I just installed a GE Zwave plus dimmer, remote switch, and fan control. I have a light almond wall plates so I installed the light almond paddle. Im assuming it’s the light almond as in the box it came in it states “white and light almond paddles included”. Has anyone else installed this color and found a perfect match or a match that’s close?
I went to the big box stores and tried several wall plates and none of them match. I even went as far as buying a dumb rocker switches from GE in light almond as I have another opening that’s wired for fan light should I ever replace my fan with a fan/light combo. Below is a picture of the 3 gang box with all 3 (2 on the left are the smart switches and the dumb switch all the way to the right). As you can see the colors doesn’t even match when using its own brand.
GE doesn’t manufacture very much residential stuff itself anymore, it mostly licenses its name to other companies. So to get good color matching you have to buy from the same manufacturer, not just two things labeled “GE.”
Their smart switches are made by Jasco. The following is the official site for the Z wave products. They do make a separate “ivory” Cover as well, although I don’t know if it will be any easier to color match. Unfortunately, they don’t make the face plates, so you just have to match as well as you can.
While most switch manufacturers use the terms “ivory” and “Almond” each has their own color shades for these. There’s no industry standard, unfortunately. Also, some people like face plates which are slightly darker than the switch covers themselves, so you’ll find this look even within one manufacturer. If you look closely at the following picture, you’ll see that the light Almond face plate is just a little darker than the rocker.
Hopefully others who have the GE switches will be able to post brand/model details for faceplates that they are using with them and give you more specific options.
BTW, it’s a lot more work, but people who want absolute precision in color matching often paint both the cover plate and the rocker cover. As long as you start out with two that are close together you should end up with a very good match.
The following article is an excellent detailed one with a lot of tips on painting light switch covers. The one thing to be aware of is that they do recommend starting with a metal face plate cover, and I would tend to avoid those because they can block the radio signal from the smart switch. So I would go with plastic instead. But you could try the metal and just see how it goes. You may get enough signal out through the back or sides of the device to still make a good network connection.
It’s a good point, but I think it will be OK in this particular specific use case. You aren’t painting the smart device. You are painting the removable rocker cover. That’s it.
If you read the article that I linked to, you’ll see they recommend three coats: primer, paint, and a finish coat such as Flecto diamond finish varathane. The finish coat both protects the paint and helps avoid the problem that you mention.
As long as you find coatings that adhere to the cover piece you’ve chosen, I don’t think it will have any more problems than the original would have. A lot of high end commercial buildings use this kind of paint process for their RF automation switches without any problems.
Seems like a ton of work when you can get the replacement covers for a few $ each, and if you order enough for your whole house, you don’t have to worry about color matching.
I’m almost certain I read somewhere (maybe the instructions in the box?) what manufacturers “light almond” matches best. I know it wasn’t Leviton and wasn’t GE, was some other brand.
@JDRoberts thanks for the info. I have to agree, alot of work to paint so that is ruled out. I honestly dont think you can really notice a difference unless the light hits them a certain way, but the wife has a different view on that.
@scttq i will look at the instructions again, but i dont remember seeing it. I know its not leviton because that is whats currently there.
@Tom_Guelker yep, if they are turned vertical, it lets me know i did the work. Lol ill rotate it eventually. If i cant find a close enough matching wall plate, the switches will be coming out and will be installed upstairs. Those will be replaced those w/ another brand.
The main reason I put them vertical is because they gather less crud that way. If the screw slot was horizontal, the crevasse would catch anything the finger would rub across it.
Yes, I have OCP. I deal with it and I hope you can too.
