Tiny Z-Wave Adapter Makes Any Light Switch Smart

@ Julie

This may be one of the dumbest products you have ever written an article on.  Here are 5 reasons this product sucks:

1.  This thing is huge!!!  Calling it a “tiny device” doesn’t make it any smaller. 

2.  Sweet antenna on that thing.

3.  UL listed?  doubtful.  Even if it was, my electrical inspector would throw me under the bus for installing something behind a light switch like that.

4. Z-wave sucks.  Everyone knows ZigBee is the new hotness.

5.  If this thing cost $100 why wouldn’t I just install an actual dimmer instead?  Then my customer could still dim the light from the switch location and not depend on some sort of remote.

That’s some stiff competition, yaherdme, since I don’t believe you like any product I’ve ever written about!

Price is actually far less than $100 retail, but I always like to err on the high side so as not to tick off any resellers.

Also, the beauty of the product is that you can keep the look of your switches consistent throughout the house, even if you don’t want to automate them.

Indeed, “tiny” may be an overstatement. It definitely will not fit in some junction boxes.

Maybe if everything wasn’t such a puff piece then people wouldn’t have to take everything you write with a grain of salt.  I know your an econ nerd but c’mon.  If they want to run an ad then make them buy one.  Or, if you chose this on your own, at least introduce both sides (positive and negative).  I think people would respect CePro and your articles a lot more if you chose to at least hint at potential negatives.  (along with the positive)  As it stands now, most know that you are simply a tool for whatever the manufacture wants.

@Julie

I only post complaints, not compliments so that your ego doesn’t get any bigger than it actually is and so that the readers may have a chance at a dose of reality every now and then.

In the future, consider no comments from yaherdme to be a defacto endorsement of what you have written.  Of course, I reserve the right to complain at any time!!

P.S.  What happened to your eye?  I heard several rumors at CES but never got conformation.

Her eye?  You should have seen the other guy!!!!

I saw the device at CES and it’s pretty interesting.  The biggest issue right now is the lack of UL or ETL listing.  Some local electrical codes may prohibt the wiring scheme too. Gotta CYA about this stuff.

@yaherdme - Zigbee’s been around at least as long as Z-Wave but there’s still virtually nothing available for home automation.  At this point, it’s definitely not the “new” anything.

Z-Stick? I guess they aren’t looking to be used by any real integration controllers like AMX. No way to send control to these without a PC and their software running? Obviously this is low end and full control systems aren’t but wouldn’t it be nice to have access to such devices for corner cases or such? A z-gateway to IP (or even serial) with a published protocol would be too much to ask?.

@John - The Cooper RF232 is a serial protocol gateway that’s also an inclusion device.  Leviton also makes a VRC0P RS232 interface to Z-Wave.  Neither of these will work with the latest Z-Wave beaming devices, however (like the door locks).  Other Z-Wave interfaces are designed around the Z-Wave serial API… for which you’ll need to purchase a development kit to obtain.

@fizzyfoo
Did you just claim that there aren’t any zigbee devices being used in HA?  That’s a misguided statement at best.  There are plenty of big name manufacturers that use zigbee rf for their devices.  Granted the HA profile for zigbee was a late bloomer but there are many big names working on incorporating this standard into their devices.  Even better, I have seen a RS485 to Zigbee bridge with open protocols and an API for 3rd party controllers.  Can you guess who is releasing this at EHX 2011?
Also, zwave is proprietary and not an open standard.  The technology is underwhelming in its performance and the royalty fees are ridiculous.

@boogereater - OK, if I’m misguided, just answer me this.  The most basic HA gear to install is lighting, right?  If I’m not a Control4 dealer, which brand of lighting would you suggest I install and where would I buy that from?

Remember that Control4 lighting is proprietary too (like Z-Wave)... it just isn’t interoperable with any other brand.

You can tout the theoretical performance advantages of ZigBee all you want (like Beta vs VHS).  At the end of the day, what matters is how much is available and will it work together.  I can outfit a home with Z-Wave lighting, thermostats, shade/blind controllers, sensors, door locks and more… and they all work together.

Why not just skip all this crap and use something that works well and actually integrates like Crestron, AMX, or Lutron.  I wasted tons of money and time trying to make cheap automation stuff work and ended up just replacing it with Crestron.