Somfy to Z-Wave controller

Has anyone tried this and is it compatible with Indigo. Since the current Somfy plug-in isn’t being updated and won’t be compatible with future Indigo versions I’m trying to plan ahead. Honestly I’d rather just replace the Somfy motors with ones that are directly Z-Wave compatible but I haven’t found that solution.

https://www.somfysystems.com/en-us/prod ... 16-channel

I have it installed. Fully compatible with Indigo. It's a bit confusing to configure. Not an Indigo issue, but the way it works. Just read the instructions carefully.

JP

That’s good to know! Did you pay full retail ($400+) or find it for less somewhere?

If you can get the hardware where you are, Somfy RTS can be controlled using the RFXCOM transceiver and plugin. Much cheaper solution.

1. I was able to get it for less from eBay.

2. true about RFXCOM. I also use it, and it works well. The only problem is coverage. If your house is like mine, with metal framing, it's like a Faraday cage. RFXCOM coverage was an issue. Therefore, I have my upstairs blinds connected to RFXCOM, which is where my Indigo server is, and the Somfy Z-Wave controller downstairs.

If you can cover your entire house with RFXCOM, use it. It works and is much less expensive.

JP

I’ll have to look into RFXCOM. It’s a large house so coverage could be an issue even though my server is centrally located.

Thank you both!

I’m using Bond Home with the great Bond Home plugin to control about 20 Rollease and Somfy blinds & awnings.

The Bond Home supports both Rollease & Somfy blinds and a whole heap of other devices natively. Coverage is good over our large 2 storey home.

And it’s FAR cheaper (and better range) than the proprietary hubs.

mclass


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I'm currently using a Bond Home for my fireplace control and it works great. I tried to setup the Somfy shades on it but the range is just too far from where it's currently located. I could always get another one for near the shades I guess. You're right though, super easy to setup and supports a ton of devices.

The Bond Pro has much better range than the original Bond. Also does PoE, which is nice to wall mount somewhere. But pricier. Also only does RF (no IR).

Not sure if I got the topic right.

I use a Shutter Controller (Fibaro FGR223, operating mode "roller with position") for the Somfy motor in my sunshade.
It includes automatic calibration to identify the motor activity time to get the blinds fully out (100%) or in (0%)
Settings are then via Light/Appliance controls -> Brightness

a late reply to the original poster:

yes, i have two of these (ZWRTSI) installed in my house. they work and provide fairly reliable control with a few caveats and limitations. indigo supports them. after adding this device to indigo, shades appear as z-wave motor control class a devices.

caveats:

• the z-wave implementation is old and quirky. my units are old-school z-wave, not even z-wave plus.
  
• it is a single z-wave device but utilizes 17 different z-wave addresses - one for bridge itself and one for each of the controlled RTS device groups, and since z-wave already has a low cap on the number of devices on one network, this is a rather poor design choice, in my opinion.
  
• the device itself is kind of big and bulky.
  
• RTS communication is one-way. the device appears as a simple z-wave motor controller. you send z-wave commands which get translated into Somfy RTS commands and sent out over the airwaves. no ACKs. or status requests of devices are passed back. you can not "ping" a device via RTS. battery and device status are not communicated. if your RTS devices are controlled by other command channels (such as Somfy RTS remotes or wall switches), you won't be able to detect this via z-wave.
  
• RTS is old and kind of primitive protocol. using this device still requires you to deal with device setup at the RTS level (to setup devices and groups and pair them with the unit pretty much in the same way you would have to do if you were setting up a Somfy remote ). often adding/removing/reprogramming devices can be tedious and involve unplugging batteries, doing forced resets, etc.
  
• i see occasional evidence of RTS garbled signals/noise - for example, closing one group of shades in my upstairs bedroom causes one of a group of downstairs shades to sometimes erroneously open about half the time. strangely when i relocate the ZWRTSI unit to be closer to the downstairs shades, the problem goes away - so it seems to be a case where a "fringe" signal is getting garbled.
  
• RTS signal range is rather limited - for me it was definitely less than "whole house".

overall if you are buying new shades at this point and you desire Somfy motorization, i'd recommend Autoview. this is a more modern automation system that supports z-wave natively. it is also made by Somfy, but typically not labeled with Somfy brand but instead sold under one of their other brands such as Bali. available at Costco and HomeDepot as well as other online window covering retailers. these shades are supported directly in Indigo without any need for a bridge device like ZWRTSI. communication is two way. battery status is reported. since comms are two-way, you can buy and use their remote controls and push-button units to operate the shades and Indigo will track all the updates.