I'm looking at getting a Hubitat to change my long time X-10 automation over to Z-Wave. I'm having a really hard time finding a Z-Wave remote like the X-10 Palm pad, at least that is currently manufactured. In the current market, it seems like they are non-existent.
I need a remote that can handle at least 3 different devices to start with, one appliance module, and 2 light switches, but would like it to handle possibly 6 or more.
There is an older Intermatic remote on Ebay (HA09), that seems to fit the bill, but there is very little information on interaction with Hubitat, and what I have been able to find, is that it may or may not work.
I saw the Hank HKZW-SCN04 might do what I want, but as I haven't done the switch over yet, I'm not as familiar with how a scene controller works. I get the general jist, that it is a superset of direct device control, where as X-10 was really basic, you have a device address, and the remote just talks directly to that device id, and sends on or off.
It just seems like that and the NodON remote are almost the only affordable ones available, and the NoON doesn't seem to have great reviews either. Any feedback on this would be most appreciated.
@wildstar87 Any button controller should be able to do what you want. I would look at automating more things though than having remote controls.(My personal preference anyway) You can also do the exact same layout in a dashboard for use on your phone or even a cheap fire tablet and give you more expansion room to boot...
When I switched from X10 to HE, I purchased a Nexia NX1000. The benefit of this device is it has a LCD display so you can assign text for each button as well as it has multiple pages.
To each his own. With this device, I don't have to press my thumb, click on an app, wait for the dashboard to be displayed. More importantly, anyone in the family can use it (especially if their phone is in another room)
I should probably mention, I don't want to use a smartphone, or tablet for my control. This is in my bedroom, and I just want simple hard button control. I don't want a bright screen in my face when I'm sleeping, and having to look at it to figure out which button to press. The stuff I want to do is really basic. I want to be able to turn on and off my bedroom/bathroom light, and a bedside fan, to begin with.
I'm sure I could find some wi-fi/proprietary devices to do this more easily, but I want to expand on Z-Wave, not lock myself into a exclusive/proprietary system.
I'm not seeing that is Z-wave compatible though? I know that the Hubitat is supposed to be compatible with the Philips Hue stuff though. So I'm thinking you are suggesting, using this Hue controller to send commands to the Hubitat, that will translate into Z-wave commands, and essentially act as a bridge?
I'm willing to give that a try, but I was hoping to find a remote like this Hue controller, that was Z-wave specific, there just don't actually seem to be a lot on the market. I was hoping I was just missing something.
Or if you really want to do it right. I use these on each of our night stands. The upper and bottom buttons are programmed for on/off of their respective table lamps, the center up/downs are dimmers, and the center button turns off the whole house. (You can program them to do what ever you want). Batteries last about 10 years (Seriously)
As @rlithgow1 mentions many of us use HE for home automation vs remote control. For instance I have a ceiling fan in my bedroom attached to a virtual thermostat. It comes on when the temperature is above a preset limit.
In those cases where I really do need remote control or I need to make it guest-proof I use either the Aeotec "mote" series or Lutron Picos. The Picos are part of the Caseta ecosystem and do require a separate hub though the HE integration is solid and simple. If you're not using the rest of the Lutron Caseta product line probably not worth it for you. The Aeotec devices are straightforward and zwave.
Here's another thought though - have you considered Alexa? Works great, and much easier at night when you can't see the remote either. I have recently even had some success with Alexa's snore detection algorithm. Not that I snore, of course... no, not me.
I'm not a fan of having everything put into the cloud, or having big corporations having access to my life 24/7, and listening to me all the time, so that's not really an option, not really a fan of voice control either. At least in this circumstance. I definitely do snore, but I also use a C-pap, but probably the fan noise + white noise generator would interfere with voice recognition routines, even if I wanted to use it.
That is one of the things that attracted me to Hubitat, was the local control, not being locked into proprietary system, not needing to be in the cloud.
Yes, requires the pro bridge 2 which directly integrates into Hubitat. Yes the batteries are replaceable (use 2032's) They last for about 10 years. All of my switches in my house are Lutron. I also have pico's mounted as switches... Oh and Pico's run about $15
Yup fair enough. And that certainly is one of the advantages of HE.
@rlithgow1 and I are both part of the Lutron mutual admiration society and we could go on forever. Pico also makes a really nice bed side table stand for the pico, and they can be mounted in the switch plate he is modeling for you. But yeah you do have to invest in a Lutron hub (PRO series). The integration is all telnet - 100% local. But the switches rock so once you've already made the investment the remotes are cheap and handy.
I don't have any of these but the few mentions of Hank products I've seen have all been positive.
In addition to the NX1000 there's also the ZRC-90US (if you can find stock).
Yeah, that's the problem, it seems either a lot of these controllers are either discontinued, or out of stock. I'm guessing part of it is the semiconductor shortage issue, and possibly low interest. I really hate that everything requires a smartphone these days. I don't want to have to use a damn app for everything.
Those ones that you posted, and I mentioned earlier, seem to be the only affordable ones around.
That may be a direction I go in the future, but want to keep costs down initially, as I'm just trying to figure out if this is the way I want to go (it seems to be). Although it is frustrating that doing something that seems to me is fairly simple, is even this convoluted.
My X-10 system has been hobbling along for a while now, and it barely does what I want it to, but every time I looked at switching, there always seemed to be issues with compatibility, reliability/robustness, ease of use, and of course companies always trying to lock you into their system, and more more trying to get all sorts of information on you that I don't want them to have, since NONE of them are trustworthy, the bigger they are, the worse they are in that regard, but that is an argument for another time.
Nothing that HE or for that matter most any other platform will be compatible with x-10. Once you switch to whatever, that will be it.
HE is incredibly robust. It supports z-wave, zigbee natively and umpteen integrations natively. It supports umpteen integrations via community
It is very easy to use, especially with apps like Basic Rules, Button Controller, and Simple Motion and Lighting and as complex as you want to be with Rule Machine.
HE holds no information and everything is 100% local. They're top priority is not to collect any data. Infact, except for updates, you can completely block HE from the internet all together and everything will work fine.
Lastly, you have been given multiple options that are easy to implement above. The issue at hand is taking that first step away from what you know into something you don't When you are ready, I can confidently say that every single person here including the dev's is willing to help guide you through any thought process' you have
When you are ready, I can confidently say that every single person here including the dev's is willing to help guide you through any thought process' you have 
