You mean…like HA holistically speaking 
I actually just finished installing this a few minutes ago. As you can see I didn’t even put all of the plate screws back in. Yes I know the toggle switch and the dumb switches are different colors, but that is a $1 fix instead of having to replace all the matching switch and outlet plates in the room.
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Hey man, thanks for the linkage. I have a new version of “Double Duty” that is almost ready to go that will allow you to assign different “slave” switches to both the On and Off buttons. Should be up soon!
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I have the GE switches installed in a 4 switch box and the existing face plate fit them nicely. You just have to, as the instructions for the switches will tell you, break off those three little tabs on each side. I have 1 box with 4 GE zwaves and 1 box with 2 GE zwaves and 2 exiting switches, both with the stock face plate…
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Can someone who had the GE switches installed tell me if they also have the GE switches fall off the network after 3 month? I already ordered my first set and am about to pull the rip cord on the project. That said, I would really like to know what to expect.
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The GE switches typically work fine throughout the warranty period. You get an occasional bad device straight out-of-the-box, but that’s true of any brand. If you search the forums for discussion you’ll find that the problem of them losing connection to the network typically appears about three months after the end of the warranty running out, so at around 27 months for a two-year warranty switch, and around 15 months for a one-year warranty switch. At that point, since they’re out of warranty, they can’t be returned. And they aren’t considered “defective” since the warranty period Has ended.
I don’t mean to imply that this is every GE switch, or even a majority. If I had to guess I’d say maybe 10%? The point is just it happens often enough to be a known issue, regardless of the controller being used. The price on these is low enough that it may be worth it to just replace a switch that goes bad with a new one.
When falling off the network are we talking permanently or something like G.E. bulbs where they just need reinclusion?
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It’s even weirder than that. You don’t have to rejoin the switch. Usually you just have to cut power to the circuit, restore power, and the switch finds the network again. It’s the fact that this is so weird it’s made it easy to isolate to these particular models.
The fan switch does not seem to have the problem, but it’s engineered differently.
But since I’m in a wheelchair, I’m not going to be going out to the circuit box and flipping circuit breakers there if the switch loses its network connection. So it’s not worth the dollar savings to me to run that risk.
@JDRoberts, so the rocker switches are not effected by this problem as opposed to the toggle switches by GE? 3-way toggle model?
The early model rocker switches were definitely affected. Any of the ones that didn’t require a neutral.
The newer models do require a neutral, and I don’t know if that changes this issue. Clearly there’s an engineering change, so it might make it better. But we just don’t know yet.
…had I know my wife hates toggles before I started buying switches…I’d have gotten paddles. Personally I’ve always preferred toggles. It’s a slippery slope…did two dimmers in office and bedroom. Then a toggle in the garage (which might be my favorite one–on when door opens or motion, off after no motion for 15 minutes). Then two more toggles in kitchen to get a good mesh with the garage switch…
Right now, only remaining items on her wish list are a smart outlet for space heater in garage in winter (hoping to trigger based on temperature), and one or two smart outlets for Christmas lights in the house (already have one for the outdoor Christmas lights)…but the WAF has been high thus far. Might go with the gen6 AeonLabs plug-in outlet/dimmer rather than the GE ones.
For what it’s worth, the GE plug-in outlets and the receptacles have not had the same drop off problem as far as I know. So maybe it is associated to the models they didn’t need neutrals.
As far as a space heater, you can definitely trigger one off of a temperature sensor, just remember that these devices should never run unattended. The risk of fire is too high. But if you want to have one automatically turn on and off while someone is in the room, that can be a significant money savings. A lot of people use those for home offices.
It’s actually for the pipes in the garage–I’ve been considering using the insulated wrap that you can plug in to heat the pipes, that’s probably better than a space heater. I’d re-purpose it during the summer to switch on the portable AC unit we have.
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Yes, I believe most of the plug-in wraps are designed to run unattended. There will be a warning box in the user manual for a space heater that tells you if it’s safe to run alone. It really comes down to whether a device gets hot enough that something leaning against it might catch on fire. That’s the usual problem with space heaters. They get really hot! That’s because they’re trying to release heated air to then warm the room. It’s also why they’re so expensive to run, they’re really inefficient devices. The pipe warmers are whole different kind of engineering. 
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I would recommend not using a heater for the pipes and just go for the 30 ft. Automatic Electric Heat Cable Kit (They have other length of this cable.)
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Frost-King-30-ft-Automatic-Electric-Heat-Cable-Kit-HC30A/100196471
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Thanks for reminding me that I was supposed to replace the heat tape on pipes under my parents house over the summer .
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It’s funny, I missed that part of the instructions in the manual. I had two switches in a 3-gang box that were next to one another. I was like wtf? These don’t fit next to eachother? So I moved them such that the empty spot was in the middle. Later I learned you just need to pop the tabs 
Good news is that the switch plate looks way better with them organized this way. But it’s good I did learn that you can pop the tabs because I have like 5 more 3gang and 2 more 2 gang boxes to do, all of which are maxed with switches.
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…asked the wife to turn off the bathroom light on her way out of the house this afternoon, got an exasperated, “could you buy a switch for that?” Amazon Prime Now and two hours later…every room in the house has a switch.
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Yes, good to know about those tabs - I missed that in instructions. So what are the functions of the tabs? I thought the tabs were like standard duplex outlet tabs - break tabs to separate outlets. Wish I saw that, had to really push things around to make two smart fixtures fit with a standard fixture in a three fixture box.
The tabs are a heat sink. The manual for the device explains. You can break them off to make it fit, but when you do, you lose some of the carrying capability of the switches.
The metal plate surrounding the switch assembly is a heat sink. The maximum load rating (600 W) is provided when installed in a single gang box with the full heat sink. Multiple switches may be installed in dual or triple gang boxes, and, if necessary, one or both sides of the Heat sink may be removed by bending at the score lives. There is a corresponding reduction in the switch load rating when ganged. Do not exceed the following…