From Issue #4

11/04 — Z-Wave isn’t a superhero, a radio station, or even a new breakfast cereal. It’s a new technology that is going to make our lives simpler and a lot more fun. Z-Wave is also your inexpensive answer to reliable lighting and appliance control.

Z-Wave modules use radio-frequency (RF) signals, along with sophisticated mesh-networking software to communicate. Since the modules are easy to install and do not require any new wires, it’s easy to add on to the system whenever you are ready.

The Starter Kit For my foray into Z-Wave control, I purchased a complete starter kit from HomeSeer. The kit included the HomeSeer software, a remote control and a couple of lamp dimmers. I almost immediately purchased a couple more devices including the Decora wall dimmer switch. Since I installed my kit, HomeSeer has come out with an even lower-cost introductory version of their software, HomeSeerSE (see the “Hot List,” pg. 48). Installing the software was really easy: just load the CD in your computer. HomeSeer has excellent support and they quickly answered my initial few questions.

Next I plugged the USB interface into a free port on my computer (which is running Windows XP), and it recognized the device and automatically loaded the drivers from the HomeSeer CD. The best part is that this unit gets its power from the USB cable so there is no wall-wart to suck up yet another plug in my PC’s power strip.

Installing the wall dimmer is easy, but does require a few tools. The first thing to do is flip the breaker on the switch you want to replace so the outlet is no longer live. Remove the plate and the old toggle switch. Installing the new switch simply requires connecting four wires (red, black, white and green), which is clearly explained in the one-page installation guide.

Module Learning The next step was to install the lamp modules on a couple of lamps in my family room. I just unplugged the lamp from the wall, plugged in the module and then plugged the lamp into the module. Then the module needs to learn using the remote control. Just press and hold one of the buttons on the remote and then press the button on the module. The remote has an LCD screen that lets you know when it has learned the module. From now on, one button-press on the remote will turn the lamp on and off. Pressing and holding the button causes the lamp to dim.

Once the modules were set, I needed to transfer that data to the computer. You have to go down a couple of menus in HomeSeer to find the Copy Remote menu, but it’s all pretty obvious. Then press the menu button on the remote and follow a couple more selections to get to the Identical Copy menu. Once you OK that, the data is uploaded in a couple of seconds. It was pretty easy, but I think it could be made a lot easier in the future.

Set Up Events Once the modules are uploaded to the PC, they show up automatically as Devices in HomeSeer. They have meaningless names but once I’d renamed them to Family Room Floor Lamp and other more descriptive names, it was quite easy to see which device controlled which lamp. I easily entered a couple of macros by clicking on a few menus and filling in a couple of fields. No programming required.

A Few Quirks Being a new technology, Z-Wave does have a few quirks. When you press a button on the remote to turn a lamp off, it doesn’t ask that lamp if it is on, and then turn it off. The remote simply sets the lamp to the opposite of the last value. The problem is that if the computer has already turned off the lamp, then the remote doesn’t know that and tries to turn it off again.

The first morning after installing my new Z-Wave control system, I awoke to see the lights still on! Turns out, the problem was that my PC had gone to sleep after about an hour of sitting idle. All I had to do was to change the power profile in my PC’s Control Panel to always remain on so that HomeSeer can turn the lights off for me. I’ll have to measure the power consumption of my PC and see if this is really saving me money. But the monitor is off and the PC is idle, so I think the power consumption is quite low.

The starter kit is very easy to install, but you really need enough lights under control to make the whole thing interesting. Try to concentrate on one room first and then expand to other rooms as your budget allows. I’ve already got plans for the next few upgrades. As soon as a motion sensor and a thermostat are available, I’ll be the first in line!

Project Snapshot

Estimated Time to Complete: Under 8 hours for 8 modules.

Difficulty Rating: 2 [1=Child’s Play, 2=Use Both Hands, 3=Call for Backup!, 4=Obi-Wan Worthy]

Estimated Cost: Starts at $200

The Problem You’ve experimented with X10 but aren’t satisfied with the reliability and performance. You have an existing home and realistically can’t run new wires to every switch to control the lighting in your home.

Parts Needed • Z-Wave USB starter kit with HomeSeer ($335); this includes the HomeSeer software, a Z-Wave USB interface, a Z-Wave remote control, and two dimming lamp modules. • OR use the HomeSeerSE Starter Kit ($199); this includes the HomeSeerSE software, a Z-Wave USB interface, a Z-Wave remote control, and a dimming lamp module. • Additional lamp modules and switches are also available ($30 to $50 each).

Project Steps 1. Load the software. 2. Install the USB interface. 3. Turn off the breaker to the applicable wall switch. 4. Install the wall dimmer. 5. Install the lamp module. 6. Use the remote for module learning. 7. Set up events.

Safety Tip

If you’re not comfortable working with 110-volt wiring, you don’t have to! Just use the plug-in modules. However, the wall switches are really handy and look and feel luxurious. Get some help if you are leery of the installation.

Helping Hand

The HomeSeer Web site has an extensive online forum, specifically for discussing Z-Wave issues. It’s a great place to get some quick answers to your installation troubles.

About the Writer

Name: Eric Ryherd City/State: Brookline, N.H. Occupation: Computer Chip Designer One thing people would be surprised to know about me: If your TV has a program guide built in, I probably designed the “brains” of the chip that does it.