Re: HA Primer - Pos and cons of X-10, Z-wave, Insteon, UPB

["Robert L Bass" <no-sales-spam@bassburglaralarms>]

> ... in the 5 years or so that Z-Wave
> has been available.

Z-Wave products have only been commercially
available for about three years.

> One rather knowledgeable person, the author
> of Charmed Quark, uses Z-Wave and has, by
> and large, agreed with most of the things I've
> had to say about it...

Coincidentally, CQC (aka Charmed Quark) is
being used to interface Z-Wave and an ELK-M1G
controller on one of the better known Z-Wave
installations, the winner of Z-Wave World's
"Rock Star" award.  I don't have the dimensions
of the home but it's a nice example of what can
be accomplished using Z-Wave, an ELK Products
controller and CQC software.

> I live in a building...

Me, too.  I asked Mark Walters of Zen-sys what
was the largest successful installation of Z-Wave
that he knew of.  He said the largest job with which
he was personally involved was a 7,800 sf home.
That's twice the size of my little bungalow but my
home presents a special challenge to any RF
system.  It's shaped like a "C" with a large, open
space (Lanai) in the middle.  RF transceivers in
one wing will need to reach a controller in the other.

The most central utility space in the home is the
laundry, but that's got some potential problems.
There's a tall freezer and various appliances in
there which may cause problems with blocked
and reflected signals.  I'm planning to try using
that room first, just to see how well it works in
a difficult location.  If not, there's a decorative
bridge between the "family" wing and the rest
of the house where I could hide a transceiver.

I'm not yet up to climbing ladders and stuff but as
soon as I get enough strength back I'll get started.
I'll post my experiences here in case anyone's
interested.

--

Regards,
Robert L Bass

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