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Updated October 1, 2007 11:00 PDT
I'm comparing Insteon and Z-Wave for a home automation
system. One of the main items I'm looking for is a way to
control my wall sconces without a switch. I live in a condo
and to pass wiring to control them by switch is not an option.
I know Insteon offers this. Does Z-Wave have something similar?
It's not clear from your question how you are getting power
to your wall sconces. If you're considering Insteon the
sconces must be connected to AC power. If this connection
is a plug-end going to a wall receptacle you have a choice
of Z-Wave products. Plug-in dimming modules are available
from Intermatic,
Leviton,
ACT,
Monster,
and Wayne
Dalton. If you do not want to dim these sconces, and
if they are plugged into a wall receptacle, Intermatic In-Touch
has a Z-Wave switched receptacle you can use. If you want
to hard wire these lights then you can use an ACT ZRF113
Fixture Module, which can be mounted to the fixture itself
(however, this is a non-dimming module). You can use any
Z-Wave certified remote control to control any of these
products.
I bought the Intermatic Home Settings in-wall switch/dimmer,
model HA06C. Does this switch work in a "three-way"
light switch setup?
The HA06C is not designed to be used as a master controller
in conventional three-way lighting circuits using traveler
wires and "remote" switches. Leviton
makes a Z-Wave Dimmer that is set up to make use of the
existing traveler wires and non-Z-Wave "remote"
switches. Another option would be to stick with your HA06C
and replace the remote switches with single or multi-button
transmitting controllers, such as the Intermatic
In-Touch CA5100 or CA5000 or the Leviton Vizia RF RZCZ1
or RZCZ4. This is called a virtual three-way solution as
you are using Z-Wave transmitters to send the signal from
the remote switch locations back to the master dimmer or
switch instead to the power wiring in the wall. You will
have to jumper always-on power to the remote locations for
the transmitters but this is easy to do and requires no
new wiring. Replacing the remotes with multi-button controllers
provides lots of options for adding control of additional
Z-Wave devices and groups of devices.
I'm looking for solutions to integrate home control
with LinuxMCE. Z-Wave seems to be a supported option. Is
that true?
Yes. LinuxMCE can be used to control a Z-Wave network. The
trick is to find a serial Z-Wave interface with drivers
that support Linux. Try the devices from ACT or Boca Devices.
The early Intermatic Home Settings USB sticks don't seem
to support a Linux environment. Keep your eyes open and
watch the LinuxMCE posts as there are some new USB interfaces
due out soon that will make this much easer to do.
Your web site says that the Harmony 1000 remote will
directly control Z-Wave light switches. I have the remote
and I can't control Z-Wave lights. Why?
Unfortunately, the Harmony 1000 pre-production samples that
were received did support third party Z-Wave devices, but
the current production version does not. The web site has
been updated and no longer shows the Harmony 1000 as a Z-Wave
Remote. Here is the official word from Logitech:
"Logitech has made the decision not to offer control
of Z-Wave compatible lighting and home automation equipment
for the Harmony 1000 remote. The company is focused instead
on improving the interaction with the Harmony 1000 as it
relates to the control of audio and video entertainment
devices. If Z-Wave home automation is something that you
have intended to implement with your Harmony remote, you
can still get this feature with Logitech's Harmony 890 family
of remote controls."
Are there Z-Wave capable wall-mounted volume controls
that I can use in multi-room audio setup? Currently, I have
Elan IR-based volume controls installed but would like to
upgrade to a Z-Wave compatible device. Will something like
a Leviton Vizia RF low-voltage Dimmer Switch do the trick?
Unfortunately, there are no Z-Wave volume controls available
at this time. You cannot use a lighting dimmer of any type
to control speaker level volume.
My home is in France. I have a nice old pair of chimes
I want to keep. But I would like to be able to place a few
pushbuttons on the walls here and there (wirelessly) so
that the chimes can be activated from inside and outside
the house. Is there a Z-Wave pushbutton/relay solution?
Unfortunately, there is not an exact solution for this momentary
contact application at this time. With a little ingenuity
you can accomplish this with some new products from Merten.
Look at the battery powered "Move" transmitters
to send the signal. Depending on the wiring of the chimes
a relay switch insert or a relay switch insert and two relays
to form a bi-stable momentary contact.
Mark Walters, our resident Z-Wave expert, is vice president
of the Z-Wave Alliance.
