Re: leviton vizia RF switches (Z-wave)

["Dan Wright" <No_way@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

"Robert L Bass" <no-sales-spam@bassburglaralarms> wrote in message
news:ec6dnYLPE9VAaGfYnZ2dnUVZ_ompnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

> Although I've posted many of their other products
> online, I still have to get the Vizia set up in our
> database.  I should have them available shortly.
> I can't give you customer experience on Vizia
> thoough.  It's still too new.

Here are mine:

I have done two ViziaRF installs to date.  One large and one medium.
Several others are planned in the near future.  Installation is no harder
than X10 or any other retrofit.  You will curse the electrician with some
regularity due to box size.  Any of the HA switches are quite a bit larger
than standard ones and box space will be tight.  That said, I have always
been able to make things fit...eventually.

The ViziaRF switches rock in terms of feel and ease of install and come with
a 5 year warranty.  High WAF on the Vizia as well.  They follow Lutron and
other high end lighting in terms of form factor.  Its also being pushed as
the preferred format for the elderly.  I have not used other brands enough
to comment on them.

I am yet to find a range/hops issue, even in the large installation.   I
have not done formal tests, but my current attitude is that it is good
enough up through the 3500 sqft range/single story, depending on layout.
Homeseer offers a tool that does Z-wave network analysis which would help
with any  network issues..  It requires their Z-troller primary controller.

Same goes for signal interference.  I have set Homeseer to poll regularly
and it logs any devices that does not respond.  A subset of the nodes show
up randomly and I can not tie it to household activity.  However, they all
respond to polls.  For now its seems to be network transients, and they are
not impacting performance.   The closed loop feedback is great, especially
for anyone coming from .  Even the low cost Intermatic HA09 give an
indication in case of command failure.

While there are other PC products out there, Richard Helmke still sets a
high standard for customer service and support.  His efforts with the
rollout of the Leviton Zone and Wall controllers were exemplary.

I have not yet integrated Z-wave with either with HAI or Elk.  I used
Homeseer with the larger installation, and no central controller (other than
the Z-wave primary remote) on the other.

The interchangeability is OK, but not perfect.  There are still wrinkles in
a few areas.  Creating heterogeneous secondary controllers is a case in
point..  Typical under the circumstances, but better than I thought I would
find.  Cynic that I am, I was pleasantly surprised about the overall
interoperability I have found.

Asymmetric control is my big whine at the moment.  Nothing out there that
addresses that yet.  It can sort of be done by Homeseer, but the limitation
is fundamentally existing Z-wave hardware.  I am annoyed enough by it to
consider hybriding a system with UPB or even X-10 to get around it.   The
new wall controller from Intermatic may.  Its in beta, and I have asked to
join that effort.  Other manufacturers appear to be interested in that
functionality as well..

There are other product areas I would like to see filled.  Fan speed
controller is one, fixture modules, and outlets (there is one promised from
Intermatic real-soon-now) also come to mind.  A wall controller with single
switch functionality would also be very useful.

My thoughts as of tonight.


Dan Wright
Starwolf Systems