Setting up Somfy RTS-controlled shades using ZRTSI

I have just put up my first RTS-controlled shades. The standard Somfy-provided controller controls the shades on channels 1, 2, and 3. I have successfully done the base include of the ZRTSI into Indigo. I am now trying to understand the relationship between the virtual channels in the ZRTSI, Indigo, and the RTS channels. Do I do a new z-wave include for each ZRTSI virtual channel or ... something?

Thanks in advance.

Hi Brian

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=9356&hilit=Zrtsi

That suggests you need to include additional devices into Indigo, one per somfy channel.

Once that’s done, I don’t know what UI indigo provides for the ZRTSI but if not, the Zwave Window Control plugin has the appropriate commands to control it.


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Thank you. I shouldn't try to work on things late at night. This morning when rereading the Somfy ZRTSI doc I realized I needed to add each virtual interface into the Z-Wave controller separately. That part was successful.

I have the shades working from Indigo. Now the issue is being able to get the shades to go to an intermediate setting instead of 100% up or 100% down. 0% on the slider is down. Anything more than 0%, e.g. 1%, is all the way up.

I have installed the Z-Wave window controller plugin but can't figure out what it uses for a UI. It is there and I have created a Z-Wave Window Controller device that is connected to the shade's device, but I can't see how to use it.

This is an old thread, But I also have the Somfy ZRTSI and have the same behavior. No way to control shade position. Zero brightness is all the way down and anything else is all the way up. I have no idea if the ZRTSI even supports an intermediate position. Does anyone know?

z-wave base node:

Indigo Z-Wave Version: 2022.2.1
Node ID: 55
Model: Static Controller
Model ID: 5A525400
Manufacturer: Somfy
Manufacturer ID: 0047
Protocol Version: 3.42
Application Version: 1.08
Model Definition Version: 0
Library Type: 7
Class Name: Static Controller
Class Hierarchy: 02 : 02 : 00
Command Class Base: 00
Command Versions: 20v1 72v1 86v1
Encryption Status: Not Supported
Multi-Endpoint Types: - none -
Multi-Endpoint Classes: - none -
Multi-Instance Counts: - none -
Features: - none -
Neighbors: 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 27, 29, 31, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 46, 50, 54
Associations: - none -
Config Values: - none -

The ZRTSI does not support the "stop" command which is what is needed to get the Somfy roller blinds to open and close without rolling all the way up.

I ended up getting the URTSI-II module and sending it commands via RS232. This works just fine.

The ZRTSI does not support the "stop" command which is what is needed to get the Somfy roller blinds to open and close without rolling all the way up.

Are you sure about that?

All other forums (eg SmartThings) appear to be using it successfully.

If there’s an issue in Zwave Window Controller plugin, let mx know so I can fix it.

The ZRTSI will work for all the Somfy blinds EXCEPT the roller shades. The roller shades use the STOP command to cause the roller to turn part way to close the blinds and the ZRTSI doesn't implement the STOP command.

The roller shades use three commands. UP does what you expect. DOWN lowers the shade but leaves the blinds in the open position. STOP leaves the shades down and also closes the blinds. If the shade is part-way down, STOP also does what you expect. I normally leave the shades down (acting as sheers) and just cycle between blinds open and closed. So I pretty much use only the CLOSE and STOP commands.

I suspect that the ZRTSI does not implement the STOP command due to variable latency in getting the command to the shade via Z-Wave. If the operator issues the STOP command it may take time, seconds even, for the command to reach the blind, causing it to stop in the wrong place. Instead they prefer you to use presets (what I do) to get blinds to stop where you want them to.

The roller shades need the STOP command and the ZRTSI doesn't have it so I ended up using the URTSI-II. It does mean you need a hard-wired connection to Indigo and a plug-in that allows Indigo to send commands via RS-232 or RS-485. Since I have plumbed my house with CAT-6 ethernet pretty much everywhere, I used an unused drop to connect from a serial port on my server to the URTSI-II that is in proximity to my roller shades.

Hopefully this helps.

ZRTSI can send STOP command but it is not directly supported as an action in indigo.

you can work around this by sending a raw z-wave command.

see this (old ~2014) thread for details.