The WT00Z is a basic Z-Wave scene control button that should work with any Z-Wave controller. Though I do not have experience with Vinit.

The WT00Z can only be reset by Z-Wave Exclude. It would be my guess that the WT00Z is not properly Excluded.

Put any Z-Wave controller in Exclude mode and tap the WT00Z. I don’t remember for sure, but a double tap may be necessary for the Include/Exclude on this device.

After successfully excluding the WT00Z, you will need to perform an Include with your Vinit controller.

It will be impossible to answer some of your questions accurately, based solely on the information that you provided. We don’t know exactly what you have or even what county you’re in.

Did the transformer fry?

It is a real possibility. Burning smell bad. But, we can’t be sure. Someone with expertise will be able to test the transformer with a multimeter and know if it is good or bad.

Is it common to be wired to the main?

No it is very uncommon. Absolutely nothing, except branch circuit breakers, should be wired to the main breaker. I would guess that you missed something, possibly a sub-panel. But, if the light and transformer are indeed directly connected to the main breaker, then someone has done a terrible (DIWHY) wiring job that would be illegal in many countries.

The Ring door bell requires a special resistor when being powered by an AC doorbell. This is discussed in the installation instructions. I’m guessing that this resistor was not in place when your friend did the installation. But, again I cannot know for sure.

My opinion is that your friend does not know enough about this to do the job. My opinion is that you should hire an electrician to:

1. Identify the breaker you could not find.

2. Test the transformer, and replace it if needed.

3. Install the door bell correctly and determine if the Ring itself was fried in all of this misadventure.

The easiest and cheapest method is to blow the car’s horn and wait a few seconds before opening the garage door.

The next easiest and cheapest option would be to use a wireless door bell and put the button in your car. It will only cost $10. But, it will require the driver to press the door bell first, wait for the desired time, and then press the garage door opener. Lots of opportunity for human error and not automated.

The over-engineered home automation method could utilize a LiftMaster Universal Garage Door receiver to receive the car’s garage door opener button press.

But, instead of feeding the receiver’s output to the garage door, you would feed it to a smart sensor, like a Z-Wave Door/window sensor to notify the home automation controller of the event.

The home automation controller can then run a scene that sounds the alarm in the garage, waits for a period of time, and then sends a garage door open command on a different channel, like a Z-Wave dry contact relay, or a ratgdo.

For the purpose of “emergency” access, in case the home automation system has failed, I’d also associate the second or third button on the garage door remote directly to the garage door. You won’t have the alarm but you’ll be able to open the door.

No. Line/Live does NOT go to the wall switch. The wall switch is wired as below.

S1 ===== Wall Switch ===== Neutral

I use a brightener automation in a few locations. For hardware I use a Z-Wave dimmer and a motion sensor.

At sunset+offset the lights come on to a 25% dim level. If the light is on and motion is detected, the dimmer is set to 100%. If motion stops, the motion sensor has a 1 minute no-motion window, then wait 2 minutes and set dim level to previous level.

I have no idea how to do this in Apple. IFTTT should absolutely be able to do it. But, why layer on more cloud dependency? Start your local controller journey.

Yes, the sensors are averaged by default.

You can also exclude sensors, for instance excluding the xl850 itself would cause it to use only the remote bedroom sensor.

Your xl850 supports remote temperature sensors and can do what you want. Have a look at ZSENS930AW

You didn’t specify exactly which Trane system you got, but I’d bet a dollar that the Ecobee can also be configured to run with that system rather than reliance on the xl850.

I prefer the xl850 to the Ecobee, but because of my particular climate, my thermostat requirements are significantly lower than many people. I simply do not require a lot of home automation control over the thermostat.

I’d love to see your review of your HomeAssistant experience.

But, I know I will never see it because it will be down voted to the depths of hell on this sub.

I’m still trying to figure out if the HA schilling in this sub is organic, based on single experience, Reddit echo chamber, price(free), or Nabu Casa funded “click” farming. Something is up and it’s not a matter of vast superiority.

Knowing when the bins are at the curb might be doable. But would it not be easier to know when the bins are NOT in their normal parking spot?

How about attaching a magnetic alarm switch to the bins at park? You could use a magnetic alarm switch, a little length of wire, and a Z-Wave(or other) door/window sensor.

Glue the magnet to the bins. Magnetically stick the sensor to the magnet. When the bins get pulled out, the sensor disconnects and changes the sensor state. You can then re-attach the magnet when the bins come in.

Simple. Cheap. Could be effective.

Homeseer is good. Great features.
Zooz is pushing into the market hard. They seem good, but my experience is limited(short).
Leviton are good.
GE/Enbrighten are decent.
Nortek/Linear/GoControl are good, but paddles are flimsy.

Over a decade in and this has not been my experience.

My personal setup is composed almost entirely of Z-Wave devices, with a small few WiFi connected devices. All of my devices work without internet access. There is no cloud dependency, except for remote access when I’m on the road and notifications. Over the years, I have swapped out controllers because I just wanted to try a different controller, or some other reason. But, regardless of controller, I have not experienced the deterioration that you report.

I have had a small few individual devices fail and require replacement. But, the overall system continues to function well.

I would guess that your deterioration is caused by a few factors. Things such as disparate systems, cloud connectivity, and WiFi issues are a common source of unreliability.

Ha! I didn’t know that Insteon was back in business.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/04/insteon-finally-comes-clean-about-its-sudden-smart-home-shutdown/

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/06/insteon-smart-homes-resurrected-as-abruptly-as-they-were-bricked/

What switch look are you trying to preserve?

What you have diagrammed is called a 4-way switch. There used to be a Z-Wave dimming microswitch that could be controlled with standard toggle On/Off switches. They may still be available, but I don’t have that information. But, the dimming behavior of these microdimmers was not intuitive and I never cared for them. You used to have to flip the toggle switch On, and it would ramp up until you flipped the Switch Off again. To turn the light Off, you had to ramp it up past 100%, where it would then shut off.

There are a few modern day Z-Wave dimmers that are capable of 4-way installations.

There is also the option to use any Z-Wave dimmer and two additional wireless scene controller switches. These can be wired, for power, or battery operated. They are Grouped with the main dimmer and then any of the three switches can turn the light On/Off or dim it Up/Down. For example, 1 GoControl D500Z5-1 Dimmer and 2 GoControl WD00Z5-1 Scene controller switches.

You would need to reconfigure the current wiring, but you already have everything you need in the walls/boxes. Here’s a wiring diagram.