Battery operated switch?

Anyone aware of a battery operated switch? The bedrooms in my house do not have any wired light switches so I am currently using some home depot RF switches.

Do you mean to control ZWave outlets? I am using both a GE #45600 and a HA-09WD handheld remotes as secondary controllers around my mouse. I bought both just to experiment but like the GE remote much better.
I would also like to have a wall mounted remote that looks like a switch. But until those hit the market these remotes work great to control all your zwave stuff.

@av8rdude, are you using either of those remotes with SmartThings? I was under the impression that secondary controllers wouldn’t work with our kits.

@csader Both of these work great as secondary controllers. All your zwave devices must be added to the ST hub first. Then you can add them to secondary controllers. I found the directions in a really old thread and saved them. If you can’t find the thread let me know.
After getting both of these working I believe any secondary would work.
Cheers,
Scott

@csader The nice thing about having some of these is they don’t rely on the internet. So if your connection goes down you can still turn on stuff.

Please share that thread @av8rdude.

I was also under the impression that secondary controllers wouldn’t work.

@chrisb @csader
http://build.smartthings.com/forums/topic/zwave-slaves-real-virtual-devices/

I just ordered another GE 45600 for $12.95 on Amazon to put in my basement. Now that I have a zwave fireplace it’s important to be able to control it regardless of my internet connection. With this relay you can control anything that has an on/off:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006U1O978/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Cheers,
Scott

@chrisb @av8rdude this may be life-changing news. Ok, hyperbole aside, I’m assuming Scott knows what he’s talking about and this is pretty epic news.

Makes me wonder if something like the Aeon Panic Button (http://www.amazon.com/Aeon-Labs-Panic-Button-Z-Wave/dp/B00D3CUAMA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1381621999&sr=8-2&keywords=aeon+fob) would in fact work as the mythical “Smart Button” we’ve all been waiting for…

Mind potentially blown.

So after reading that thread in its entirety, the GE remote should work for controlling the Z-Wave devices in your network, but there doesn’t seem to be a way to get it to control any of the Zigbee devices. Not really a problem for me, given that the only Zigbee devices I have are sensors and the garage door opener I’ve build with the Thingshield. Thanks for the link @av8rdude.

The Aeon fobs are a tad expensive for me to not know for sure if they will work.

@csader This is exactly what motivated me to get my HA-09WD working. I bought it at the same time as my first GE 45600 and gave up on it. I couldn’t get it to work. But I have wanted a “panic” button for my wife since I got my ST and installed all these switches and outlets. Unfortunately all the zwave terminology is not very intuitive. But after a few beers and careful reading of the HA-09 manual I got it working.
With any of these remotes you can make a “group” or “scene” to control any or all of your zwave things. So I made a “scene” on the HA-09 and included all my lights and switches. So now she has a “all lights on” panic button.
The GE 45600 has an “All” button that by default includes all your zwave stuff.
I’m not sure about the Aeon remotes. Since I can get a GE remote for $12 I can’t justify the cool Aeon stuff in the $50 range. Let’s not forget we can always just use our smart phones :slight_smile:
I don’t have one of these GE wall switches yet. But as soon as I can justify a place for it I am going to buy one:

Cheers,
Scott

Haven’t checked everything over yet, but I think that this gives the remote control over an device or group of devices, but the remote still does not send back to the Hub, so no @csader, the button will not work in the sense of triggering apps, unless you have a “dumby” switch somewhere that just sits there waiting to be turned on by this button and then this switch activates the app.

Keep in mind also that these will only work with Z-wave devices, though that does cover a lot of things.

I’m very tempted to get one of the AEON remotes.

I just happen to have an extra switch lying around that I could rig up for the sort of thing I was talking about doing.

The only thing is, I’m not sure what I would use the button for. :slight_smile: I’ve got so much automated now that I’m not sure I really have a need for it. I’ll have to let it marinate a bit…

Anyone ever seen a battery powered wall switch? I guess I could always mount one of the remotes to the wall. Has the GE 45631 been used anywhere?

@cassmie: I just received a GE 45631 switch and plan to install it this week to control the lights in my basement.

I have a switch on the wall going down the stairs that operates one of the lights, but not any of the others. I now have Z-wave screw-in modules for all of them. My thinking is that I will pull that switch and bypass it to make all of the lights controlled only by Z-wave. Then I can put the 45631 where the switch used to be and pair it with those switches to be able to use either the switch or the ST app to turn them on and off.

That’s my goal, anyway.

@Gray: Let me know how it goes because the 45631 would be a great answer to my issue since they are battery powered and wall mountable.

@cassmie: Success! It was pretty easy to set up. First you have to add the switch to the ST network by pressing a certain key sequence on the switch and pressing the + to add things in the ST app. Then I went around my basement and pressed another key sequence on it, followed by pushing the button on each module I wanted to each group. I now have two groups set up, one for all lights and one for a subset of three. The switch successfully turns them all on or off.

The drawbacks I see are:

  1. It's kind of ugly. I wish there were a similar version that looked more like a regular switch.
  2. It can only control Z-wave devices, not Zigbee. All of my light switches are Z-wave, but my ST outlets are Zigbee and this can't control those.
  3. From what I've read, it can only control the first 32 Z-wave devices on your network. This isn't a problem yet for me, but I guess could become one if your network gets big enough. I don't know if ST is able to reorganize Z-wave devices if you needed to.
  4. It's pretty expensive for basically a glorified remote.
Also, the jury is still out on battery life. Though this may be an issue, I really can't tell. It does take two CR-2032s at a time, though.

But so far I’m liking it, and thinking that I might get another to put by the back basement door since I can just stick it to the wall there.

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@Gray I just picked up the GE45631 how do I add it to ST. You mentioned a key sequence. Also how do I add devices to it once setup…Thanks

@cassmie: Follow the instructions in the switch’s manual for “Copying Network and Device Information to
this Controller (Replication).” When it says to put the main hub in transfer mode, push the + button on the ST app like you would to add a device. I believe this is what worked for me.

Oh, and the instructions for adding devices to it are in the “Create or Adding a device to a Group” section of the manual.