My wife just got me a Smartthings Hub for christmas and I have been going wild with some of the things you can do with this setup.
I just dove into getting some switches for my 3 tube 3" florescent kitchen light and my dimmable kitchen table light.
I got a GE Z-Wave Plus Wireless Smart Lighting Control Smart Toggle Switch 14292 for the large fluorescent light and an innovelli Z-Wave Dimmer Switch + Repeater for my table light.
First of all both are installed the same way, and both take up similar space in the gang box in the wall.
As far as instructions, innovelli made it SUPER easy with their included instructions - I was absolutely impressed with the level of detail they included to make sure I knew exactly how to install the device. The GE switch was frankly lacking for someone who is very new to this type of technology (I am a network engineer by trade).
The GE switch, however, after about 24 hours locked up and would not respond to commands. It wouldnt even work when using the physical switch!
I tried to reset my hub, no luck. I tried to reset the device, however, there is no physical way on that model to reset the device and the instructions were not clear on how to do it either. It mentioned a completely different model (the paddle switch model, rather than the toggle switch). I had to flip my breaker, put the device into exclusion mode, remove the device from smartthings, then re add it to get it to respond again. In all it was about 2 hours of troubleshooting a light that was stuck ON.
The innovelli device has worked flawlessly, and it was a similar cost to the GE switch. I see that Innovelli is a fairly new company, but they seem to make a quality product. It feels as if it’s a better build than the GE switch too. I am looking forward to more of their stuff that is coming out in March of 2018.
I can’t really help you much on the GE switch other than to verify you have the HOT and LOAD wires are hooked up correctly. I haven’t miss-wired one myself but have read of some weird things happening when it happens. There is always the possibility of a bad switch, although I have many of the GE switches and find them very reliable.
Thank you very much for your link to the Innovelli website, it looks very promising., Great to see them list their own Device Handlers. I’m especially looking forward to their battery operated switch coming out this spring. (I think the link should be listed somewhere for all to see as I haven’t seen anything here about this company, but I really know where that would be)
Yeah, I was browsing amazon for a dimmer switch and they came up as recommended when I was looking at the GE one.
I decided to try it as it was a few bucks less than the GE model, and through their device handler they support scenes - where GE doesn’t.
In home automation, that’s a budget brand. They are actually manufactured by Jasco who just license the GE name. They are very popular because they are cheap and people are comfortable with the name, but there are definitely better engineered switches out there.
That specific model, the 14292, Is brand new on the market and a number of community members have reported it’s a little flaky. Not sure what’s going on with it yet, but you’re not the only one who’s reported problems.
Also, since you’re just getting started, you might be interested in the device class features FAQ. The light switch discussion starts around post 40 in that thread (this is a clickable link)
Also, check out the quick browse lists in the community – created wiki, in particular the project report section and the “get started“ list there. Lots of good ideas and resources.
There are several battery powered switches currently on the market. You’ll find them all listed in the buttons FAQ. Once the Inovelli is out of pre-order and actually available to ship it will be added to that FAQ as well. We don’t list pre-release devices in that particular topic. The FAQ has both battery-operated and mains powered devices, So check the descriptions carefully.
Thanks JD, but I’m looking forward to the Innovelli battery operated switch as it is the only one I’ve seen with the “Decora” styling that will match the rest of my switches.
Thank you for all your hard work and dedication to this forum !
If you mean a rocker style switch, look at the end of the buttons FAQ. Ecolink released a new one about two months ago. That said, for some reason the toggle switch is easier to find than the rocker switch in that line. And of course it’s always good to have more choices.
Wow, thanks so much for the kind words everyone! Happy to help with any questions and/or suggestions for improvements. We designed this around the SmartThings platform and are excited about the various customization’s you can do with the switch via the device handlers, but if there’s something more you’d like to see, let us know. We’re always looking to improve and lean on this community a lot for inspiration.
@quinnteq – thanks so much for writing this up – finally, some recognition for the instruction manual lol. As tedious as it is and unexciting it is to write it, I’m glad it helped! Honestly, thank you – it made my day!
@coronamike50 – we’re looking forward to them as well. We are meeting with the manufacturer next week at CES and should have an update on the status. They’re definitely the top priority for 2018 and they’ve already said they’ve started the tooling process. So, now we’re just waiting on initial production and testing. We’ll also be making them so they can be directly associated with each other, so that if you dim the auxiliary one, it will associate with the smart switch as well. Pretty cool stuff!
@JDRoberts – as always, thank you for tagging me – it’s hard to keep up, so it’s nice to get a message in my email so I can see what’s being talked about! You rock!
Ha, yes, it’s been nearly impossible to keep them in stock. We ordered 3x our initial order and sold out in the exact same time frame!
They are producing them this upcoming week and should be back on Amazon in two weeks (so, around the 15th of April or so). This includes all of our switches (On/Off & Dimming, Scene & Non-Scene).
Thanks for your continued patience and have a great day!
Thanks for the quick reply! I’ll have to watch to try to grab them! One other question, is there a wattage limit? I need a ceiling fan switch and didn’t know if this would work?
Most of the smart switches available today are rated for 600W if you install them single-gang (not breaking off any of the fins.) You should be fine using an on/off switch for a ceiling fan, but I wouldn’t try to use the dimmer version for the fan.
On/Off: Maximum Load: 600W Incandescent, 1/2 HP Motor or 1800W (15A) Resistive Dimmer: Maximum Load: 500W Incandescent (1-Gang), 400W Incandescent (2-Gang), 300W Incandescent (3-Gang)
** 1-Gang = If it’s in a single gangbox, and no heat sink tabs are removed (fins on the side)
** 2-Gang = If it’s in a double gangbox, and heat sinks on one side are removed
** 3-Gang = If it’s in a triple gangbox, and heat sinks on both sides are removed
As @jamesonrw noted, the dimmers are not to be used on fans
So glad you posted about your better experience with Innovelli! I just discovered them while looking for an alternative toggle on/off light switch to use instead of GE.
Unfortunately, the toggle switch is now out of stock with no notes on Innovelli’s website for when it’s going to come back in. Figures.
Had luck with any other similar smart Z-wave plus toggle switches? Just need basics - no dimming nor multiple switches required.
Yeah… we kind of dropped the ball here and I apologize. The manufacturer ran into some issues with raw material acquisition for the toggles, so they had to put it on hold for a bit. Then we got bumped by their Christmas tree LED production which should be wrapping up now.
I’m hoping we can get these back out in mid/late September.
If you just need the basics, GE is fine – I’ve had a lot of luck with them personally in my house over the last few years and they work great with SmartThings.
Sorry again for the out of stocks on them and we hope you’ll consider us in the future!
– finally, some recognition for the instruction manual lol. As tedious as it is and unexciting it is to write it, I’m glad it helped! Honestly, thank you – it made my day!