Parameters
Most Nero devices can have their behaviour modified by changing their parameters. Parameters can change the switch type the device expects, output state, and reporting behaviour. Most installations will require at least some modifications to parameters of the installed devices to ensure expected behaviour.
Available parameters
There are a host of parameters available for all devices except the Nero Reed. These lists are maintained on our help centre and links can be found below each product to access them.
Parameter reference
Reading the parameter page
It’s important to understand how to read the parameter page correctly so that you can be sure your desired settings are being stored on the device.
You will find parameters on the Device Options page which is accessible from any device in the web interface by clicking the green more information button, then selecting Device Options.
Entries on this page are for display only! Deleting an entry from this page does not change the value stored on the device, it simply removes it from this list. If you want to change a value back to the default you will need to enter that value and save. A full list of default values is included in the Help Centre article for each device.
This is the parameter number that you want to change. When you pair a device this list will attempt to populate. If it is auto populated you will see the names, if it isn’t when you add a parameter just the number needs to be entered.
All parameters have to conform to a specific data size. Ensure that you select the correct size to prevent the set failing. If you select Monitor Onlythe Desired Value box will be greyed out as you can only read the current value with this setting.
This is the value you want to set the parameter to. Once you click Save at the bottom of the page the gateway will communicate this to the device.
This is the last value reported to the gateway for this parameter on the device. If this doesn’t match your Desired Value and you have clicked save exit and re-enter the page again to ensure the data is up to date. Once these match it confirms the device has set your parameter.
Setting parameters
On the Device Options page you will see a list of configured or monitored parameters as in the image above. For some devices this page may be blank, don’t worry, that is normal!
Manually adding new parameters
If you are using a device that doesn’t have any pre-populated parameters listed you can easily add your own custom parameters on this page. Remember when adding custom parameters to ensure that you have all your settings correct to avoid issues when the gateway tries to set them.
Simple click Add configuration settings at the bottom of the list and then enter the appropriate values into each field before clicking Save Changes. You can add multiple parameters at the same time but note any unsaved changes will be lost when a new row is added.
Avoiding problems
Parameters can allow you a great deal of control over the behaviour of a device but that also means you can impact the reliability of your network. Many of the parameters on devices allow you to manipulate how often devices report certain information about themselves, such as the current energy draw of the attached load. If you set these time or percentage based options too low you can cause a device to flood the network with thousands of packets, preventing commands from getting around reliably.
Reporting energy
Energy reports are one of the most likely reports to cause issues on a network when misconfigured. In large networks the default settings may not even be suitable in some cases. Nero in-wall devices default to sending energy reports when there is greater than 5% change to the reading or 5 minutes has elapsed since the last report. If you have a low draw load connected to the device, or you are using the devices in a case where it may be on but no load is present, this can result in a high number of reports.
For example, if a device is reading that the load attached is drawing 10 watts the change required to send another report is just half a watt. If that load was reduced to 5 watts then the change is halved again. There is an inherent error of reading within the devices which means that at such low draw levels the error in reading can be enough to trigger a report be sent. In extreme cases we have seen devices reporting thousands of times a minute, causing the Z-Wave mesh to fail.
When you are building large systems or controlling potential low draw loads we recommend setting either the percentage up (e.g., 10-20% change) or disabling percentage reports and relying instead only on time reports (e.g., every 60 seconds).