ZWave errors after installing CT100 thermostat

[WayneWestmoreland]

So I decided to try my first ZWave device. I bought a CT100 thermostat along with an Aeon Labs Z-Stick II. It was a bit of a chore finding the information needed to install both devices and get them working with HomeSeer but for the most part they seem to be working in that I can view the thermostat's settings in HomeSeer and control the thermostat from HomeSeer.

But I have a couple of questions.

First, I don't understand 2 of the devices HomeSeer created after doing the import from the Z-Stick. See the image below. What are "Z-Wave Thermostat 5 Sensor Multilevel Inst 1" and "Z-Wave Thermostat 5 Sensor Multilevel Inst 2"?

Secondly, looking at the 2nd image below you'll see I am getting error messages every single time HomeSeer polls the thermostat. Obviously these messages trouble me. How do I get rid of them?

BTW, the thermostat is 3 feet from the Z-Stick with nothing but air between them.

Right now I am leaning towards replacing this thermostat with an IP stat and then figuring out how to make HomeSeer interact with it.

TIA for any wisdom you can offer.
--
Wayne

[Olbrit]

They look like bad/phantom child devices. It's a common occurrence. Then you get polling errors as they don't really exist. If you're lucky, the simple fix is just to delete those 2 children, then rescan the thermostat and hopefully they won't come back. Full optimize 4 times, keep the polling interval as low as you can live with (looks like you have 5 minutes 10 seconds and that should be fine), and your logs should be clean(er). If not, post back!

[WayneWestmoreland]

Thanks for the help

I deleted the two Multilevel Inst devices. The first time I tried running the Full Optimize I got the following error messages in the HS log.

Z-Wave - Optimization of node 5 successfully started...
Warning - Optimization of node 5 failed to update its status within 00:00:10
Warning - Unable to optimize node 5, Z-Wave Z-Wave Interface Z-Wave Thermostat 5, the node neighbor update has exceeded the time period.
Warning - A Z-Wave interface on the system is being restarted - some Z-Wave signals could be missed.
Wave - Done Z-Wave node neighbor update for all Z-Wave devices, the following nodes failed: 5

I am unable to run the Full Optimize again without restarting HS as it complains that the previous scan resulted in an error.

The number of error messages I get every time the thermostat is polled is now down to 2, which are as follows:

Warning - Aborting Z-Wave send, taking too long to send command to node 5 waited 2 seconds
ERROR - Timeout waiting for send abort to complete

BTW, the two "phantom" devices reappear in HS any time I re-import from the Z-Stick interface.

I saw a thread in the Z-Wave section reporting that others are getting this error also. (http://forums.homeseer.com/showthread.php?t=157146) Is this a bug in HS?

[Rupp]

How did you add this stat to HomeSeer? The suggested way is to use the add node from the Z-Wave management screen when having the stat within a few inches of your Z-Wave interface that is connected to your HS pc. So I would recommend deleting the stat from your Z-Wave interface and then from within HS. Then attempt to re-add the device.

[WayneWestmoreland]

How did you add this stat to HomeSeer? The suggested way is to use the add node from the Z-Wave management screen when having the stat within a few inches of your Z-Wave interface that is connected to your HS pc. So I would recommend deleting the stat from your Z-Wave interface and then from within HS. Then attempt to re-add the device.

I tried this, but as best I can tell this isn't possible using the Aeon Labs Z-Stick. Don't I have to unplug the Z-Stick from the computer's USB port in order to add any zwave device to it?

[Rupp]

Check to see if the add node option isn't available with your stick in place.

[WayneWestmoreland]

The Add Node button is available is just doesn't seem to do anything.

Here is what I just did. First I deleted the 3 devices in HS for the thermostat. I unplugged the Z-Stick and using the instructions that came with the Z-Stick I was able to unlink the CT100 thermostat from the Z-Stick (the "Link" indicator on the thermostat disappeared). I then plugged the Z-Stick back into the computer's USB port and used HomeSeer's "ERASE Interface..." button to clear the Z-Stick. I then restart HS just to make sure everything internally was in a clean state. Then from HS I clicked the Add Node button on the Z-Wave controller setup screen. HS displayed a screen stating the following:

Please wait...
Add node starting...
Activate the "Add to Network" function on the node while it is close to your HomeSeer interface...

I started the link process on the thermostat, the "MATE" text on the thermostat blinked for about 10 seconds then stopped without the "Link" indicator being displayed. I tried repeating this a couple of times and checked HS. No messages were displayed in the HS log and after a couple of minutes the HS Add Node screen displayed the following message at the bottom of the screen:

No activity in over 2 minutes - operation cancelled.

I tried a quick "Import Devices" to see if there was anything in the Z-Stick and HS reported that no nodes were found.

It certainly appears that HS is not able to add a node to the Z-Stick while it is plugged into the computer. BTW, the light on the Z-Stick just remained in its always on state the whole time I was attempting to get HS to add the node (when I unplug the Z-Stick and add the node w/o using HS the light blinks).

Any other suggestions of things to try?

[Rupp]

How close was the stat when you attempted to add it using the add node? What firmware version is loaded on your stick?

[WayneWestmoreland]

How close was the stat when you attempted to add it using the add node? What firmware version is loaded on your stick?

The Z-Stick while plugged into the computer is about 2 feet away from the thermostat in clear line of sight. I tried the link with the Z-Stick unplugged from the computer while at the same distance and it linked. I could get a short USB cable to decrease the distance but from the unplugged test I did it seems like it should be close enough.

The messages in the HS log during startup are as follows:

Controller Manufacturer: Aeon Labs, ID=0x1, Type=0x2
Controller firmware version: 3.7
This Z-Wave PC Controller Library Version is: Z-Wave 2.78 (ZDK Version 5.02 Patch 3)
This Z-Wave PC Controller is Type: ZW_LIB_CONTROLLER_STATIC

[MrRadic]

FYI, I'm experiencing the *SAME* issue. Just received a CT100, and I'm able to see the temperature, but cannot control it...I also have the two unknown devices.

[Rupp]

FYI, I'm experiencing the *SAME* issue. Just received a CT100, and I'm able to see the temperature, but cannot control it...I also have the two unknown devices.

These unknown devices are typically caused by the hardware not getting fully installed. Try waking the stat and re-scanning the device. Also some significant changes were just made to the latest version of HS to fix some tstat issues.

[ATEngineer]

Are these "fixes" available for downloading? What is the HSPRO rev level that has the fixes?

Thanks

[Sheriff]

Same CT100 Problem

I just replaced the awful CT30 [which locked up my network with a constant signal] with a CT100 and have the same problem. I can view all functions and control from HS, but have no control from HSTouch ['Current Status NA']. I also have an extra device: Temperature Inst 1.

[WayneWestmoreland]

I gave up trying to get the CT100 to work. In addition to the Z-Wave/HomeSeer issues I hated the UI. For example when you change the set point the current temperature and the set-point swap places on the screen which I found really annoying. And the UI is just plain ugly IMHO.

I returned it and bought 4 Venstar T5800 thermostats: https://www.google.com/shopping/prod...=venstar+t5800

They are IP stats, have a beautiful intuitive UI, tons of setup features and the remote phone and web apps are awesome. And I saw a post from a Venstar engineer that they plan to come out with an Insteon I/O card you can plugin in place of the IP card. Not too often that I am this pleased with a device.

[Rupp]

I just replaced the awful CT30 [which locked up my network with a constant signal] with a CT100 and have the same problem. I can view all functions and control from HS, but have no control from HSTouch ['Current Status NA']. I also have an extra device: Temperature Inst 1.

What version of HomeSeer are you running? Rich just made several fixes for thermostats in the latest beta of HomeSeer which is available in the beta forum.