[stuartf]

Hi,

I am about to start on a major building project which involves extending plus adding new central heating and electrics through the whole house.

I have been looking at using Z-Wave as the protocol for automation. Possibly using a Micasaverde Vera as the master controller. Although I may wait for "revision 2"

Has anyone had any experience of the the Horstmann AS2-RF Z-Wave room thermostat. I was considering pairing it with Danfoss Z-wave radiator thermostats (even though I realise they are +/- from set-point not full temperature control).

CM-Zone would be great if only it was Z-Wave! Same frequency but as far as I can work out it is not compatible.

Where I want to get to is a solution integrated with motion sensors so that I can turn off lighting and/or turn down heating if nobody is at home or areas of the house are unoccupied

Finally I was considering the MK Electric Astral range for lighting switch/dimming control. The only problem being that four months after launch nobody seems to be selling the range. A shame as they are the first Z-Wave switches that look good

Any thoughts comments, hints/tips, things to avoid would be appreciated

Thanks

Stuart.

[Bomber1965]

I know people who have ordered the astral range through Edmundsons in Oxford - I assume that as they have ordered other Edmundsons branches can also help.

Feedback seems very positive

[dudexk]

Hi Stuart,

Did you end up implementing this system at the end? if so, I'd like to hear your experience as I'm at the same point as you were back in Nov and have to order the items in a week or so. I'm leaning toward MK switches/dimmers, Horstmann AS2 and either Merten Connect control unit or the Pulseliving touch unit.

Thanks!

[neilball]

Be aware that the Danfoss Z-Wave TRV does not allow discrete setpoint control or even +- from setpoint - the temperature is set on the TRV head like every other standard TRV and the control allows switching of the unit from comfort to setback (where setback is a fixed 3 degrees below the comfort temperature).

[stuartf]

Originally Posted by dudexk

Hi Stuart,

Did you end up implementing this system at the end? if so, I'd like to hear your experience as I'm at the same point as you were back in Nov and have to order the items in a week or so. I'm leaning toward MK switches/dimmers, Horstmann AS2 and either Merten Connect control unit or the Pulseliving touch unit.

Thanks!

I have postponed implementation using z-wave. This was based on two significant challenges I came across.

The first was the price of the MK Astral range. I found and verified the trade prices for the range. A single pole switch unit is in excess of £350 and a stainless steel cover over £100. This is not including VAT. Retail was heading towards £500 per switch. I actually thought this must be for a pack of 5 but it wasn't and these prices have recently been confirmed by others on the web and a call to MK's helpline. My implementation using MK Astral would have hit £5K. Just not realistic at this time. Solid wood floors throughout or a few fancy switches. Not a difficult choice to make!

The second challenge was that I was considering the Micasaverde Vera appliance as the master controller. Micasaverde hit some reliability problems with the third party plug-in Z-Wave dongle which caused a temporary hold on shipping and a recall for the dongle. It spooked me a bit about reliability and fixes for the European version which so far they have not discussed or issued a recall. The solutions available for z-wave seem to be USA focussed at this time

I have ordered a Horstmann AS2 simply due to the fact that it was £99 on-line and a similar price to any other remote thermostat.

As a way of future proofing I am asking my electrician to install deep switch boxes so that I can potentially revisit as a retrofit should prices drop and choices increase.

I may ultimately compromise and go for the cheaper switches you can find on letsautomate.com. I did consider ordering a switch and the remote control/programmer just to try the switches out and see if I could live with them. Due to the on-going building work access to my fuse box is restricted so this plan is a non starter at the moment

I hope this is helpful

Stuart

[DarkKnight]

Hi,

Just wondering how your Z-Wave set up is working now ?


Does the AS2 RF heating controller work well ?

I have the MK Astrals (agree they're a rip off! - got mine from Ebay) and now am considering implmenting Heating control.

It would be good to hear how well it works...

Cheers