I tested my WD100+ dimmer with a GE 3-way add-on switch and it worked fine for me, although I can’t recommend that anyone use a non-“blessed” configuration like this. 3-way switch wiring can be pretty confusing. Have you seen the Automated 3-way Switches: What should my wiring look like? (US Version) thread?
Yeah, I’m pretty good at wiring 3 ways and agree that they can be tricky, but I’ve done enough of them to be confident that I have the circuit setup correctly. I guess my main question is around what the companion switch needs for power. In the accompanying documentation, only the neutral and traveler go to the companion (See picture).
So the way I have it wired, I run the line and neutral (pigtailed in) to the dimmer. From the dimmer, I ran the neutral and traveler to the companion switch (only two wires going to companion), and the neutral out to load, and then run the load (bypassing the companion switch) back to the dimmer. That is how I understand the picture above. However this does not seem to be working, and I’m hesitant to wire the load to the companion switch, as that does not align with the wiring diagram.
P.S. I really enjoyed poking around your website. Some really good information there for those of us getting into this stuff
Slightly tangential, but what is the point of a special three way switch (the physical device). Can you just sync the switch to the other one with a smartapp or something. So pressing ON on any of the physical switches means turn on the load, same for OFF. Does having one or more of them being special HS-WA100+ switches make a difference? Clearly I am no electrician and I have never attempted to wire anything.
In most set ups, an auxiliary switch (also called a slave, a dummy, or sometimes a " remote") essentially just acts as a remote to the master switch. The common example is having a switch at both the top and the bottom of the staircase so that you can turn the lights on at the bottom of the staircase and then when you get up to the top you can turn them off from a different switch.
There are many different ways to create communication between the auxiliary switch and the master switch. This can be done with wires (which are called “traveler wires” in the US), it can be done by having the auxiliary switch communicate wirelessly directly to the master as the Leviton Vizia series does, or it can be done by having the auxiliary switch communicate wirelessly to the smart things hub which then communicates to the master.
Unless you are very experienced with electrical matters, if you are using actual physical wires to connect the auxiliary to the master switch you should use only the auxiliary that was specifically designed to work with that master. So that’s what the auxiliary in this model line is for. This is for both safety and functionality.
Just as an example, some models require that both the master and the auxiliary be on the same neutral, while others do not. The switches could look similar to other models, and they could both be using physical wires to connect the auxiliary to the master , but they could still be using different specific set ups.
It’s pretty common for an auxiliary to be powered from a neutral, just as the radio in the master is. But there are many different ways for these to be set up, and different models will use different methods.
BTW, Some three-way set ups are wired in such a way that the position of the master switch will affect whether the auxiliary works or not. So that when one is up at the other has to be down. It’s not that up is always on and down is always off.
Because this tends to be confusing to people, there are alternative set ups from other models where indeed up is always on and down is always off no matter what the other switch is doing.
In other cases, the auxiliary isn’t actually powered at all, it just physically closes the circuit. if this is the case, the auxiliary will not have an LED.
(Differences like these are why it is best to use the auxiliary that was designed for use with that particular model master.)
Hadn’t seen you post back if you got it working with the replacement or not?
Just in case I can share my experience with you. The diagram provided is exactly the way you need to wire it without any short cuts. What I mean by no short cuts make sure you have good solid connections to your grounds, and use the SAME neutral white wire at ALL locations. For example let’s say that in the box you have two powered circuits or even a second line coming through the box that is just passing through because the electrician is using the box as a junction only. Do not use any of those white neutrals to connect to. I found this out to be the problem on the second one I installed where I simply used an easier to access white neutral connection instead verifying I was connecting to the same neutral that came into the box for the primary power from the circuit breaker. Electrically I would have thought it shouldn’t have made a difference because all the neutrals common up back on a bus bar in the breaker panel but it did on mine. It is possible that it could have been a poor grounding as well but I re-wire nut all my connections and it started working like a champ.
Just a side note, it appears the manufacturer of these new switches could be the same as GE/Jasco who have exactly the same wiring technique; “With the type of circuit that you showed above which is the easiest to convert to Z-Wave control, Switch 1 is replaced by the Z-Wave auxiliary switch HS-WA100+ and Switch 2 where the incoming power is located is replaced with the primary Z-Wave switch HS-WD/WS100+. The auxiliary switch does not actually control the power; instead, it sends a momentary voltage signal through the traveler wire to the primary switch which in turn, controls the power to the load.”
@dalec Thanks for your follow-up. I sent back the companion switch and am currently waiting on the replacement. I called Homeseer support and they indicated that they could not help with wiring (obviously), but that I could send it back to get a replacement in case the original was defective. Therefore, now I wait… I’ll let you know if I get it working, which I hope I do as I really like the dimmer and switch I have put in so far!
Just wanted to give an update. Got the replacement companion switch, wired it up and it works perfectly. Very happy with the Homeseer switch, dimmer and 3 way applications. Let me know if any have questions.
SWEET! I haven’t gotten mine yet.
What color is the led indicator light on the HS-WD100??
I’d say bluish-white. This video from HomeSeer is not the best quality, but the LED color looks somewhat representative: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RSFRINNFOg
Thanks, from the video it looks a little more white than blue. I was hoping they would blend in ok with my GE switches, so that I could only switch out the ones where I will use the actual added functionality. I think i’m just going to get one to see what they look like next to e/o.
The LED’s definitely look white compared to the GE’s. They’re also a little brighter than the GE’s.
Thanks for the confirmation. I’m kinda picky about that, so I will probably still order one, and maybe i’ll dink around with trying to filter the led to make it closer. I really want this functionality in a few spots…
If anyone is considering them, they are running a 15% off sale right now. Brings the price down to ~$37-38/switch depending on if you’re buying singles, threes, or fives. Just got my order in the mail. Not installed yet.
Suppose a link to the sale and the coupon codes would be helpful…
I just installed my HS-WD100+ and I have the standard dimming working but I want to use the multi-tap to turn on more lights in the room without needing to use Rule Machine that is no longer available. His scene controller is great.
So anyone else notice the homeseer sticker is just covering the dragontech model?
Has anyone tried running these dths on the dragontech version to see if they actually have tge same capability? Or does hs put a custom firmware on them?
I am really leaning towards getting a 5 pack of these and a couple accessory switches to complete my house. I have Cooper’s right now which work great but are squishy and a few GE’s which are just ok. There are little quirks I have noticed with the GE.
Since this is a pretty big investment I was wondering if anyone had the accessory switch working and whether it worked well or not in a 3 way setup? The Cooper in a 3 way seems a bit problematic from reading their thread. I already have a 3 day lutron dimmer switch there and I plan to check on a traveler wire tonight. I want to have it so that double tap turns off both sets of hall way lights. These switches would essentially complete my house for everything I think is worth automating now so I want to make sure I get something that works well.
What was quirky with your GE’s? I have several that seem to be fine.
At least two above have said they got it working @Darwin @Spectyr
A couple of things I have noticed in the short time I have had it in. The switch manually turns on or off the lights. I can’t seem to manually adjust the dimming value from the wall locally. I can adjust it from the phone mobile app. Not sure why that is happening. UPDATE: It works fine with local dimming. I was getting confused because you press & hold to change dimming levels however I had also setup press & hold triggers that using the new feature turning off the same lamp.
I am not using it as a 3-way but I am enjoying it so far as a dual function dimmer light switch and scene controller. I just got mine installed and have started setting it up so in my den TV area I can control multiple things with the one wall switch to my lamps. The switch itself dims just the table lamps plugged into the wall outlets controlled by the new switch in the den. I am using the 2-TapUp to toggle all the other lights in the room ON-OFF so I don’t waste using the 2-TapDown for the same lights. The 3-TapUp toggles just the Ceiling Fan Light ON-OFF. The 3-TapDown instead toggles my ceiling fan motor from Low-Medium-High speeds when I elect to override my temperature control smartapp to the fan. The Press&HoldDown sets my movie lighting in the room by dimming everything to 25% and the Press&HoldUp gives me toggle ON-OFF of all lights to 100%.
FYI: In my den I don’t have access to switches for my ceiling fan motor or lights so this solution was ideal for me.