I have about 30+ jasco devices. I’ve noticed many people on this forum have ran into the ‘blue-light flashing’ issue or the constant clicking. I’m in the same boat. I’ve had 3/30+ fail so far and I’m slowly replacing them. I stupidly replaced 2 of them with more jasco devices but I’m looking for another solution. So, what zwave dimmers/switches are you guys using and have they lasted over 3 years?
The newer Jasco/GE devices (zwave plus and zigbee) are actually pretty good. I also have had several of the older ones die, so I feel your pain.
Zooz and Inovelli I hear are good. I only have experience with the Zooz Zen30, but I like their product so far.
You’ll get your fair share of opinions with your post For me, I just replaced every single GE zwave switch with their GE zigbee counterpart. So far so good.
Did the design change? I believe I have 1 or 2 of these. But I’m more worried about the internal design than anything. I don’t want to be SOL in 3 years.
Can’t say for sure because I just don;t have that kind of visibility, but all my older ones that have failed have been due to heat (I believe), and you’ll notice with the newer designs that the plastic case has venting. The old cases didn’t. I’m sure there could also be internal improvements, but I have no idea.
If you’re considering replacing all of these switches and dimmers over time, you may want to consider Lutron’s product offerings. Very stable and reliable products. They do use their own proprietary Clear Connect RF protocol, so the integration with ST is Cloud-2-Cloud. The nice thing is that Lutron’s products also have integrations with Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Logitech Harmony Hub, Apple HomeKit, SmartThings, Hubitat Elevation, IFTTT, etc… So, you get the flexibility of integrating the Lutron devices with multiple home automation controllers at the same time if desired. It also makes transitioning from one platform to another pretty quick and easy should that need ever arise. If you do decide to consider Lutron, please spend the extra ~$25 to get the Lutron Caseta Smart Bridge Pro2 controller, as it offers the most flexibility for future integrations.
From my understanding the GE/Jasco failures are from the internal Relay going bad. Most often it happens after a power outage of some sort. @johnconstantelo had a good thought, is it potentially overheating hooked to larger electrical loads? And is that why we are seeing the reports ? I know the older non plus GEs have break off heat tabs while the new gen 2 zwave plus version doesn’t need them( it has vents instead & is 20% smaller). Also some houses have arc fault breakers. I wonder if that can factor in somehow.
*Knock on wood * but I have a couple of the older non plus ones since 2016 that haven’t given me any issues.
So far I haven’t seen any confirmed failures with the new gen 2 z wave plus GE/JASCOs. Only time will tell of course as they haven’t been released long enough.
Just this week, I got 3 of the 30s and 1 22 and I’m loving them! With the sale that is going on over at @TheSmartestHouse I’d say it’s a no brainier to give them a try.
Thanks for the tag @saosinx88, glad you like the switches!
@Petro Zooz is our in-house brand so we can offer better prices than most other brands, selling them directly and slimming our margins, especially during promotions Click here to take a look at the sale and feel free to reach out to us with any questions, we help with wiring and Z-Wave inquiries!
The primary difference between our switches and GE/Jasco is that they work in 3-way and 4-way set-ups with regular on/off switches so you don’t need to get the special add-ons, saving on product cost and installation time.
If you’d like to pick up a couple now to see how you like them, we can lock the price for you for another 2-3 weeks if you decide to come back and place a bulk order at a later date.
All of the models, except for the new ZEN30 Double Switch, are officially integrated with SmartThings so they’ll work locally but we have dedicated handlers to enable advanced settings and scene control (double-tap functionality) for all of them as well.
Yeah, I’m liking this more and more. I think the developer (@doncaruana) for the DTH is also coming up with some improvements to make it even better:
Are the states polled or instantly reported on these devices?
Instant, for both the relay and dimmer.
I’ve got a number of GE/Jasco switches/dimmers that I brought here from my old place. All the new ones I’ve needed here have been Inovelli’s. Much better “paddle feel” than the GE switches and way more features!
Can you elaborate on the extra features?
Probably similar to the Zooz devices, which would be scene associations, and multiple tap capabilities that act like buttons. The Zen30 has 21 multiple tap options!
Indeed, I am. But life, and some nasty colds through the family, have set me back. Hopefully, I’ll get this banged out soon.
No worries! Half my workplace is sick, and I’m recovering on the couch as I type this out. Being sick sucks…
Yes, similar to the zooz in that regard.
Also adds in LED notifications which puts it over the top when comparing to others. You can setup things like “If door is locked and alarm system armed, turn led red”.
Works with neutral or without. Works with aux switches or dumb switches in 3 or 4 way configurations. The internal relay can be disabled so it can be used to control smart bulbs. The paddle can be swapped for other colours.
Overall I don’t think there’s a dimmer out there with more options than this one.
Anyone know when the device type handlers for Inovelli will be integrated so we can run it local? That’s one of the things I’m waiting on before buying more. I just installed two this afternoon at a location that has very little automation just so I can try them out.