So I’ve read through several threads about fireplace. And I don’t see anything similar to my setup. Is there a reason a GE12722 On/Off Zwave switch won’t work if I swap out the existing switch? I also have a spare GE12730 Fan Control switch, which is just a dimmer switch. I wonder if that will work to control the blower speed if I set it up similar to the ones I did for my ceiling fans. Put the blower control under the fireplace box to high and then use the GE fan control wall switch to adjust the speed.
This seems like too simple of a solution though based on the complicated setups described in other fireplace threads. What am I missing?
It’s all depend on what’s behind your old switch. You need hot, neutral, ground to control the most smart switch. Also the load for the ge is 110v. Your fireplace could be low voltage or push/release type of switch.
good points. It looks no different than any of the other wall switches. It’s a paddle, not a push/release. I’ll have to take it out and see what I have back there. I believe I have hot, neutral, and ground. But I could be wrong. I’ll check it out and update when I do.
FWIW I have an old gas fireplace with 2-12VDC fans powered by a 110 VAC supply that terminates on my wall as a 2 pole switch. I just replaced the switch with a dimmer so I can turn it on and off/change speed remotely. As these applications are usually an interrupter type cct there is no neutral so the downside is that the fans spin ever so slowly when off driven by the Z-Wave trickle current.
Generally, the switches for fire places turn a 3V DC circuit on which is powered by batteries. Most codes do not allow high voltage to be present in the vicinity of an automated gas ignition switch for obvious reasons [ Gas Leak + Spark = Disaster]. What I’ve done in my case is I have extended the 2 wires that basically close the circuit. The wires run outside the fireplace (i concealed it with some wire concealers) …and then I have connected those wires to a z-wave relay. So every time I turn the relay on the fire place comes on. I have it to come on with different scenes etc…My wife helped me very cleverly hide the set u with some indoor plants etc…so its invisible.
That’s also depend on the fireplace age and model. Most newer fireplaces get 0.3 to 0.7 millivolts generated from the heated thermocouple to turn on/off the gas valve so you don’t have to worry about battery or power outage. Choosing a switch for this is quite critical due to switch resistance.