I'm new this month to HE. It's up and running well for the most part. I've integrated with Alexa, set up scenes, groups and rules. I have several Z-Wave dimmers and switches (10-15) of varying manufacturers. Most of these are the non-plus version of Z-Wave. My understanding is that these older devices don't broadcast their state when physically pressed and therefore HE doesn't know the state at all times. To get around this, I used the "Polling" app within HE. This works but I don't want it to run all the time, mostly because it causes the LEDs on the switches themselves to flicker. I don't want that distraction out of the corner of my eye when I'm doing something quiet or watching a movie. Also, it's just overkill for what I'm trying to accomplish...
Currently, the only reason I want to poll for status is so that the app reflects that correct state of the device. Is there a way to poll only when I'm using the app? Perhaps even just a single 'refresh' for each relevant device when I open or focus on the app would do the trick.
Use Rule Machine to do device Refreshes at the pace you want. You can use ZWave Poller AND Rule Machine for this and migrate your devices from Poller to RM as you're ready.
Do you have a pointer for a Trigger Event within RM that would translate to something like "I'm using the app now"? Maybe I can make a button/app within the control system to trigger an event to start polling or refresh. That means I'd have to manually refresh, which is acceptable, but I'd rather it be automated.
It seems that polling is causing the flickering on Intermatic devices. It may be a side effect or some other interaction, but it's definitely the polling app that's causing it -- it starts when I poll, and then happens every 5 seconds. Maybe I could just discreetly cover the LED.
On many of my Z-wave switches there are options to disable the LED. So that might work as it sounds like the LED part is the most annoying.
Iām in the same situation with only 4 older switches (LED disabled). I keep thinking about swapping them out but am sort of waiting to see if Thread switch prices come down and to see how reliable they are. Other than polling, these old switches are great.
