I donāt know about a deal but I would advise against buying all that at once. There is a learning curve with SmartThings as well as some issues with the platform. A more prudent course of action might be to purchase one or two items at a time, install them, and then test.
Also, outdoor motion detectors rarely work well. Far too many false positives. I am personally not impressed with my Aeon Multi either. Mine started flaking out after about 9 months.
Start small, and build over time. As your experience and expertise increases, youāll know which devices will best meet your needs.
Deals thread here. Lots of good stuff, members post all the time.
As far as the GE switches, search the forums: statistically, once they are out of warranty, they appear to have a somewhat higher failure rate than a number of the more expensive brands. ( nothing to do with SmartThings, youāll find the same comments on forums for other controllers.) But then theyāre very inexpensive. So a lot of people feel itās worth it to replace a couple of switches if needed to two to three years in, they still save money on the overall project.
I agree with everyone else who said donāt buy all the stuff at once. Do a room first, and see how it goes for a month or two. After that you can look for bundle deals or volume discounts.
Also I agree with the comments on outdoor motion sensors.
Also, you should consider opening all of your switches to make sure you have power (black and white back to the fuse panel). The switches are going to need that. If the switch only has a switch loop from the light, you might need to use an aeon module up in the light instead.
Stick with zwave plus switches. My hope is that mfgs will provide a firmware update to enable instant status once the patent expires.
That said, before going all in, make sure you test the switch with your bulbs. I built a test rig that included a bulb mfg specified āsupportedā switch to ensure compatibility. Look for dimming ability, being able to turn on if the dim was previously low. Hum from bulb. Hum from switch. Bulb or switch feeling warmer than expected.
Light bulbs used to be pretty interchangeable. Not anymore. Iād suggest sticking to consistent bulbs purchased at the same time in one order. Get 10% as backups for the next 20 years. I hate going into places with a smattering of different bulbs. Itās sloppy and visually chaotic.
I would also stick with the third party manufacturers. ST sensors donāt play with other hubs.
Most of us have a love hate relationship with ST (mostly love), but IoT is a highly competive field right now. The winner will be whoever can get their act together first. That said, if you ever need to jump ship your āthingsā wonāt be married to a particular hub vendor.
In the telecommunications world we call this āVendor Lock-inā, itās very dangerous, try to avoid it.
Does not answer your question but a couple of thoughts: (please just ignore if they donāt make sense to you)
Have you considered dimmers for some of your switches?
I see that you use many switches. Have you considered door sensors to activate the switches? E,g my light outside the front door turns on when the door opens after sunsetā¦
Smartthings lets you control other things besides just your lights: garage door (yeah, I know currently not 100% working), water heater, moisture sensor, doorbell/mailbox/washing machine (using an acceleration sensor)ā¦ Most of these can be done with the standard Smartthings apps.
The ST-branded sensors are made (mostly by Centralite) to the zigbee Home Automation 1.2 standard. They will work fine with most other Zigbee hubs on the same standard, such as Peq and Securifi. However, not all hubs will support all features, but thatās an issue with the hub, not the sensor. And of course Zigbee devices wonāt work with a zwave-only system.
As for the outdoor sensors, I have not had any issues with the aeon outdoor motion sensor other than it eats batteries, so if you are able to have it plugged in 24/7 that would be the way to go. I have been using it for over a year or so. I had my sensitivity level setup to high when I first got it. Once I found that nice little median itās worked great. GE switches work great no issues.
