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ivan.ruban

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  1. In eedomus it works more less OK. The main problem is in wrong energy consumption.
  2. I have tested Qubino dimmer module (in eedomus) and have very positive emotions in general. Advantages: - Very smooth dimming - 3 channels (load, binary input, binary input) - Possibility to connect DS18B20 (this was not tested) - No need to install bypass with LED lamps - Device has no noise at all! Disadvantages: - There is no "scene functionality" as in Fibaro modules, channels can be used just used in the association - 3 wired connection (with neutral). Moreover it uses a switch on Neutral which is not approved in Sweden (if I understood this correctly from one of the forum members). - Energy meter works in a bit strange way - the idle consumption is 0.6W, but it shows 250W on 10W LED lamp load. For those who are curious. I have also tested this one - nothing interesting, has one switch, uses no neutral. BeNext support told me that it is a TRIAC leading edge dimmer. [ Added: 2014-07-21, 17:41 ] Not exactly so, there are 2 separate devices corresponding to channel 2 and 3 - so these channels can also be used via rules.
  3. +100. For the reason you described and also because of that http://forum.fibaro.com/viewtopic.php?t=3828 I finally stopped to buy new Fibaro dimmers. There are alternative dimmer solutions on the market that I plan to test, see http://forum.fibaro.com/viewtopic.php?t=4636
  4. I also have not found any technical information regarding if it is leading or trailing edge dimmer. The official specs http://qubino.com/download/1740/ does not say anything about that. Nevertheless since trailing-edge dimmers usually uses MOSFET or IGBT switch rather than a TRIAC and coil (according to what I found) - there is a hope that it is a safer modern trailing edge dimmer. The possiblity of connecting DS18B20 is another great feature! The disadvantage of this dimmer is 3 wire connection. I am anyway waiting the delivery of Qubino dimmer and Qubino 2 relay switch to play with it. As for Fibaro dimmer - another dissapointment happened yesterday. My FGD211 dimmer stopped to function. It did not melt, but it just stopped to communicate with ZWave controller. It worked stable about half a year. My inspection showed that Megaman LED works fine, the problem is in dimmer. There is also another alternative which can also be installed without a neutral - BeNext dimmer http://www.benext.eu/static/manual/builtindimmer.pdf No ideas what type of dimmer it is. What I can see though it has overload protection.
  5. As always, just positive emotions reading your posts. Thanks for thinking out of the box. That is one of the main problem in my case - I know I have a lot of smart things installed already. But to make them work together and to think about interesting scenes - it is really a talent! Sad that you are not from Sweden, would really like to discuss some things with a beer. I have also a lot of ideas which I would like to bring to the market, starting from software and ending from solar powered ZWave devices. - As for Tesla S, my friend from Russia (I am also russian) was just about to buy it but read of forums stopped him to do it since you normally can expect several hundred kilometers on a full charge in reallity, it's not 700 km! I don't know much about it myslef but that is what he told he me. By the way you can of course make a LUA schedule for your charging at night. - Speaking TV to lights - there is a XBMC plugin in Vera that listens for events. So you an dim down your lights when f.ex. start playing movie. - "vacuum cleaner to turn up the preset light level". You need a smart vacuum cleaner with http protocol - and there are on the market actually. - "I want my washing machine to tell my girlfriends phone when it is done" - Fibaro plug with LUA scene - if kwh<0.1 then send sms - "advanced alarm system" - yes, again LUA. No chance to have it via UI in any of Home Control systems (what I know at least), unfortunately... - etc - the other topics. Yes, you are completely right. It is againg scripting (JavaScript, PHP, LUA, ...) RPi is really your best friend, I also have several running Thanks a lot! In a Autovoice+Takser video that I looked before ( ) - the guy pressed the button so I did not really checked the AutoVoice capabities. But "always listen" feature does the trick! So it is easier then Utter! app. Another good thing of AutoVoice is restart on crash - very good! In case if you have RPi (or anything other server running 24h) - take a look at OpenHab that has also integration for Milight, as well as for plenty iof other things. Vera also has Milight in the way of special plug-in that you can install. I had milight RGBW and played with it before on OpenRemote+Openhab on RPi. It worked fine unless the Milight controller died one day. Then I was a bit dissapointed in their quality (or maybe it is just my case?) and moved to Phlips Hue which just works... More expensive, but I am a bit pedantic in terms of quality. Just one thing I can complain about Hue - the green light sucks (I don't like lime color - I want it to be green!!! MiLight gives the full RGB) That tells a lot. If you choose HC2 instead of HomeSeer, than I would wait a bit with tests with HS I guess, as for now. But the main stopping factor is actualy EU Z-Wave compatibility in HS I tested also OpenHab 1.4 before and it is also running on one of my RPi now - but I must say OpenHab needs defenitely more than RPi for running smoothesly! I am waiting for delivery of CuBox i4pro - should be enough for XBMC, OpenHab and OpenRemote all together! Issues with latest Fibaro products is more less OK. Even Vera who tells they provide 100% ZWave compatibility (which also is not 100% truth) had compatibility issues with Fibaro multi and smoke sensors - so they even had to produce a separate beta release for that. Healing hour sounds interesting in OpenHab - was not aware about that. In Vera I don't really know if it is every night, I thought actually it is just one time procedure. But what exists in Vera is plenty of advanced routing options for ZWave, insteon, ... - f.ex. "Use Vera routing instead of Z-Wave (requires 4.5)" - I think that is what makes it so stable - some kind of software logic based on experience, not allowing Sigma chips to do all the work. As for Logitech emulator, take a look also at MPD - plan to test it, works in the same way, you can stream audio to any room. The disatvantage in comparison with Sonos is anyway sync stream to several rooms. I am not sure if there is any alternative to Sonos allowing the synconized streaming to several streams.
  6. Did you try them by youself? As I can see I have to have a Mac OS which I currently don't have. But it's not a problem to invest if it's a good product. I bought Vera for a long time ago and I took Lite version just because it was cheaper. If I'll buy Vera now of course I will choose Vera 3 which runs easily with 200+ ZWave devices. The lite version becomes quite slow with 50+ ZWave devices. I am looking forward for Vera Pro version (1Ghz 1Gb RAM): http://blog.domadoo.fr/2013/01/09/micasaverde-presente-ses-nouvelles-veras/ So you selected Homeseer over others. What is the main reason for that? I saw there is a Linux version of HS - I will definitely try that one day. Is RPi enough for HS? What HW do you use? What is the situation with mobile clients? Any issues with ZWave compatibility? What are your main requirements that you have not found in other systems? I am very quirious. I assume it is custom UI and advanced heating schedule, or? As for custom GUI - I really like OpenRemote approach where you can combine different protocols in one place and customize your application view without any need in programming. In Vera there is something similar in SQRemote and ImperiHome applications. That is good that we have an OpenHAB user here. From open source solutions I tested by myself: Domoticz, Domotiga, OSA, OpenRemote, OpenHAB. OpenHAB impressed me most of all because of plenty of protocols. I tested OpenHAB with RfxTrx and Max - worked just fine. I considered this system very seriously and was just about to setup it as my main home system when suddenly found this (https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/openhab/h3beXlo5iKU) and I was a bit unsure if I should use it - I don't want the same problems as in HC2. And I came to Vera. How does it work with Aeon z-stick in your case? Is your ZWave network big enough? How to use virtual devices in OpenHAB? Any issues with OpenHAB, how often do you restart it? Another factor for me to choose Vera over OpenHab is a remote access. How do you connect to OpenHAB remotely from a non-local network? Your own VPN connection or? "my.openhab" sounds promising but no ideas when it starts to work. I am also very interested in alternatives to Sonos, and the Squeezebox emulator sounds as a good and cheap option - and with a sound system you want. Vera has also a Squeezebox plugin. Any link how to configure Squeezebox emulator could be nice to have. Regarding voice recognition - I want to it to be real-time. Neither HC2, nor OpenHAB has it as real-time. Why sould I press the button before I speak? There was some interesting options for real-time recognition on this forum but all were for Windows (using Windows speech engine) - don't want to buy windows server just for voice. I am looking for Linux or Android real time voice recognition. What I found for Linux is VoiceCommand, it shoud work fine since it is based on GoogleVoice. For Android wall tablet I plan to try Utter!+Tasker. Utter! can listen all the time. Completely agree regarding Vera. You need to be very patient when you work with it!!! But as I told before you normally don't use the control panel much - mostly just in the beginning when you setup the network. And when everything is configured I normally use the mobile app for device control. Anyway Micasaverde guys are working on the new UI - http://ma-maison-domotique.blogspot.se/2014/04/micasaverde-devient-vera-control-ltd-et.html And hopefully they will release Vera Pro soon so the hardware will be at least not from Nokia 3310 or a router (in Vera 3 case). But so far I like Vera - it slow and ugly but works and I don't restart it. "Nothing is perfect.." - yes I agree. But I am ready to invest into new options. As I mentioned before I want to have a stable 24/7 wireless automation solution - I just don't know the right one. And I am not limited only to DIY sector, stable commercial solution is even more interesting to try.
  7. Hello, I am the user of both HC2 and Vera for a long time. And I finally migrated all my ZWave devices from HC2 to VeraLite recently. HC2 is now powered off. I would like to share my experience with you - I hope it can probably be useful for somebody. But I am also looking forward for your comments/experience/ideas, especially also from guys having experience with different controllers. Why did I select Vera over HC2? 1) My main consideration to select Vera was "dead nodes" problem in HC2. It is a killer of HC2!!! When I chose HomeAutomation technology a long time ago I selected ZWave instead of RfxTrx433-devices mainly because of reliabilty that ZWave protocol offers. And for example my HC2 works just perfect for a week and then device(s) can suddenly become dead. It is just not acceptable at all! One can say - the problem can be related to network configuration. But in Vera there is a "heal network" tool which analizes the routes in netowrk and saving the best routes. The similar functionality in HC2 "Reconfigure network" did not do the trick for me unfortunately. But I am not alone with this problem as I got from the forum. In Vera you just don't have this issue! 2) The integration potential in Vera is amazing. It is not limited by HTTP protocol as it is in HC2. For example I connected USB300 enOcean stick-controller directly into Vera and control now my EnOcean solar powered (I miss it so much in ZWave by the way) D/W sensors and wall-controllers. In HC2 you will need an OpenHab server running in the middle to achieve something similar. But even though all my 3-party devices in HC2 will be considered as virtual which I don't like, see the next point. 3) The flexibility of virtual devices that can be configured as a regular z-wave device. You can create f.ex. virtual dimmer or virtual thermostat - it works exactly in the same way as ZWave devices in mobile apps, but you can use whatever logic behind. In HC2 mobile app I have a lot of virtual devices instead while I like them to be categorized in a right way (light source, MMedia, climate). Without that the HC2 mobile app is not really useful for me. Another downside of HC2 mobile app - you cannot sort (and then save!) device order (http://forum.fibaro.com/viewtopic.php?t=4133). 4) Device support. HC2 does a great job in development the support for new and new devices. But it takes years, common! In my particular case I need a support for Remotec ZX-120 and Door locks. These devices are available on the market for quite a long time already. 5) A lot of iOS and Android applications, some of them allows even making custom UI! Fibaro is closed to only Fibaro apps. Why by the way? Why there is no one who tried to use HC2 API and develop the application? What I miss now in Vera that I liked in HC2: 1) Faster hardware. VeraLite has 64 mb RAM which sounds ridiculous. But I prefer a ridiculous stable platform instead of fast controller looking as top class device but with routing problems. 2) Easy to use configuration and nice UI. That is where Fibaro is best on the market! But you normally configure the devices just once, and then normally don't use control panel, you use a mobile application instead. So I can live with ugly Vera's controller interface. But the possibilities it provides are amazing. 3) Event panel - i believe there is a plug in also in Vera for that, but have not just seeked for it yet. 4) Heating panel. You can configure quite easily the heating schedule in HC2. And 4 time groups is OK for me. Nevertheless there is no way to use virtual device as a linked device. And then the panel is useless... 5) Set temporary setpoint for x-hours on a thermostat. There are most likely also alternatives in Vera apps, needs to be investigated. 6) Different "button sets" for virtual device. Have not found anything similar. The price factor is a secondary factor for me - I own both systems already. And I am OK to invest some money into reliability. In a perfect world I would like a commercial solution that can be used 24/7 without a restart. Vera seems to work fine, but I am bit unsure anyway to use it (and especially HC2) as a commercial product. Anyone who can recommend something else? Insteon, homeseer, iris, mcontrol ...? I don't agitate for any of the controllers. I just share my personal experience, I can be wrong of course. I would gladly like to hear other opinions and sharing the experience. And I must say HC2 is doing a great job in development of new products. It is a really a good product and I wish it to be the best. Currently it has the problems unfortunately and Vera works more stable in my case. But may be it is just in my case?
  8. The advantage of Fibaro Dimmer in comparison with Fibaro Switch is its connection to power supply. I don't have the neutral so Fibaro Dimmer is the only option. Another advatage is scene controlling, but this one can be also achieved on F.Switch using LUA-workaround. I have actually connected Fibaro Dimmer (no-neutral connection) and Philips Hue bulb. Parameters 10, 12 and 13 are set as recommended. If I don't use Fibaro bypass - the Hue bulb does not like the power source and blinks every second: on>off>on>off... But with a bypass it works just fine. And I can also use S1-pad on Dimmer without any problems, Hue switchs on instantly when it gets a power from Dimmer. Since we talked a bit about melting and inrush current: is Fibaro Bypass designed to work with Leading Edge Fibaro Dimmer and is resistant to inrush current peaks? I ask because in a link I posted above it was both Dimmer and Bypass that melted. And bypass was in a short cuircut (ohmmeter showed 0 ohm). I have no idea if it was dimmer or bypass that died first in that case...
  9. Hi Dalle1985 and thanks for the answer! It makes me happy, I will install Dimmer+Hue in a nearest future. I actually like your answers - they are very technical and useful. It is probably because of your electrical engineering background. I also vote for a new version of Fibaro dimmer. It is a very good product but with a better hardware it would be perfect. Fibaro needs to eliminate a "melting hazard" and a 3-click problem for customers, and thus to minimize also all potential issues for Fibaro as a company. But at least it is important to put the list of compatible and certified bulb vendors and models. It is a must!
  10. Thanks a lot P. Ratajczak for your answer. Regarding situation 2 (no N) and D/W sensor. Nice idea - and with a good external battery it will work for years. But in situation 2 it will actually also work if I connect Fibaro dimmer to Philips hue, but use a one-pad switch connected only to S2. In this way it is a mains powered scene controller and I can run scenes. Another question - if I connect Fibaro Dimmer to Philips Hue LED: Do I need to worry about when using Fibaro Dimmer with Philips Hue LED? I plan to configure the dimmer to be always 100%. As I can see it will not hurt Philips Hue ("using the bulbs with the dimmer switch set to max would not damage them in any way" - see http://store.apple.com/us/question/answers/product/HA779VC/A/can-i-use-hue-in-a-lamp-that-is-currently-controlled-by-a-dimmer-switch/QCPU4C4A29HPP2XAP) But is there any danger for Fibaro Dimmer? I just want to avoid melted dimmers - I had a bad experience in the past: http://forum.fibaro.com/viewtopic.php?p=30303
  11. I want to use Fibaro dimmer as a mains powered scene controller to control Philips Hue. When I press S1 or S2 - it run the scene to change light mode on Hue. But I don't want to dim any local load ("O" exit in Fibaro dimmer). In the wall mounting box I don't want to switch/dim the lamp because Philips Hue lamp just needs to be always on. Here I have 2 questions in case of which power-connection diagram is used: Situation 1. [3 wires (bulb, N, L)]. Will Fibaro Dimmer work if I connect only L and N but don't use the load (O on the dimmer)? As for bulb I plan just to connect bulb-cable to L-cable to have it always powered. Situation 2. [2 wires (bulb, L)]. I have to connect Fibaro dimmer to bulb and L according to diagram. But is it possible to configure Fibaro dimmer to be always on? So it won't turn off if I press S1.
  12. +1 to all questions here. The most interesting question for me though is the first one about stabilty. So once again: Has anyone compared the stability with the old device (may be on the same radiator and the same zwave network)? Any stability issues with new Danfoss?
  13. Android application was developed later than iOS-app. So I guess that it the reason why android can have less functionality. I don't think, it wasn't meant to move devices. Application allows you to do that - it is an active drag and drop functionality, so you press on device > move it to another place > unpress. And it works just fine in the same session (unless you will close the app). The ticket issue is "confirmed" so I understand it as Fibaro confirmed there is a bug. Since the functionality is active, I expect it to work. I must also say that in my case, the IPhone app is a crap unless this bug will be fixed. Moving devices to another room is an inconvinient workaround. And is not always an option - f.ex. if you use heating schedule for the thermostat in the room. Categorization in the app (lights, climate, virt device) is also not perfect. I have non-zwave light devices configured as virual devices in HC2. I want to have them in lights, but not in "virtual device". They are virtual devices from HC2 perspective, but not from user perspective. I wrote about that here: http://forum.fibaro.com/viewtopic.php?p=35534 To summarize, currently I am not satisfied with both room tab (I cannot reorder the devices), and categories tab (no chance to use categories for non-zwave devices)
  14. Only LUA so far http://forum.fibaro.com/viewtopic.php?t=4064
  15. Thanks for a positive feedback! You can use external scripting server (f.ex. php/postgresql - can be any) together with HCL to make all complicated logic and then call API on HCL. That was discussed several times on the forum. With HC2 it is nevertheless much easier. RfxCom devices are extremly cheap, I worked with them and they are not bad. The only problem with them is single-side no-meshed protocol and interference issues. I like LightwaveRF devices. That is what must be fixed asap I believe. Even if you configure your remote, you cannot trigger scenes from it, just direct association to devices will work. Please see http://forum.fibaro.com/viewtopic.php?t=4064 Looking forward also for delivery of my Fibaro motion sensor. Fibaro engineers forgot to incldue a very important functionality - DC power, but otherwise it's good that everyone has just positive experience with it! Thanks for that Fibaro!
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