Traditional switch

Devices & Integrations
1

Is there a traditional smart switch out there? All I see is paddle switches. Thanks!

2

here you go sirā€¦

3

Sweet. Thanks for the fast reply! Not sure how i didnā€™t see those.

have you seen anything in 20$ range?

4

not in a zwave or zigbee switch. Be careful if you search you will find the add on switches those require one of these tow work.

5

I have a small light in my living room I would like controlled. I had a wemo plug into it but my wife keeps turning the switch off. So, when I try to turn it on with My Echo it doesnā€™t come on. Can I replace the switch with something like the link below? Whatā€™s the difference between an add on and the switch that Matt posted?

http://www.amazon.com/GE-12728-Wireless-Lighting-Control/dp/B00PYMGYY0/ref=pd_sim_60_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=41JAek%2BuNUL&dpSrc=sims&preST=AC_UL160_SR82%2C160&refRID=16VA28JHD7MXMVH2DBWN

6

I guess you answered my question. Thanks Matt!

7

You could use an In wall relay to control a regular switch

http://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=11989

http://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=11990

If you have two switches nearby you could use a dual relay to control both bringing the overall cost down.

1 Like
8

Jason,

Have you used these? are they reliable?

9

Curious, is there a reason most switches tend to be zwave based? Like G&E has toggles in zwave version, but not in zigbee. And most of my devices are zigbee, would be nice for switches to double as repeaters

10

No, I currently am outfitted with GE/jasco switches, but there are many community members who use these with great success.

https://community.smartthings.com/search?q=aeon%20micro%20category%3A5

11

Zigbee GE Light Switch @ Smartthings shop

And @ Best buy

12

Paddleā€¦ While toggle ( https://shop.smartthings.com/#!/products/ge-in-wall-toggle-switch-on-slash-off ) is zwave only

13

When buying the switches be sure to read carefully. There are some Z-Wave switches which appear to be cheaper and theyā€™re really part of a 3 way setup (2 way?). This cheaper switch wonā€™t work without the more expensive switch. I guess the cheaper switch is like a virtual switch that doesnā€™t switch a load directly but sends something to something else to be turned on. . Anyway Iā€™ve noticed that the advert doesnā€™t really clearly state that. Lot of mystery with ā€˜big boxā€™ stores and why one thing is cheaper than the other (ex: a $0.49 125v@15A switch, a $1.99 125v@15A switch and a $5.49 125v@15A switch - like that).

14

My guess is that inexpensive residential wall switches are zwave rather than zigbee because WiFi doesnā€™t interfere with Z wave, but can definitely be a problem with zigbee.

When you have a device that can be moved, like a motion sensor, or even in many cases a lightbulb, you have a lot more choices about where to place it. Sometimes all it takes to avoid interference is moving a couple of feet left or right.

Fixed location devices like door locks, wall switches, and window covering controls donā€™t have the same options. They are where they are and it can be expensive to move them.

So although I havenā€™t seen anything public about this, my guess would be that most device manufacturers for this low-end market have found they just get too many unsolvable complaints with the zigbee versions.

I personally choose a Z wave doorlock instead of a zigbee one precisely because I knew I would want to boost Wi-Fi signal strength in that area to support some other devices I wanted to put there. :sunglasses:

There are some professionally-installed automation systems which do use Zigbee switches, but their installers have the necessary tools to address network interference.