Questions regarding my first potential SmartThings based setup that I'm planning on getting to go along with my Google Home

Hey guys, I bought a Google Home because reasons and I have been eyeing the whole Smart home integration craze for a while now. I want to start with my own room as a testing ground to get everything up and running. I am interested in integrating with SmartThings the following:

  1. Ceiling Fan (controlled by a simple wall switch)
  2. Lights (controlled by a second wall switch)
  3. Dumb 1080p Sony TV (Uses standard IR remote)
  4. Dumb Panasonic Split Air Conditioner unit (Uses standard IR Remote)
  5. Turn on my PC using Wake-On-Lan

So far I have narrowed down the hardware I need to the following:

  1. Samsung SmartThings Hub (F-H-ETH-001)
  2. Enerwave Z-Wave Plus Switch Module ZWN-RSM2 (Turns the two wall switches I have into Z-Wave capable units)
  3. Logitech Harmony Home Hub without a Remote (Supposedly should be able to control the TV and AC with the IR functionality)

I’m simply looking for turning things on and off individually or groups of things with a routine using voice commands through the Google Home (or my Phone). My question is whether the hardware that I have chosen will work for my intended purposes or if I have to switch it for something else?
Note: Eventually I plan on adding smart locks.

You need to buy a fan specific wall switch for the ceiling fan. I know GE makes one, i’m not sure if Enerwave does. Also, the fan is the only thing on the switch, right? Not a fan and light on one switch?

If you have 2 wall switches then yes the Enerwave switch will work inside the switch box. If not then you can mount it inside the fan canopy as long as your fan has separate fan/light power. However, you’ll have to change the fan from low/med/high manually because this setup is only providing you with on/off functions. The fan will always come on at whatever state you last left it in. Keep in mind that the Enerwave switch does require a neutral wire. The downside of using the Enerwave switch is that you lose the option to manually turn off your physical switches. Meaning if you turn off your light switch then there’s no power to going to the Enerwave switch. A Z-Wave light switch and a Z-Wave fan switch would let you keep that option so you didn’t always have to turn off you fan/light with your voice or phone and it would also let you change the fan speeds

The Harmony Hub will definitely work for your TV and more than likely your A/C unit too, as long as the Hub or IR blaster is near them. Personally I prefer having a remote vs using the phone. You can get the Harmony Companion for about $125 from Amazon but your phone will do the same thing

Thanks a lot. I always leave my fan at high, so that’s never going to be a problem for me. I already bought a Google Home and my motivation is to make everything voice controlled in order to try to eliminate physical switches and remote controls.

I would not use the Enerwave switch for your particular use case. While it does serve its purpose and will work, you will have to use a custom device type handler and then a smart app to expose the second switch to any sort of automations that you want to do. I have two of them and I can say they have been the least cooperative of any of the other dozens of my zwave devices for staying on the mesh.

Overall, for getting introduced to the platform, I would spend a few bucks more and grab a pair of GE switches, the 12722 for the light and 17230 for the fan.

That’s not exactly correct. The enerwave switch is always powered, and it will pass current when it’s switch is activated, either through zwave or when the physical switch is changed. By by changed means it will change the switch state when it senses a voltage change on its switch line, basically alternating between 0 and 120v.

Alright, I’m going to do as you say (partially), thanks a lot for the friendly warning and advice. I don’t have enough room for two switches, but I’ll pick up a 12722 and an Aeon labs dsc18103 to control the fan or lights without a physical switch.

Hmm. I thought you had two existing switches already, so that may change the game a bit…

It looks like the Aeon is at least natively supported, so that’s a good thing…

Yeah, I currently have a double switch fitted in my electrical box. I looked around and should have enough space for both. I’ll probably have to drop physical support for either the fan or the lights, which is fine by me.

OK. That should work, however, if you have a WAF to be concerned with (wife acceptance factor), then eliminating the physical switch option is not well advised for those situations where the automations decide not to work at exactly the time she’s trying to use them.

Hahaha, yeah… that’s why I’m starting out with only one room and see where it goes from there.

Thanks for catching that. I have one but am using it in a way that I had to bypass my physical switch. Had it so long I forgot its original purpose