I have several GE switches and they do work well with ST’s, but keep in mind that GE and the Vizia RF+ are not functionally synonymous. If you have any need for “instant status” updates, you may want to stick with the Vizia RF+ line.
@JDRoberts has covered this subject quite well on several occasions. Here are just a couple of links worth reading:
This is one of those things where the people who know assume it’s obvious to the people who don’t, even when it isn’t!
Leviton made zwave switches, but added “enhanced” communication which did “instant updates” between the device and the controller. This was their Vizia RF+ line. You’ll notice all the switches in this line have LEDs which are intended to display the status of the scenes controlled by those buttons.
Lutron has multiple patents regarding two way communication between a light switch and a controller. Starting around 2005 they began suing lighting device manufacturers, including Leviton and Control4 for having infringed on these patents.
Ultimately everything was settled pretty much in Lutron’s favor. Leviton and
Cooper agreed to pay license fees to Lutron, so their contr…
GE supports association for one group, the Linear master dimmer does not support association (although some of their original marketing materials said they did). The Linear auxiliary supports association for one group (used to create the virtual three way).
That’s most significant if you want to create a situation where physically changing one switch causes things to happen with other devices.
You can always Do that if the instruction to change the first device came through the hub, like from a routine, or even just toggling the device in the smartthings mobile app.
But if you start from the actual physical switch, it will work a little faster if that first switch supports either “instant status update” ( like the Cooper and the more expensive Leviton line) or supports “association” l…