New to HA, is SmartThings right for me?

[chrisb]

I should also add re: SmartApps… there are a lot of people here, like myself, who dabble in writing these apps and often share them with the community. Even once in a while if the mode strikes someone, they’ll write app for you if you request it. Certainly if you try to write one yourself and run into issues, plenty of people here are very helpful in getting the issue sorted out.

Re: Devices:

The single gang, two switch, two load:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0032ZB9HI/ref=s9_psimh_gw_p60_d6_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0NNZQQ0C7CH1EBV7GSRA&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200382&pf_rd_i=507846

This one needs a custom device type (think of it as a device driver). Someone wrote the device type code and shared it here: [OBSOLETE] Leviton VRCS2

And here is the discussion about how to get it paired properly with SmartThings:

Vizia rf+ VRCS2-MR 2-Button Controller

After struggling a lot with the first of 4 VRCS2 i was installing yesterday, i noticed what worked for me so that both switches in the VRCS2 can be controlled with ST and with the physical buttons. I don’t remember how many times i factory resetted the VRCS2, but I never excluded it from the network. I simply couldn’t do it. But i didn’t need to. I started the amber led process with both buttons simultaneously (pressing them for ~10 seconds, and kept them amber blinking) and then pressed the big + on ST app. It found two Z-Waves Remotes, which I added for the time being. Next, I started the amber blinking process with each button at a time (pressing each one for ~7 seconds and kept it blinking) and after a while it found a Z-Wave switch which I added and named accordingly. I repeated thi…

Finally, here’s the amazon product page for the ceiling fan switch:
http://www.amazon.com/Leviton-VRF01-1LZ-Capable-Control-Almond/dp/B001HT4M48/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=undefined&sr=8-1&keywords=leviton+ceiling+fan+z-wave