Planning for success
Nero is a wireless automation solution which means the decisions you make during planning can be the difference between a successful or stressful project.
1
Consider the project size
Large and small projects have different considerations that need to be taken into account during the early planning stages. For example a large whole home installation has greater flexibility on gateway placement than a small single area installation.
In general you always way to place the gateway as centrally to the devices as possible. This will ensure the greatest mesh performance and reduce the perceived latency between performing an action in the mobile app or the web UI and the device changing state. In a small project this may mean you have to install the gateway as a wireless client rather than a wired network device.
2
Break the project down when required
When you are planning large installations with many devices spread throughout the home it is important to consider whether it would perform better as discrete Z-Wave networks linked together over the home network. This should always be considered when a property is physically large or spread out, or when the number of Nero Z-Wave devices exceeds 30.
By breaking the system down into discrete Z-Wave networks it provides several benefits to you as an installer:
- Network overhead is reduced, allowing more headroom for control traffic without too much bandwidth being eaten up by general background communication.
- Troubleshooting is simpler as you only need to diagnose issues in a single area at a time.
- Network depth is reduced ensuring that fewer commands need to be re-broadcast around the network and resulting in lower latency control signals.
When a network is broken down it is important to first confirm that each area of the network is working correctly. Once you are confident that each segment works well, select a primary gateway and sync the other gateways to it, providing the user with a single interface to all of their devices without needing to switch.
3
Get advice
If you aren’t confident about the design, or this is one of your first designs, seek advice about your design! You can get in touch with us anytime, provide us the information and we can help you highlight any potential problems up front rather then you having to run into them onsite.
Get all the information you need
When you start a new project, it is important to gather all the information you need up front. This will ensure that you can run the project smoothly and avoid creating headaches as you run into a scenario that could have been avoided.
Common information you may need includes:
- Electrical plans (if available).
- Information about the load/device to be controlled and that it is compatible with the chosen device.
- Information about the switch gear in place and whether replacements will be required as part of the installation.
- Desired functionality from the user to ensure that the appropriate devices are in place to allow it.