Z-Wave is a next-generation wireless ecosystem that lets all your home electronics talk to each other, and to you, via remote control. It uses simple, reliable, low-power radio waves that easily travel through walls, floors and cabinets. Z-Wave control can be added to almost any electronic device in your house, even devices that you wouldn't ordinarily think of as "intelligent," such as appliances, window shades, thermostats and home lighting.
Wow, what a horrible experience its been working zwaveproducts.com. I placed my first Home Automation order through them on 1/9/10. The website seemed nice enough, but after submitting my order, it has been hell ever since. Zwaveproducts.com is almost completely unresponsive. Here is my review of the transaction.
Well its been a week since I started this thread covering my purchase experience from zwaveproducts.com, and I must say that I've grown a lot as a human being in this time. I've learned patience, a new way to look at frustration, and the value of the dollar.
Whew... that was rough. But after just over two week I finally recieved it, the Mi Casa Verde Vera. Its a Home Controller and a Wireless router all in one. Vera mean "border" in spanish. So far I must say that I'm liking the attention Mi Casa Verde put into the users first experience. Nice tutorials piped in from YouTube give it a well rounded setup process. At least, so it seemed...
Tonight I sent a request to Cooper Wiring to help me with some issues that I have had with two of their devices, RF9534-N. The first Z-Wave device I tried to install blue up when I followed the directions that came with the product. I hopped online and found an update product manual on their site that had the correct wiring. Now the dimmer works great by itse
Why did I buy this glorified router? Originaly it was an investment into Home Automation. Now it feels like an investment into anxiety. I've dropped over $800 into my Home Automation project with the Mi Casa Verde Vera at the heart of it and taking up the majority of the component costs. If only it did more than provide a 802.11g network for me.
Well, its been a week since I received my Vera from Mi Casa Verde. I wish I could share some exciting stories about how Green my home is and how easy it was to use... sadly that couldn't be further from the truth. I've spent countless hours on their wiki and forum trying to get answers from anybody who knows why this thing doesn't work with any of my Z-Wave devices despite their guarantee of compatibility. Nothing. It just blinks. Its a $300 nigh light. Oh wait, it does act like an 802.11g WiFi router.
Ok, a follow up the "My Vera doesn't work posts", an observant user on their forums pointed out that I may have accidentally been shipped the European version of the dongle. The dongle is code for American or European Z-Wave frequency bands and apparently the one I received is designed to turn on and off Z-Wave devices from across the pond.
Whew...