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bodsmate
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Hi all
I plan to add some LC-13 radiator valves and some plugin modules for switching LED lamps to my comfort system - so now plan to add z-wave capability
I currently have heating control via Comfort/Homevision but now wish to add some more control of individual radiators so thought a good opportunity to replace the old X10 modules with Z-wave modules. (yes, I am that old!)
I figure I need the following but want to check with you guys I have understood
  1. UCM/Z-wave
  2. Veraedge to allow me to setup initially (is this still the recommended primary controller needed for this)
  3. LC-13 radiator valves
  4. Z-wave appliance modules - guessing I can't use lamp modules as LED bulbs don't present enough minimum load? - my goal is to have quiet operation of the lamps rather than a loud relay click - any recommendations on plug in modules?
Questions
  • Is the above list correct and will this allow me to send commands via comfort to adjust the set point of the radiator valves as well as switch the appliance modules?
  • I want the appliance modules to also act as signal repeaters for the z-wave network so all LC-13's are in range (long house) - do all act as repeaters?
  • Is the Veraedge then redundant until I wish to make a change to the z-wave network setup?
Any pointer / advice welcome 
Many thanks for your time with any responses

John W
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I too am that old to be using X10 ;-)

My understanding is you would need a dedicated UCM for Zwave, but you might want to consider the new Ucm/Pi.

I have bought some Figaro fgs-212 modules, which I hope to get set up next weekend. There are DIN mounts available for these. I am therefore intending to fit these into my DIN panels in place of the x10 modules. This has the advantage of not needing to change any of my switches, wiring, etc as they can be programmed to work with either on/off or momentary switches.

I can't help on the other things.

I have just added a Z wave stick to the Ucm/Pi I have.
This stick allows configuring the network, so no need for veraedge (I could be wrong here, but that is my understanding).
I would really suggest having a look at the Ucm/Pi if you don't already have the zwave UCM. This has opened up a huge amount of additional control (imo), such that I can now easily configure voice control, links with cctv, zwave, etc.

There are others on here who know far more about this than me, so hopefully they will respond to correct any mistakes I've made.

Cheers,
John.

slychiu
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Yes, your list should be correctYou need a Zwave controller to set up the network initially and to make changes ( I am not sure that we recomended vera edge as the preferred controller as I do not remember testing that, but any controller should work)
John is correct that the UCM/Pi should give you more options
UCM/Zwave is limited because it works only on the older series 3 Zwave modules eg Ok on lighting and appliance modules. Some of the new fibaro modules may not work so well with UCM/Zwave, as our development in the direction is limited
But if you just want to control appliance and lighting modules to replace X10 that UCM/Zwave should be no problem

bodsmate
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This looks very interesting, thanks for pointing me in this direction. I should read this forum more often. 
The UCM/PI looks like it could open up more options for me 
So with
  • UCM/PI
  • PI3
  • Z-Wave stick
I should be able to learn and control Z wave devices via comfort?
Which Z-wave usb stick did you go for?


Cheers Mark

Last edited on Monday Dec 3rd, 2018 08:25 pm by bodsmate

John W
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I'm not an expert on this, I'm following along in the wake of the others in the Beta testing group.

- The UCM/Pi comes with the Pi module plugged in, so you buy it as one. It has the program pre loaded.

- You plug the Z-wave stick into the UCM/Pi itself. The stick is an aeon labs z stick usb controller gen5. Have a look on vesternet.com
I bought mine from amazon for a similar price.

- You use Node-Red to configure the connectivity on the UCM/Pi, which includes the Z-Wave. If you already have flags or responses in your Comfort Config you can link straight to them.

One of the guys in the Beta group has shared node diagrams to show how it can be used to Add/Remove Z-wave nodes, Set/Get values, etc. You would presumably do this using the node red dashboard, not the comfort panel/app.
Its early days for me as I haven't received my Z-wave devices yet, but I am hoping I can configure my system without the need for any other master controller.

I should say, just how easy this would be to configure will depend on how techy you are. I am techy but there are still moments of head scratching and swearing ;-p
Development is ongoing so this is likely to get better with time.

Hope that helps.

bodsmate
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Hi John
Thanks for the info - sounds great, good luck with your trials. I am techy and never give up, so will follow the forum for pointers.
Would be great to hear how you get on
Thanks
Mark
 

lwillerton
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Hi All,

I have use the Z-Wave UCM for a number of years now and it works great so long as the modules are supported most of my modules are 3+ years old. I have at least 15 z-wave items in my network but I have not managed to get the latest Fibaro Double Switch 2 5 Gen to work which I think Chiu has already mentioned.

Is there a plan to develop the z-wave UCM to work with new z-wave products? It has been a valuable asset to my security system. I have a lux sensor that triggers z-wave lights and appliances depending on external light levels (Vera lite is my main z-wave controller and its a great but obsolete unit...the z-wave ucm acts as a bridge. As well as the lux sensor I have PIR's triggering lights and depending on the alarm mode lights do different things.

LED strip lights simple use the 12v outputs and they works really well.

I have tried Danfoss z-wave rad valves and found them to be a little problematic and never manage to get them to work with cytech the way I have other z-wave items I believe this is because they are not bi-directional in nature plus they only check in every 10/20mins. I needed up using a schedule within Vera to change temp setting morning and evening e.g bedroom 20degrees morning, lounge 18 degrees during the day both to 18 degrees and then increasing them at night. However, end up changing them manually outside of the schedule.

I am now looking at something like a Honeywell Evohome to add heating zone control. Has Cytech integrated with any of these systems via the universal ucm? it feels like this is the way forward. The universal UCM works brilliantly with my Yamaha amp for example.

Finally what is the purpose of the ucm-pi? many things are coming with the Alexa app inbuilt but fundamentally this is not always the best solution for example.....Alexa turn on lights at 3am wake the whole house, triggering a PIR with a cytech rule sets the right light level for the time of day and doesn't wake everyone.

Regards

Lee

slychiu
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We do not intend to extend the UCM/Zwave to work with the new Zwave products
The interaction of our type product with Zwave is complex and problems with setup and connection occur which are outside our control due to the range of the products are difficult to resolve (I think you had a similar problem earlier)
And we have not sold enough  ucm/zwave  to justify further development on this
The UCM/Pi is not just about alexa. You do not need alexa or smarthings - that was the original community version.

lwillerton
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Thanks for the feedback. Can I ask what is the best approach for dealing with lights/appliances moving forward? I don't want to invest more money in to z-wave modules if the are not going to work with comfort. Turning lights on and off is a key function of my system.

slychiu
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CBus, and KNX are good alternatives.
Your current zwave modules would still contnue workiing.
Keep an eye on UCM/Pi as users are working on Zwave and Lightwave RF


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