I see they have it up on the website now, although not yet in stock.
[url]
http://www.simplehomenet.com/proddetail ... FInterface[/url]

Will it/is it supported in Indigo? If so, could this be used to add Zigbee devices to Indigo?

I'm impressed with the price, comparable to the PLM (although for Mac use the SHN one would need a Serial to USB).

I'm hoping that as titans of the Insteon software community you have some more information than this mere mortal.

Brian

Yes, we know about it, and we're evaluating support for it (and other technologies) in Indigo 5.0. We haven't made any decisions yet however.

Hi -- wondering if there is any news about Indigo support for ZigBee. Simplehomenet has been promising for over a year to release a new irrigation controller with 16 zones; apparently EZFLora will never be upgraded beyond 8 zones. The new controller is now posted on their web site -- the RainBee 16 Zone Sprinkler Controller, Model #3016ZA (http://www.simplehomenet.com/proddetail ... Controller), although it's still listed as "Coming Soon". I've just sent them an e-mail asking for an update.

But I'm already heavily invested in both Insteon and Indigo, so it would be great if this could be integrated. One of the Simplehomenet people told me a year ago that they regard ZigBee as a superior, "industrial grade" protocol (compared to Insteon), and that they would be the only company that will integrate ZigBee into a PLM -- and that they were talking with Indigo developers and would soon release a developer's kit that includes the "ZBPLM" -- their version of a Power Link Modem that will work with both ZigBee and Insteon, and replace the existing Insteon product.

Can you please provide an update about where all this stands from the Perceptive Automation perspective?

And, do you agree that ZigBee is superior to Insteon? Will there be a whole range of ZigBee products that are equivalent in function to the Insteon products, but are better? Can you explain "better" from an end-user perspective? If I invest in the ZBPLM, should I hold off on ordering any further Insteon products (assuming, of course, that ZigBee will in fact work with Indigo)?

Thanks much!

Steve

While it is likely that from a technical perspective ZigBee is likely a better protocol than most of the others (and it's an open standard vs proprietary), it really has yet to get significant traction in the Home Automation market. The devices that are out there are quite expensive and the selection is, well, limited. As an example, Z-Wave has much better market penetration and prices are pretty reasonable.

These are just some of the factors that we're evaluating as we consider adding additional HA technology support. However, at the moment we're really focusing on getting the 3rd party API done for Indigo 5.0, which will allow others to add device, event, and action support to Indigo. So someone could write their own ZigBee or Z-Wave plugin and it would integrate into the various Indigo UI's and core server functionality. Once we get that API finished we'll turn our attention more fully to evaluating which HA technology we want to tackle next.

So, if it were me, I'd just hold off until I see what plugins become available after 5.0 ships and developers have time to integrate other products. But that's just me...

Thanks -- then as a follow-up, is anyone aware of any other options out there for a 16 zone irrigation controller? (I know, I could get 2 of the EZRain 8-zone controllers, but the integration could get a bit dicey, especially in terms of ensuring that there were no conflicts between the 2 controllers. Very inelegant!)

Hi, I'm reawakening this thread because there have been some new developments:

1. The 16-zone RainBee irrigation controller, with some very nifty features, is now (finally) being sold by SimpleHomeNet, at a reasonably attractive price of $134.99: http://www.simplehomenet.com/proddetail ... Controller

2. The ZigBee PLM is now also being marketed, also for a very reasonable price of $119.99: http://www.simplehomenet.com/proddetail ... FInterface

3. (Obviously) Indigo 5.0 is up and running, soooo...

Wondering if there's any new thought about either providing support for this within Indigo, or whether you've heard anything about anyone developing a ZigBee plug-in, per the old discussion in this thread.

There are no other 16-zone irrigation controllers out there (the solution of two 8-zone controllers is much less satisfactory for a variety of obvious reasons, not to mention much less elegant), and I don't believe there is presently any Mac program for controlling ZigBee devices. Since my home irrigation system has 13 zones, it would be wonderful to be able to set this up, so I'm still hoping that Indigo might add this as a feature.

Thanks,
Steve

We haven't heard of anyone doing a ZigBee plugin but we would be quite supportive of an effort in that direction. We haven't made any final decisions about which HA technology we're going to support next except that it's most likely between Z-Wave and ZigBee. We have some higher priority items that we're working on at the moment so we don't have anything more to report.

flitedocnm wrote:...the solution of two 8-zone controllers is much less satisfactory for a variety of obvious reasons, not to mention much less elegant...

I don't disagree about the benefit of having a 16 zone controller. But, while we are waiting, there is a workable solution for those of us with more than 8 zones. You might take a look at the Multiple Sprinkler Device Manager plugin. It creates a virtual single system out of two or more 8 zone controllers.

It also has one nice benefit not available in any single controller... the irrigation schedule is based on the individual needs of each zone rather that having all zones appearing one schedule. That is to say, each zone's schedule is independent of the other zones.

I am investigating tools for home automation. One of my goals is to have certain locks automated. Z-wave and Zigbee locks are reasonable priced. I like the Zigbee standard better, I feel like the security is better and would prefer to work with an open standard. Zigbee is gaining traction in home automation with Control4 using it. There are many lighting, locks and other controls coming out with Zigbee support. I would encourage you to support it, and it would make the difference on my purchase. I would prefer to manage my own installation on the Mac. I support Windows and Unix servers at work, but I am all Mac at home. I would also prefer a system that I can manage myself, whereas the Control4 and Savant have to be managed and installed by dealers. Finally, Shed.com's Xtension just does not seem as polished as Indigo. I suspect there are many people like me who would purchase Indigo, with support for Zigbee.

Thanks for considering it.

Hi Rick,

We are definitely interested and investigating both z-wave and zigbee.

I like ZigBee, but haven't been able to find many consume/retail available modules that really support it. I know about SimpleHomeNet's ZB line, but what other retail ZigBee modules are you aware of (especially the locks)? By retail, I mean actually available for sale somewhere where I can get my hands on it. Thanks.

Quikset locks: http://www.kwikset.com/SmartSecurity/Wi ... ology.aspx

Yale Zigbee/Zwave product line: http://www.yaleresidential.com/en/yale/ ... al-Living/

Both sites have links to where to buy. I think Black and Decker owns Quikset and sells these under another brand name. I've seen some zigbee lighting controls, too. But, I don't have them bookmarked, yet. Schlage was doing Zwave locks. When, I just looked it looks like they combined their efforts under a brand named Nexia for more complete solutions: http://www.nexiahome.com/Products/Produ ... x?catadd=5 .

Technically, zwave doesn't appeal to me at first glance as much as the zigbee, but I am still in the early stages of my research.

Thanks,
Rick

Yep, there are a lot of Z-Wave modules out there. ZigBee - not so much yet that we've found. A few scattered here and there and some energy monitoring stuff but not nearly enough to gain critical mass in terms of a good DIY push IMO. I tend to like the technology better than Z-Wave but building support for either is a big undertaking and we want to target the one that has the most device availability if there is a big difference (and there is).

jay wrote:...- not so much yet that we've found. A few scattered here and there and some energy monitoring stuff but not nearly enough to gain critical mass in terms of a good DIY push IMO...

Jay: I agree with your assessment and understand the reasons why Z-Wave is probably a better development choice for Indigo. But, just to add a little fuel to the sputtering ZigBee fire, I did find this cool deviceon the ZigBee Alliance web site product list.

What makes the adhoco.S1 so interesting is that it (like similar X10 and other micro-modules) can turn any 240VAC switch into a ZigBee operated switch. So, a broad range of ZigBee products is not as necessary. Of course, it won't work in the US or Canada, and that will limit it applicability to most Indigo users. But, still...

Too soon to mention today's news?

http://www.mnn.com/your-home/at-home/blogs/with-philips-latest-led-release-color-and-convenience-comes-at-a-cost

Not exactly today's news...