Best in-wall light switches?

I currently have 10 GE Zwave light switches and have been using 6 of them for over 2.5 years. I personally have not had to replace or have had any issues with them.

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I have over 70 devices in my home now connected to my Samsung SmartThings hub V2… 16 switches plus the dumb switches for the 3 way switches. I used GE in all but 2 of the switch locations. Reason being is because I have installed smart houses since the early 90’s when only pretty much rich people could afford them and the structured wiring. I have not had any issues at all ever with the GE ZWave switches. For that matter any of the GE devices. My home is my experimental domain that I use to test devices before I recommend them to customers. So I put them through their paces. I would recommend them to anyone.

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Can the GE switches be used without neutral when only operating as remotes? I.e. our smart bulbs are wired ‘always on’ and dim themselves. I just need reliable physical in-wall controls to send signals simulating traditional operation. If not, are there alternatives? I prefer something without ‘cloud handlers’ so it still runs when the internet is off. Thanks.

I ended up here looking for current recommendations for switches as well. I just finished replacing a GE ZW4005. It just went poof & disappeared out of SmartThings. As it was out in my shop a ways away re-adding is pretty iffy. I grabbed a used one out of a box (I vaguely recall pulling it because it has some issues a while back) paired it at my desk, then installed it. The bad one that started things seems to be working fine at my desk when I re-paired it. So ya, had some weird issues with GE as well that i’ve never had with my Levitons.

One thing I REALLY like about the GE’s that I didn’t think of when getting my original GE & Leviton switches… The GE’s are push up for on & push down for off. The Levitons are push (down is the only option) to toggle state. It’s surprisingly annoying to have a toggle rather than the traditional on/off paddle style.

Anyone have suggestions for replacing a switch like this with a z-wave switch? I don’t want to convert to two z-wave switches — would prefer to find a single z-wave switch that controls the fan and light.

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There isn’t any Z wave switch that does that yet, although the Inovelli Company has said they are considering making one.

There is a Hampton Bay zigbee device That works well with smartthings that will do it, but you do have to install the fan controller in the fan canopy as well as put the remote on the wall.

@Eric_Inovelli

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A big disappointment in the HA arena IMO. I have GE Z-wave switches in my house and one thing I have thought about doing is using a GE Z-wave dimmer to control the light and then using the Double Tap feature to control the fan. This will require a GE Z-wave fan controller to be mounted somewhere between the switch and the fan, but it’s the only reliable way I have thought of so far to get both fan and light control in a single switch. The ST hub does not need to do anything to operate the light, but will have to intercept the double taps and take action (via Webcore) to operate the fan controller). The downside here is I will have to upgrade the fan wiring to 3-conductor as currently I have 2-conductor with a Hampton wired in remote.

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Curious as to why you find this annoying. I think not having to choose up or down is one fewer thing to decide :slight_smile:

Up & down operates like traditional light switches. Fighting years of training sucks, even worse when you have dumb switches in the house as well to bounce back & forth with. If you hit the wrong switch in a bank of several it’s less likely to cause an issue. If you are turning on an light you can’t see (outside light for example) that is already on, turning it on does nothing h you end up with the light the way you want it. If it’s a toggle rather than on or off command you may end up turning the light you want on off.

This is not correct, I own the Leviton switches/dimmers and they work just as a decora switch/dimmer. Up/down for on/off and have a dimmer rocker next to the switch for brightness. Most people know how a regular dimmer works which is the same way, people may not know to hold down the GE switch to control the dimmer instead of a separate dimmer rocker. This was the main reason I got these, so that people that enter my house can use a familiar type of dimmer without the automation. Although I use motion control for my lighting anyways, so it would not be that big of a deal.

Note that the person you were replying to said my “original” Leviton switches.

The design style they mention, where you always press at the bottom, was Used by Leviton for their previous generation of Z wave switches.

image

The current generation, the “Decora smart” looks more like a regular rocker switch And you press at the top for on and the bottom for off.

So this is just a case of something which used to be true is no longer true today. :sunglasses:

Ah this makes sense. I have only had the latest ones, didn’t know they changed the design. I wouldn’t have bought the old ones if that was the case.

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Are these Leviton the best around? I’ve had recommendations for Lutron and Noon in the last 24 hours. Noon seems like a non-starter because I want to use SmartThings and not thru IFTTT. But they do look nice.

Also I’ll be searching for a device type handler for the ecobee Switch+ - I am sure it has been discussed here and I will search fort-wit.

Don’t need one. Ecobee switch+ is live in the marketplace. The Noon switches are indeed very nice, high quality pieces, but no SmartThings integration. I have virtual switches through IFTTT with mine for some basic automations that dont require a speedy response time.

I like Lutron because they are excellent switches and they will work with Alexa or on their own even when smartthings is down. But it just depends on what your own priorities are.

Have you had a chance to look at the device class features FAQ?

From what I understand this integration only allows access to on/off and not the other sensors. Right?

correct…

I use MiHome Smart Switches for my lighting (no neutral wire required) and MiHome Sockets for the power rings in my house. These switches fit in UK standard (deep) pattress boxes which makes swapping them simple.

Switching is by radio control (operating in the 433MHz ISM short-range band using OOK modulation) or manually by pressing the button on the housing. It is compatible with the Amazon Echo for voice and remote activation.

I have only had them in for a couple of months so don’t know how long they will last but so far they are fine.

Since this forum is for those who are using the Samsung SmartThings home automation platform, what are you using to integrate the mihome devices with SmartThings, and are you consistently getting two way status updates? SmartThings doesn’t have a 433mhz radio, so there is no direct integration.