I am in the process of updating from the Cooper RFHDCSG Handheld Controller to HE and I'm running into a few snafus.
All my wiring devices are Cooper/Eaton RF95xx and RF96xx Series. HE supports some, but receptacles (HE calls them outlets.) have to be installed as Generic Z-Wave Devices. No problem, but how do you control them? They do not show up as an available switch in any Rule. Do I have to create a virtual switch to control them and then that switch shows up in Rules?
All my wiring devices have a Configuration Menu where you can set things like the device's response to All On/All Off commands. (More about this later.) How do I access this menu with HE?
For some unfathomable reason HE does not support All On/All Off. Instead they want you to dump everything into a Group, then control the Group. Ugh! Means the devices Configuration Menu does absolutely nothing. Okay, if I do create a Group how do I control it? They do not show up as an available switch in any Rule. Do I have to create a virtual switch to control them and then that switch shows up in Rules?
What are you using for rules, Rule Machine, Basic Rules, Room Lighting? I just picked on something here because you didn't state which. But in Basic Rule as well as Rule Machine, my Generic Zwave Outlet shows as a switch in both. You didn't specify this requirement, but they also show as switches in Dashboard.
Did Hubitat pick that driver (device type) or did you change it at some point?
There should be a new device created when you make your group. That device is whatever you call your group. I just created one to be sure it was working, and it did create a new device. That device shows up as a switch in all my rules.
Not quite sure what you mean by this? You go to devices tab, and select the device. That page isn't used directly in any rule or a dashboard or anything like that, it is simply a place to test the commands that are available, set some basic parameters, see some information about the device, and where you can change the driver.
The all on/all off zwave command is deprecated in the zwave protocol. I wouldn't expect any new hubs moving forward to support it.
Not arguing if it is a good/bad feature, just explaining why I wouldn't ever expect support for it.
On the plus side, it was handy (sometimes). On the negative side, it created a storm of zwave traffic (proportional to the # of devices on the mesh) when used which could cause mesh and hub issues on any mesh that was medium/large size.
You should include what specific generic driver you are using. I’m not familiar with the device you mentioned, but generic z-wave outlet or generic z-wave plus outlet would be a good place to start depending on which type they are. Also, if you change drivers, you need to hit “configure” on the device page in order to send configuration info to the device and be able to control it.
Sorry for the delay. I'll rephrase my question to make it clearer. When I install the generic outlets they do show up properly on the Devices page, but HE installs them as Type: Device. To use them I have to manually change them to Type: Generic Z-Wave Outlet.
Before: Just an outlet in the wall with no physical switch to control it.
After: Still just an outlet in the wall with no physical switch to control it, except this time it's a SmartOutlet so
I need a way to control it. How?
If I write a Simple Automation to toggle it On and Off, the generic outlet shows up properly in the list of devices to be controlled, but the last question asks me for the switch to control it. No switch linked to the outlet shows up because none exists. I have to do a little two-step and create a virtual switch for the outlet and then link to that switch. I.E, HE will not let me control the outlet directly like it does for a switch or dimmer. Has anyone else run into this problem? Do I have to do this for all outlets or is there a better way?
But wait! Maybe there is a better way. HE likes switches and dimmers, but not outlets so I changed the outlet type from Type: Generic Z-Wave Outlet to Type: Generic Z-Wave Switch and so far everything seems to be running okay without the need for virtual switches. (Maybe HE would like Z-Wave Plus Outlets better than my Z-Wave Outlets.) After all, except for the physical toggle an outlet and a switch work electronically the same way: On/Off.
Does anyone know what a Type: Generic Z-Wave Smart Switch is? I thought all Z-Wave Switches were SmartSwitches.
Not totally sure What the "Smart" indicates, except maybe SmartStart as someone suggested, but that really should not matter for a driver. If the device is Zwave Plus (Zwave+) then use the one that says "Plus" in the name, if not then use the regular one. Regular zwave devices need to be polled to get status updates if they are manually controlled via buttons on the device. Zwave+ devices report the status back to the hub automatically.
