Advice in Switches/Dimmers?

[JDRoberts]

@NomadTech

@frantona

they dont have double swithches in a single gang

I haven’t seen anyone having these. I use in-wall double relays that install behind regular switches and provide automation functions.

Leviton does make a zwave switch which has two buttons in a single gang format, the VRCS2. It is quite popular in the community.

[OBSOLETE] Leviton VRCS2

Leviton makes a 2 button/2 relay switch that works differently than SmartThings expects. Each button associates as a separate Z-Wave switch (theres a remote control that is also associated, but It seems to be less useful). The switches respond to SmartThings commands as you would expect, but pressing the physical buttons does not send standard on-off commands. Instead it sends scene commands. I created a device type that interprets these scene commands as state changes so the buttons work like instant status updates. The device type is available here:

I know the OP is already aware of that since he posted in the other thread, but I did just want to mention it.

As for different features of different switches, there are some significant differences. In particular, Z wave direct association and instant status are both optional features, so not all switches support them. There are some other significant differences as well, such as whether physical traveler wires are used for three way switches and whether the auxiliary switches have radios or not. In addition, some switches are able to dim lower than others.

Most of these questions actually don’t apply when the micro relays that you mentioned are used as the micro relays generally have most of these features. But it is something To be aware of when you’re looking at switches.

The Following topic discusses the different features of different device classes, including switches. The light switch discussion starts around post 40.

Bulbs, switches and sensors, oh my....what to buy (device class features FAQ)

So, I’m pretty new to this internet of things world. Originally bought 2 OSRAM tunable LED bulbs with the Wemo Hub and a WEMO insight switch, now I’ve “upgraded” the hub to the SmartThings hub, and looking at ditching the WEMO insight switch for the SmartThings plug, just so I have have support now and not have to wait or deal with adding custom code to the IDE. I’m on Amazon and etc pretty much every day trying to decide what I want to play around with next, or what’s better, etc. I’m here to see what your opinons/preferences are for plugs bulbs sensors: motion, open/close and temp It’s a confusing world out there…Just for bulbs I’m finding LIFX, WEMO, OSRAM, GE Link, Phillips Hue, Cree. For plugs I’m finding WEMO, SmartThings, Aeon Labs, GE…etc It’s hard to decide which is the way…