Looking for a battery powered wireless switch that I can mount on a wall to control Leviton switch

I need to control a device like this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MZ0WVKH/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_UaZcFbDMT8RH4

using a small wireless battery powered switch. Is this possible? Can anyone recommend a quality product to do it? Thanks

Assuming you are in North America, Sure, there are a few. :sunglasses:

Any battery operated device which can talk to your smartthings hub will work. The battery operated device send a message to the hub, the hub sent a message to your Mains power switch. Lots of people do this.

The question of looks is a little more complicated. Most of these don’t look like a regular switch. There are a few that do. Some are designed to fit over an existing switch as a cover, but they can be used standalone as well. so you can put them anywhere you want.

  1. The main device which is designed for this purpose is the Eaton Cooper anyplace switch. It’s a zwave battery operated device which looks just like the regular mains powered switches. (The company is Eaton, the division is Cooper, and the model line is aspire. It may be sold under any of these names.) it’s on the official compatibility list. :sunglasses:

https://www.smartthings.com/products/eaton-z-wave-battery-operated-switchdimmer

It comes in two different styles and several different colors.

https://www.amazon.com/EATON-RF9500WS-ASPIRE-Battery-Operated/dp/B004I6S0LS

  1. Ecolink also makes a Smart zwave switch cover which works. Also on the official compatibility list. This comes in both a rocker and a toggle style.

https://www.smartthings.com/products/ecolink-smart-switch-single-rocker

https://www.smartthings.com/products/ecolink-toggle-light-switch

It also comes in a dual gang model:

https://www.amazon.com/Ecolink-Automated-Switches-Lighting-DDLS2-ZWAVE5/dp/B07DCKLWVW/

  1. And Linear makes a two button battery operated model which you can often get on sale for under $15. Basic, but works fine.
  1. There are also some battery free Zigbee devices that might work, But it depends on which Zigbee channel your hub is using and so that gets trickier. These were designed to work with hue bridge, but technically should be able to connect directly to the smartthings hub, it’s just that I don’t know anyone who has done that because of the channel issue.

https://www.amazon.com/White-Philips-RunLessWire-Compatible-Assistant/dp/B07MMWH2YB/

  1. another zigbee option is the Third Reality button. I have some of these in my own home. They work well, but they are quite noisy because they are intended to physically move a switch underneath. But you can use them as a standalone device if you want.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07K3TRG6W/

  1. One more very popular option is the remotec ZRC 90. This is a wall mount scene controller with eight buttons and support for up to 24 scenes (tap, double tap, and long press on each button). It’s a different approach, but a lot of people really like it. :sunglasses:

IMG_2378

https://www.amazon.com/ZRC-90US-BW8510US-Remotec-Cert-ZC10-15100007/dp/B016YTTIVW

Thanks JD, you shouldn’t have put so much effort into this!

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No problem, device specifications are my hobby. :wink:

I think this might be the best solution to what i’m trying to do: https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-SmartThings-GP-U999SJVLEAA-One-Touch-Appliances/dp/B07F8ZFFQK/

Sure, some people use those.

That can give you on and off, but not long press dimming control. So it just depends on exactly what you’re looking for. :sunglasses:

Tagging onto this thread, as its a recent discussion. Slightly different though as looking for a battery operated Dimmer Switch recommendation.

This thread is 3+ years old and not relevant - Battery-powered switches and dimmer switches

The highly recommended Cooper Eaton RF9500 Aspire looks to be discontinued, so where one can find it online its far overpriced (amazon out, homedepot discontinued, etc). The Cooper Eaton RF9575 won’t work as its not able to dim another device, so I’ve read.

Already tried a Aeotec WallMote and suffice to say, its dimmer functionality is subpar and not really usable. Plus further complications with S0 and S2 modes with using associations groups thanks to the modern ST app. Had a support case ongoing for quite a while. Works fine for switching on and off.

The big FAQ is loaded with useful info, but also very dated - FAQ: Full list of buttons and remotes confirmed to work with SmartThings

Caséta by Lutron seems to be the only modern viable solution with the pico remote. This had originally been my first choice when I decided to go with smart light switches, but in the end decided against due to the cost for the number of switches desired. Now I’m having second thoughts a year later.

Lutron is a good choice, for the reasons you gave. (I use these in my own home). And the cost is less than you might expect for a large project because the Picos themselves are quite reasonable. So you are typically spending $60 for both the master switch and the auxiliary which isn’t that far off other smart switches for a 3 way setup.

https://www.amazon.com/Lutron-P-PKG1WB-WH-Caseta-Wireless-Dimmer/dp/B07HM6L48C/

Many community members buy Lutron devices from energy Avenue. It’s a bare-bones warehouse type site, but with pricing regularly 10% lower than most other retailers, and sometimes more. You need to know what you’re looking for, but it’s worth checking out. They also carry the harder to find colors and models.

https://www.energyavenue.com/Lutron/PJ2-3BRL-GWH-L01

https://www.energyavenue.com/Lutron/P-PKG1W-WH

Just remember that the Pico will only control its own master, it will be invisible to smartthings.

It’s technically not discontinued, but it hasn’t been updated for zwave plus, either. So probably EOL. Also, I don’t know if there’s anyone working on keeping it up-to-date with the new platform changes. So I’m reluctant to recommend it at this time.

RF9575

It is a multi level switch so it should be able to control dimmers. But it’s also the older generation, so the same issues apply as the 9500.

Also, There are a few suppliers that do still have the 9500 and the 9575 in stock if you are looking for these. Check return policies carefully, though, many of these companies will only accept returns on defective items.

Again, I’m not recommending this for new users at this time, but if somebody already has some of these and likes them and wants to get more, they are still available.

I just checked and Gordon does have both of them in stock at a reasonable price but with returns limited to defective products. They are an authorized Eaton seller.

Thanks, very helpful!

I also found an old “SmartThings button” that I think I can use.

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buttons work well

Agreed, not interested in buying old tech. Also I thought I recall when reviewing the RF9575 manual, it wasnt actually capable of issuing the dimming commands via association.

Curious on the decision path which led you to these, why you’ve kept them, and any gotchas or edge cases a technical consumer should know?

A number of different factors went into it. I really like the engineering on these. And my house was built in 1955, so not all of the switch boxes have neutrals which made the Caseta an easy choice for those spots.

I also need something which is very reliable (I’m quadriparetic, so just walking over to the switch and turn it on it’s not a “Plan B” option for me.) So I wanted something which had its own integration with echo that would work even if smartthings was being flaky.

And then after I had gotten the first couple, I started moving my critical use cases over to HomeKit, and Lutron works with HomeKit, echo, and smartthings.

I also used a few of the non-networked Lutron motion switches in areas like the laundry room and the utility closet, which saved some money.

I put the first ones in in 2016 and have added more over time.

But different things work for different people. I also considered the Eaton Cooper Z wave switches, again, good engineering and I really like the look of them, particularly the black and silver ones.

Our house is mid century modern, and has some black switches and outlets in some rooms.

This isn’t my house, but it’s a similar style and floor plan

So different things work for different people. The main thing with lutron is to know in advance how big an area you need to cover because they have three different systems for different size installations.

Also, there are two different bridges you can get, the basic and the pro. Either will work with smartthings, but the pro allows for telnet which let you work with a number of additional integrations if desired. The pro is more expensive, but I went ahead and paid the extra $90 in order to have more future options. (Energy Avenue is a good source.)

If you want to also use them with HomeKit, you can get either model of the bridge, but you have to make sure to get the second generation or newer. It will say if it works with HomeKit.

But again, different things work for different people. I don’t use many Z wave sensors, so I didn’t need to worry about Z wave repeaters very much. If I was using a lot of battery operated Z wave devices, then that would be an argument in favor of Z wave light switches just to take care of the repeater issue.

Thanks! Nice amount of detail.

The pro caught my eye too but seemed it was really only for system integrators and didn’t offer much info for the public on how to use. I’m assuming ST only makes use of the basic hub features? HomeKit or anything a consumer has control over make use of the Pro features?

I went down this rabbit hole too with Caseta, RA2 Select, and RadioRA 2. Combability of the different switches with those systems and costs. One of the bigger deterrents was lack of official ST support for anything but Caseta. Needless to say, lots of research time spent and in the end decided was too much for the simple uses cases I was after [at the time] and zwave switch was half the price. Buyers remorse now.

Although it’s described as Caseta support it’s really Lutron SmartBridge support, and Lutron has been adding more models to that, including RA2. But not all devices have made it into the smartthings integration, so it does get complicated. Not even all Caseta models.

For example, the Caseta fan switch has been out for over a year now and is supported by most home automation platforms That support the Caseta dimmer switches, including Hubitat. But it doesn’t work with the smartThings integration. Lutron support says it’s up to smartthings, smartthings says it’s up to Lutron, and it appears that no one is working on it. :disappointed_relieved:

HomeKit or anything a consumer has control over make use of the Pro features?

HomeKit can work with either Lutron bridge model as long as it is the second generation.

The main difference in the pro is that you can use telnet with it, and it has an open API.

There is an unofficial community-created integration with the pro model which lets you use Lutron pico‘s With smartthings. (The Picos are invisible to smartthings through the official integration) . That does require setting up an additional device as a server, but it’s a good example of why a DIY person might want the pro.

[OBSOLETE] How to control anything with inexpensive Lutron Pico remotes

If you’re going to use Hubitat, which has an excellent lutron integration, that’s another example of when you would want the pro.

(Since the pico is the battery operated Lutron switch, I think that means all of this is still on topic for this thread, since which bridge you use will determine how you can potentially use the Picos with smartthings, although additional devices and set up will be required.)