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Wifi Vs Zwave Comparison

Resource: Safe electric wiring

2023
Wifi Vs Zwave
David provided this first-hand analysis:
He says, I'm definitely going the z wave route, given the option.
It tends to be more plug-and-play, at least so far. 

The icing on the cake is that all of my z-wave is controlled by a single app and/or web interface. 
It's a lot easier to maintain and to teach my wife how to use.

Installation overview:
I have my landscape and driveway lights, and now my water heater on Zwave.  
My irrigation timer is WiFi, as there was not much of any other option that was as compelling ....
 ... and for the same reason I have Nest for thermostats.
Buy from my Amazon links
Nest at Amazon
Amazon ECHO to control wifi
Wifi sprinkler controller

Zwave Connectivity:
Zwave  is a mesh network.
All the devices are capable of relaying a signal from any zwave device to another switch until they get back to the hub. 
That makes placement a bit easier. 
Z wave is also much lower power, allowing for battery powered devices that would be quite difficult to accomplish with wifi.

Wifi connectivity:
Wifi can be finicky on connections, whereas z wave seems to be more reliable. 
All wifi devices have to be able to reach the wifi router for their signal,  which can be a problem depending on where the router is installed. 

Controller:
Each wifi has separate apps. So if you have wifi devices from different manufacturers, then you have the app for each device.
You have to remember which app goes to which device.
Zwave has one hub. All Zwave devices, from any manufacturer will work with hub.
The icing on the cake is that all of my Zwave is controlled by a single app and/or web interface. 
Z-wave is a lot easier to maintain and to teach my wife how to use.

Ease of replacement:
I already had an electronic water heater controller failed much sooner than it should have,
The beauty of using a contactor instead of timer, is that if my Zwave switch fails, all I have to do is replace it at a cost of less that $40. 
Compare Boxtype water heater timers

Availability:
Zwave has standard protocol, and devices from any manufacturer will work will all other Zwave devices.
Z wave replacement are reasonable prices.
On the other hand, Wifi is proprietary software, unique to each manufacturer. If manufacturer changes or discontinues product...
... then older devices might stop functioning ... and replacement devices not be available.
Resource:
Z-wave contactor

How Z-wave works: Home-id and Node-id.
Each Z-wave network requires 1 main controller.
Controllers can be a hand-held controller (portable controller), or wall-mount controller (static controller), or SmartThings Hub (static controller) etc. Controllers can be battery-powered or hardwired. SmartThings Hub is 'hardwired' and continually powered.
At the factory, controllers are given unique Home-id number.
No two controllers have same Home-id. The Home-id cannot be changed inside the controller.
During inclusion of each device, such as the GE Contactor, the controller will assign it's unique Home-id to that device.
//
Each Z-wave network also requires 1 to 232 devices (actors and sensors).
For example the GE Contactor is an example device (or actor), while Z-wave wall switch is another device.
During inclusion, each device will be assigned a unique Node id by the controller.
To summarize: During inclusion, the controller will assign its Home-id and a unique Node-id to each device.
##
GE Contactor arrives new out of the box without Home-id or Node-id. Therefore the GE Contactor device is ready to interoperate with any Z-wave controller.
Recommended that each device be excluded before being included.  This is to clear any prior inclusions.
If a device falls off network, it must be excluded and then included again.
Most zwave devices today are auto-inclusion type and will automatically seek the network signal.
++
During inclusion, the device automatically exchanges its node-information-frame to the controller.
The information-frame tells the controller what kind of device and what command classes are supported.
GE Contactor requires no further configuration after inclusion. The controller knows this after receiving the node information frame from the GE Contactor.
While other z-wave devices, such as battery-powered motion detector, can be configured with various parameters such as time interval etc.
Battery operated devices should be configured immediately. When battery-operated device is included, it will stay awake while waiting for configuration... and this can drain battery.
GE Contactor is powered by electricity and not battery, so battery drain is not as issue.
##
After the controller's Home-id is assigned to a device, then the device will not accept signals from any other controller (unless network has secondary controller or bridge to another network).
This assures that the GE Contactor cannot be operated through somebody else's controller.
==
Summary: When inclusion is complete, the GE Contactor is assigned the same Home-id as the controller, and is assigned a unique Node-id. And the controller knows what commands can be sent to the GE Contactor.

Terminology for wiring
Load = light bulb, motor, fan, heater, pump; Total load = add up all Loads.
Resistive Load: incandescent light bulb, heating element and have uniform voltage and amp draw; Inductive load: motor, pump etc. Inductive loads pull many amps during start up. CA3750 is rated for resistive and inductive.
Load rating... light bulb shows wattage, label on water heater shows volts-watts etc Figure volts amps watts
Volts x amps = watts  Water heater formulas .pdf
Hot wire = wire or wires that carry voltage and would shock you if breaker was on Image residential breaker box
Neutral wire = by code, a white wire used for 120V and 277V circuits to complete circuit, and carries no voltage
Ground wire = green or bare copper wire that connects to ground busbar in breaker box Why ground is needed
208 and 240 volt circuits have 2 Hot wires. (US electric)  Image residential breaker box
Some countries have 230-240Volt circuits with 1 Hot and 1 Neutral (instead of 2 Hot wires). Unknown if CA3750 works with this power source.
120 and 277 volt circuits have 1 Hot and 1 Neutral / Usually 277volt is found in commercial applications (US)
Other voltages include 12V 24V 230V 380V 440V 480V 600V etc found in various applications worldwide
DC direct current generated by solar panels and batteries. Large arc when switching high voltage DC is fire hazard. Device must show DC rating. CA3750 is not rated for DC. Read about DC vrs AC
AC alternating current produced by power plant, windmill, or portable generator. CA3750 is rated for AC More
Single-phase = residential electrical systems are single phase AC, requiring 2 wires to complete circuit More
Three-phase = commercial wiring requiring 3 Hot wires to complete circuit More
Wire gauge = diameter of wire. The wire size and load rating and breaker must match Select wire and breaker
Breaker: circuit breaker will trip when amp draw from Load overheats wire. Turn breaker fully off and then fully on.
60Hz or 60 cycle = number of times AC generator rotates each second. Americas use 60 Hz power, while other countries use 50Hz. CA3750 is rated 50/60 Hz. Read more
Jumper = short wire used to connect 2 electrical points together.




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