You need to replace the switch with a paired switch from the z wave manufacturer of choice. It will not work without the pair for the switch. There are many good threads about this issue.
No, I havenāt installed my 2 3-way setups yet. They will consist of a GE/Jasco Dimmer (no neutral) as the main switch and a GE/Jasco Accessory switch (which does require a neutral, but Iām still looking for the best way to handle that as I do not have a neutral where I intend to use the accessory switch).
OK sounds like you have it straight. May I ask given the neutral situation, why haven;t you looked into the Philips HUE or GE LInk systems? They would only require replacing the light bulb (the GE Link doesnāt require a hub) and with the HUE system you need to add an additional hub to your network.
Iād consider using automated bulbs that didnāt require an additional hub, however the 3-way Iām worried about has 2 light fixtures (one is an MR16 spot light for art and the other is a ceiling fixture with 2 standard bulbs). Iām not sure how this would work with multiple automated bulbs (and the cost could start to get prohibitive if we eventually change to a larger chandelier with many bulbs).
In the case of a simple on/off 3-way with a single bulb, how do the bulbs respond if theyāre turned off by ST and then i want to turn them back on with the regular switch? Wouldnt the switches already be in the āonā position, but the bulb will be off? Thanks for your advice!
Yes you would have to first turn the switch off, and then back on. I just ended up setting up the system so that the switch is always on, then there is no need to worry about if they are on or off. I used a Motion sensor to detect when I come into the room, turns on the lights. I had to do my own app, it waits for no motion, and turns off the lights 15 mins later as long as there is no additional motion.
The Linear WD500Z-1 dimmer switch I ordered came in yesterday and went in without any trouble. Thereās a Phillips 9.5W BR30 dimmable LED bulb attached to the switch and it works beautifully. The switch is silent and it dims down smoothly without any blinking or other craziness.
Iāve got a Linear WS15Z-1 that should arrive today for another switch that doesnāt need dimming. Hopefully that will go as smoothly as this one did. Then itās on to the 3-ways. Iāve never wired one of those before. I know there are multiple ways they can be wired. Hopefully the people that built this ouse stuck with just one.
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Very nice. Will get one too if I can actually install oneā¦ I am not that handyā¦ 
Good to hear that it is working well for you.
@smart, if I can do it, pretty much anyone can. My partner is generally the handier of the two of us but she runs from electricity and every time I do something she reminds me that today isnāt a good day to go to the hospital. So far, Iāve managed to ensure thatās the case.
For this particular task a non-contact voltage tester is useful (you can pick one up for < $20 at Home Depot or Lowes) so you can identify the line wire vs the load wire. Other than a screw driver and some of those wire coupler screw on cap thingies, there isnāt anything else you need.
For this switch, you need a neutral wire. Our house was built in 1998 so has neutrals available at the switches though it wasnāt hooked up at the switch. The hardest part was stuffing it all back in. The new switch and the extra wires bulk it up compared to a simple conventional switch.
Thereās lots of good reference material on the net. Just take your time. I always move one wire at a time from switch to switch so I donāt lose track of what wire is what. With only one unconnected wire at a time, not even I can get confused about which wire it was (really only an issue for load vs. line since those are the same color in my house).
When you go to do the 3-Way, take time to study how each manufacturer works with 3-way circuits. They are different from how it is done electrically. I used GE/Jasco which uses travelers to control the slave and master switch.
I will do that. Probably not until next month. I want to make sure things are running reliably before I dive into things further.
Just installed a Linear 3 Way switch (WT00Z-1) in my kitchen and it works very well. Didnāt quite understand when I purchased it that it doesnāt actually switch a load, but I have it now setup as a master so whenever I hit the switch it turns on 4 other z wave switched at the same time.
Philips tap is a device to switch on Philips hue. It doesnāt have batteries. And can launch scenes that you have set thru the Philips hue app.
Hi. The new GE 12724 In Wall paddle switch dimmer that Smartthings carries works quite well with LED. Of course it still needs the neutral. Installed a couple a few days ago and work fine. Do not have it installed in a 3 way.
Looking to get some z-wave switches and these look pretty good. I just have a few questions. Do the Ge 12724 switches have a noticeable hum? How are they with leds? How low do they dim?
Hi Ernie. The switches do not hum at all with the bulbs I have them running. One set of 6 BR30 bulbs I can dim to 1%. The other runs 6 B11 candelabra and 1 R20 spotlight and those only dim to about 18% and go out. They are all Luminus brand from Costco so donāt know why the difference. One thing I have noticed also is the candelabra ones are very sensitive to voltage fluctuations. When our power coming into the house is not the best I can only dim those to about 40% without flickering. Donāt know if different brands are more resistant to flickering or not. Have not dug into it to deep as I rarely dim below that anyway. Hope this helps. Thanx, Abe
Hey Abe, great info. Thanks.
So, from what I understand if you have have a neutral wire available there is no issue with very low loads ? I see people on here posting that it works with LEDās but they never mention the total load they have on the switch. I have some LED lights outside on different circuits and some are only 1 or 2 lightbulbs. The load will only be around 15 watts and some as low as 7 if it is a single LED bulb.
Will that work without issue and with what switch ?
With the Linear switch I have there is only a single LED bulb that probably draws 13W max. It dims smoothly and doesnāt hum. That switch does use a neutral wire.
From what I get this is how it works;
A switch opens and closes one wire going to an electrical device (LED ).
When the switch is open there is NO electrical flow. As a result nothing inside a switch will work. In this case the logic for the wireless part of the smart switch needs to work at all times. How else would you be able to switch on a light ?
This is where the neutral wire comes in. It provides the switch with a closed circuit so that the wireless logic is always on even when the light is off.
Some switches without a neutral try to let a tiny amount of electricity run to the light bulb when it is off. This way the circuitry inside the switch will still work. Since LEDās use so little power this doesnāt work well. The switch doesnāt work or the LEDās flicker and the LEDās are outputting a tiny bit of light when they are off. When using LEDās it is best to use a smart switch with a neutral wire. Unfortunately some older homes do not have a neutral wire at the switches.