In the greater scheme of things this is a general HA question, but specifically for me, now, it is somewhat Stella-Z related.
What I mean by a "switch needs to be just a switch" is how it should function as a switch independently of any smarts. Throughout my piecemeal HA install I've tried to maintain a home that can function even when Indigo, the server, the Z-Stick fail. Sure, things won't automate, but we could still turn on the light switch; the motion sensor not being able to report back to Indigo won't matter that it can't trigger a bunch of devices; my DSC alarm can still function irrespective of whether the plugin/Internet connection is working. Of course individual components can fail, but barring anything catastrophic, things still should work. And yes, I know the light switch can still fail if the Z-Wave relay/dimmer fails, but that will probably be just one light, and anybody with some electrical confidence could come in, rip it out, and wire it back up as just a dumb switch.
My desire for all this is partly for my own sanity, and also because "she who must be obeyed" doesn't care for all this. Yes, she likes when it works, and it very rarely doesn't, and I'm sure if it didn't she would miss some things that are now automated. But… well, see below.
So what's this go to do with a Stella-Z, I hear you ask? It's because the one flaw in my plan that is still giving me some anxiety is my heating. There's a button I can press to manually control the heating on the boiler receiver, but I would first have to exclude the receiver from the Z-Wave network, something that I can't expect her to do. And whilst the Stella-Zs on the radiators do not have manual control, it would be easy to remove them to then use the boiler to heat up the whole house when on, which in an emergency that is acceptable.
So what I'm wondering is what have others chosen to do? The way the Stella-Z plugin works means one can't manually control the boiler receiver because the plugin is monitoring the device and will counter act the manual command.
I can't be the only one who's thought this. Some sort of manual bypass control on the boiler? Ideas anyone?
Simon