon is supported. So I'm not sure what reliability you're asking about.

18 hours ago, j.rieff said:

Does it open up more devices that I can use?

Yes, to the technology mentioned above.

Further to this the eisy itself with Polyglot Plugins opens you up to many more devices/ecosystems to integrate with the existing IoX and any ZMatter devices you might add if you get that dongle.

You'd be better suited to look at the Polyglot store (https://polyglot.universal-devices.com/) to see what options you have for different products that can be added to the eisy. These are not dependent on the ZMatter dongle.

18 hours ago, j.rieff said:

I have been reading another thread about folks who have installed Power Wall 3 systems that ar experiencing lights flickering with Insteon switches. Would z-Wave be a better consideration with this type of installation.?

I haven't kept up (lately) with those posting about this issue with the PowerWall, but seems like it was system based issues. Would Z-Wave be better? It's personal preference call. I've not seen any comments about it working or not working with a PowerWall system, but that's most likely that people either aren't having issues so don't post when they aren't having problems or just isn't something people have attempted and been a UD customer to come here to report one way or the other. You'd be better served by talking with the sales/installers of such systems as to what home automation systems they have had success running behind the battery/power source. They might know that something would impact Insteon systems or other technologies better than a user base here just basing on their own use or readings from other posts here (again, remember issues seen here are usually just from people having issues...people that don't have issues usually won't come just to say "this things works great").

Personally, I have over 50 Insteon devices working well in my system. I tried a few z-wave devices and found them lacking in reliability. Bulbs and/or switches were slow to respond to programs and verbal commands whereas my Insteon devices just worked. I wouldn't change based on my experience with them, but again I've got a lot invested in the Insteon setup and wouldn't want to blindly spend the money to change to Z-wave and not have the same operation that I have currently.

My wall switches and plugin modules (200+) are Insteon except for a few Z-wave plugin modules that are just used as repeaters and a Z-wave water shutoff valve (insteon did not have one). I tried using a number of Z-wave leak detectors but found battery life and reliability not what I wanted. The detectors just dropped off-line too often. I switched over to Yolink leak detectors which are working great - no problems at all; they have triggered a house water shutoff twice, once from a washing machine hose leak and the second from a sink tap leak. I use Yolink speakers to announce problems like this throughout the house

I do have 13 Z-wave shades which work fairly well although I do find once in a while that 1 or more shades stop responding properly (maybe after I have rebooted eisy - not sure). I do a network heal and this seems to resolve the issue. I have 8 Hunter Douglas shades that are controlled with a plugin. These work flawlessly. I bought the Z-wave shades before the plugin was available since I wanted to control shades with eisy. If I had it to do over again and the plugin was available, I would purchase Hunter Douglas shades to use with the plugin.

In summary, for me Insteon and plugins are my first choice and Z-wave second for devices that are only available with that protocol

Gary