Domitech Zwave Bulbs?

Does anyone have experience with the Domitech Zwave LED bulbs? I just bought a handful of them and am pairing to my VeraEdge.

This looks like the same bulb as the Linear LB60z , which generally gets good reviews. Zwave plus, which should mean somewhat better range.

http://www.amazon.com/LinearLinc-LB60Z-1-Z-Wave-Light-Bulb/dp/B00PJH16UC/

I have been curious about the Linear, because like this one it can act as a beaming repeater, which is useful near door locks. And a ceiling mounted repeater can be useful in a lot of places.

Anyway, let us know how it goes. Like most dimmable bulbs, it will likely pair as an accessory dimmer switch.

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Just checking: is anyone using a zwave light bulb with SmartThings, and if so, which device type are you using? (Not a zigbee bulb like Hue, these are zwave.) From the Amazon reviews it looks like some people have them working out of the box with SmartThings, identified as switches.

It is definitely a repeater.

“As part of a Z-Wave network, the LB60Z-1 will also act as a wireless repeater to insure that commands intended for another device in the network are received. This is useful when the device would otherwise be out of the radio range of the wireless controller.”

http://www.linearcorp.com/pdf/manuals/LB60Z_install.pdf

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@JDRoberts
I would suggest not getting the linearlinc Zwave bulb as of now.

  1. Paired easily as a switch.
  2. Turning on and off is weird as if it is doing it in slow motion. I did a zwave repair and the same behavior.
  3. Brightness level at 100% is too dim for any use.
  4. Occasional flickering when plugged in a simple table lamp. I tried it on a pull string socket in the basement with same result as above (#2)

Your experience may vary. I exclude it from my network, did a repair and now it goes back to Amazon. My 2 cents.

Good to know, thanks!

I installed 4 Domitech LED bulbs and was easily able to pair them to my VeraEdge. I paid $39.99 for the bulbs but just found them on zwaveproducts.com for $29.99.

Three factors I’m looking at to determine a purchase factor: cost, wattage and lumens.
Search base criteria: Z-wave, dimmable(?)
Unknowns: Situational reliability, SmartThings interfacing, anomalies

For 60W equivalent bulb:

OSRAM; $29.99/bulb, 9.5W, 805 Lumens

LinearLinc; $29.36/bulb, 9W, 750 Lumens

Domitech: $29.99/bulb, 9W, 750 Lumens

@JDRoberts
I’ll populate this as I find more and develop a purchase factor scheme based on those three criteria. The pricing is pretty competitive and the reviews are mixed. We might be playing Russian roulette with a fully loaded gun. I like my chances! Sorry, dark humor there…

BTW, The Osram is a zigbee device, like Cree or Hue. SmartThings can talk to either so it may not matter to your evaluation. :sunglasses:

Note the Z wave bulbs are typically much bigger than the Zigbee bulbs. They are the standard shape, but they don’t fit all lamps well. The zigbee bulbs tend to be the same size as conventional incandescents.

Woops. The only superstitious idea I have is reliability with Zigbee versus Zwave. Zigbee has a shorter than Z wave operating range from device to device with no obstruction so I could only guess that in a multi-floored home where the ST hub is on the 2nd floor, the Zigbee bulbs/devices may not have a reliable connection.

I’m curious to know if the Z-wave LED bulbs are all about the same price due to only one Z-wave chip manufacturer…

That’s good to know about the size. Do you know if, with Z-wave, the base of the bulb is hotter than conventional LED bulbs? Zigbee bulbs?

Zigbee and zwave have about the same range, and both are mesh so the point is that it works like a relay. The message gets passed along from one device to the next which extends the range very significantly.

Zwave is limited to four hops, so if you assume the typical range of around 30 feet indoors, you have a mesh extension of 120 feet, but remember that’s in 360°, so it will cover a typical house if the hub is centrally located.

Zigbee doesn’t have the same limitations as zwave, so its mesh sphere is at least as large and usually larger.

I think you can feel comfortable that Phillips would not have chosen zigbee as the protocol for the hue bulbs if it wasn’t a solid choice for residential home automation.

As far as heat, yes, both zwave and zigbee bulbs tend to be hotter at the base then conventional bulbs. They just distribute the heat differently. They will typically have a warning on the box that they should not be used in a closed fixture. But they don’t get super hot, you can use them in a regular lamp.