May 05, 2022 3 Comments
Insteon just became another smart home company to shut down their services. Overnight, the platform’s servers were disconnected, leaving their customers without a functional smart home. SmartLabs, Insteon’s mother company, claims to have sold over 5 million connected devices; that’s a lot of sensors, switches, and controllers that became orphaned. Does it mean that all of this hardware is now completely useless?
It turns out that there are ways to salvage your Insteon products and continue using them, at least to some extent, on other platforms who stepped up and provided integration for this protocol. However, these workarounds are less than user-friendly and will require more time and possible frustration around a system that’s no longer backed by any official support. What’s the alternative and is it even worth it to have a connected house these days?
March 14, 2017
We get a lot of inquiries from Wink users trying to connect Z-Wave devices which should "technically" work with their hub but are not listed on the device list in the Wink hub.
You can include most on/off Z-Wave products to Wink and Wink 2, including light switches, plug-in modules, dimmers, and even multi-channel devices such as our popular Zooz Power Strip which allows you to control 5 outlets individually.
Since Wink's support is not very obvious on how to include these "generic" Z-Wave devices to your network, we created this step-by-step guide with easy-to-follow instructions and screenshots to make everything super clear.
We hope it helps you enjoy your Z-Wave system even more!
July 15, 2016 18 Comments
For those of us interested in home automation, this might be a familiar scenario: You’ve bought that new 4-in-1 sensor you’ve wanted for a while, and rush to unwrap the package like a kid on Christmas Day. Then you insert the batteries and make your way to your SmartThings hub to include it into your network. And then the disappoint descends: it’s a sensor that’s new on the market, and it’s more complicated than a simple on/off device. It will probably take a while before SmartThings provides official support for it. So how do you include a Z-Wave device to your hub if it's not on the list?
This is where custom device handlers come in: community members will often develop their own code to be able to use new devices with SmartThings. They usually publish them on development platforms like GitHub and then post a link to the code on the SmartThings forum. But they don’t always include instructions on how to install the custom device handler and assign it to the device. The average user may think it’s a complicated process, when in fact it’s quite simple! Read more
June 24, 2016 2 Comments
Zooz is a relatively new name in the home automation industry, but their competitive prices and good-quality products have given them a fast following. Along with their Indoor Siren and 4-in-1 Sensor, the ZSE02 Motion Sensor is just one of their answers to smart home security.
As far as specs go, the ZSE02 has a detection radius of up to 23 feet in all directions. I think this a suitable range for most homes, especially considering the motion sensor in Aeotec’s MultiSensor 6 can only claim 16 feet (the trade off is that the 6-in-1 is smaller and senses more things — this is a good lesson in custom home automation: go with the products that best suit your goals, priorities, and lifestyle). It also has a wireless range of 100 feet, line of sight, so it should have no problem communicating with your other Z-Wave devices — a super important aspect of home security. Read more
April 06, 2016 53 Comments
Setting up my smart devices is usually fun, but I’ve always needed a bit more patience when it comes to wiring my Z-Wave switches. They include into your network like any Z-Wave device, but they also have different specifications. For example, unlike regular switches, your Z-Wave switches should be connected exactly as indicated in the manual and require a minimum load to function properly.
It’s worth mentioning, by the way, that after this initial set-up phase, my Z-Wave switches have made all the difference when it’s come to making my home more energy-efficient and convenient for me. That’s why I’ve compiled a short list of do’s and don’ts that will help you navigate and ease your Z-Wave switch installation process.