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Updated September 15, 2008 0600am EST

I am considering Z-Wave technology for a second home.  I want to run several devices from the internet including an iRobot Rommba. I’d like the system to control heat, A/C, security, and web cams. How much of this can be accomplished with Z-Wave?

There are several good Internet Gateways with Z-Wave support. With these gateways you can control the standard Z-Wave items such as heat, A/C, Security, lighting, and window coverings. While Z-Wave doesn’t have enough bandwidth to carry a web camera picture many of the gateways also incorporate wired and wireless web cameras using WiFi for the picture. I’m not sure what you want to do with your Rommba, but it should be possible to switch it on and off with a Z-Wave plug-in appliance module.

I read on your site that it's possible to control Z-Wave switches from a Harmony 1000. I bought the Harmony 890 because on the Harmony web site, the comparison between the 1000 and the 890 clearly states that the 1000 does NOT control Z-Wave lighting. Is your description re: the 1000 a workaround one that actually works, so that I can control Z-Wave light controllers and other Z-Wave compatible devices from a 1000? If so, then why doesn’t Harmony state that on its web site?

Initially, the Harmony 1000 was to provide Z-Wave control, in fact the early pre-release models did support it. Logitech pulled this support at the product launch and have yet to put it back in. This is unfortunate and I recommend everyone that is interested in this functionality contact Logitech and request it. This is not a hard thing for Logitech to support as the Harmony 1000 uses Z-Wave to talk to its IR extender.

I have the Harmony 890 remote that works great for standard lighting and my AV units. I am currently adding two six-inch low voltage LED lights over my entertainment center. Do you know of any products that will dim these lights or at a minimum turn them on and off? I’m adding only two lights that are I think 7 Watts a piece, so the switch cannot have a minimum load.

Dimming is not possible at this time, as no one has really standardized on LED dimming methods. I see lots of action around LED dimming at the trade shows and in trade publications so I don’t think it will be too long before we’ll see LED dimmers on the market. You can use any Z-Wave switch to turn the LEDs on and off — all of the current models use relays as switches so there is no minimum load rating.

I am looking for a Z-Wave ceiling fan controller. Nothing fancy. Just on/off, and low, medium, and high fan settings. Does anyone make a reliable one that can be retrofitted into our existing ceiling fan?

Up until recently , there were no Z-Wave fan speed controllers on the market. But you're in luck. Leviton just started shipping the Leviton VFR01 last month.

I have some Somfy radio-controlled shades that I would like to use either a Harmony 890 or Cooper Aspire remote. Will this work if I have an RS232 radio interface?

Window shades are constructed with either an AC or DC motor and then some sort of motor controller interface is added depending on the customer’s requirements. It sounds like right now you have a Somfy RF controller on the shades. You could replace this controller with a RS232 controller and then get a RS232 to Z-Wave product and then you would have the ability to control the shades using any Z-Wave remote. There is an easier way, however, just go straight to Z-Wave control and skip the RS232 portion. You can get very nice Z-Wave motor controllers for both AC and DC motors from ESI or RS Scene Automation that will directly replace the Somfy controller and will work with all Z-Wave remote controls and control systems.

 

 

Mark Walters, our resident Z-Wave expert, is vice president of the Z-Wave Alliance.