I have installed one of the nano switches, and I thought I’d provide some feedback for anyone else looking at these. As I mentioned above, I am installing the ZW139 version of the nano.
The application is a 3-way lighting circuit that has two 75-w equivalent Cree LEDs on it. The circuit is wired like the line-switch-load-switch-1 in the GE wiring FAQ. Not being an electrican, I was clueless on how to wire this up (or really any smart switch, as this thread shows). So I emailed Aeotec support and received a reply in about 12 hours as how to wire it. Here is a diagram of the orginal 3-way wiring:
Here is how the Aeotec CS told me to wire it:
Install:
The physical installation wasn’t to difficult. I used the back of a screwdriver to push the wiring bundles back into the box as far as possible after I was done with each one. Here you can see a picture of what the nano looked like wired up with the toggle switches put back in place:
Inclusion & ST:
After turning power back on and pushing the action button on the nano to include it, it showed up as a standard Z-wave switch in ST. I had a slight hiccup initally, because local control at the toggle switches wouldn’t work. I could turn the light off and on with the app, but not at the switch. I was alittle worried that I had done something wrong. The instruction state the nano can automatically detect what circuit it is in by flipping the local switch once and waiting 2 seconds. Well I did that and nothing… I don’t know if there is a time window after its powered on or included that you have to do this, but it did not work for me. I was about to download the Z-wave tweaker, change DTH, etc to get the right mode on the nano. However, further reading of the manual said you could put the nano back in automatic detection mode for S1 by pushing the action button 4 times. I did that, flipped the local toggle switch once, and everything worked from then on.
Then, for no real reason I can tell, I removed the nano from the network and re-added it in secure mode (two action button presses instead of one). The nano showed up a Secure Z-wave switch in ST. Have had no problems with it over the last ~48 hours.
Pros:
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It is small. A lot depends on the volume of your switch boxes. 3-gang boxes can vary from 44 to 53 in^3 for example. However, with diligent attention to wiring routing and wire length, it fit into my box (with four 14-2 and two 14-3 romex coming in) with some room to spare.
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Cost: So z-wave plus switches are usually $40-$50. The add-on/companion switches are ~$20. So for 3-way and 4-way situations the nano has the potential of being a cheaper solution, since you only need one per circuit.
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And for the one that really matters to me, it was the only solution that fit my specific use case. The nano was actually my third choice/attempt at automating this light. I first tried a Leviton DZ15S. However, my wife did not like the look of the paddle style switches mixed with the existing toggles. As I was not about to replace the dozens and dozens of switches in our home in one fell swoop, WAF kind of tanked this option. Knowing GE has toggle switches, I was all set to get some of those. However, I had two other requirements: Lt Almond color, and Zwave plus. While GE has one of these switches on their product list, I couldn’t find it anywhere. I could get a toggle and z-wave plus but only in white. Or I could get a older toggle in Lt Almond, but not z-wave plus. So the nano (or similar wire-in) was the only way I could get a Lt Almond, Z-wave plus, toggle light switch.
Cons:
Only two I can think of.
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Noise: There slight “click” of the rely that you can hear whenever the nano is used. Its not so loud in our house that has computers, receivers, refrigerators, washing machines, etc going most of the time. However, to say its not noticable would not be accurate. This will obviously come down to personal taste, but for me, not a big distraction.
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Delay: There is a slight delay when you use the local control before the light will react. This isn’t uncommon with some automation switches, especially that ones that wait to see if you doubled-tapped before reacting. However, it is fairly significant for something you’ve become used to working instantaneously. I haven’t done anything remotely scientifically, but it feels like a solid second lag.
Hope this helps anyone looking at this product. Overall, I’m happy with them and plan on using them (or the dual variety) in the future.
–Jamie