Z-wave switch feel and quality

[walken100]

Getting ready to jump into Z-wave from x10 and need some input. I've used x10 and leviton switches in the past. Hated the x10 switch's feel and quality. Leviton was ok. So the question, what zwave switches do you use and what is your impression? Do you like the feel, would you use them again etc.

Also, any issues with the switches especially related monitoring the status of your switches with a control system?

Appreciate any first hand experience.

 

[stevech]

Getting ready to jump into Z-wave from x10 and need some input. I've used x10 and leviton switches in the past. Hated the x10 switch's feel and quality. Leviton was ok. So the question, what zwave switches do you use and what is your impression? Do you like the feel, would you use them again etc.

Also, any issues with the switches especially related monitoring the status of your switches with a control system?

Appreciate any first hand experience.

Wouldn't it depend on what Z-wave based product you evaluate? I wonder too, with GE and their distributors bailing on Z-Wave, if enough solid vendors stay with it to make it appealing.

 

[xlurkr]

Wouldn't it depend on what Z-wave based product you evaluate? I wonder too, with GE and their distributors bailing on Z-Wave, if enough solid vendors stay with it to make it appealing.

Are you sure GE is bailing on Z-Wave? Radio Shack is bailing on GE, but that's not the same.

-Tom

 

[pbeaulieu]

I went with Leviton Vizia switches because I did not want the vendor to disappear. Considering that Leviton is still selling their X-10 stuff, I think they will continue to sell the Vizia RF+. I also looked at Cooper Aspire RF switches but thought they were a more expensive.

my 2 cents.

 

[walken100]

I went with Leviton Vizia switches because I did not want the vendor to disappear. Considering that Leviton is still selling their X-10 stuff, I think they will continue to sell the Vizia RF+. I also looked at Cooper Aspire RF switches but thought they were a more expensive.

my 2 cents.

How do they feel? Are they solid? Are you ok with not having a true rocker (I think this is the case). Did you every use a Cooper switch and how do they compare?

Appreciate the input.

 

[walken100]

Wouldn't it depend on what Z-wave based product you evaluate? I wonder too, with GE and their distributors bailing on Z-Wave, if enough solid vendors stay with it to make it appealing.

I'm trying to get some feedback on the different vendors IE. GE, Act, Leviton, Cooper etc. I don't have anyplace I can go put my hands on switches to test them out so I have to order them off of the internet without experience with the switches themselves. When I look at the GE switches they remind me of x10 stuff. If they felt the same way they would be unacceptable. So I'm just looking for actual experience from people that have used the different vendors.

 

[pbeaulieu]

How do they feel? Are they solid? Are you ok with not having a true rocker (I think this is the case). Did you every use a Cooper switch and how do they compare?

Appreciate the input.

I never used Cooper switches. The Leviton switches are solid, and quiet. A little click when pushed. Not having the rocker is a preference thing. I have nearly all decora type switches: Leviton Vizia+, Leviton RF+, and standard Leviton decora (rocker type) swicthes. It does not bother me me either way. I did have to get use to the slightly different feel seeing that I do have both styles. What I mean by this is in the beginning I would not push hard enough on the Vizia (non rocker) witches to activate them. After a couple of days this was no longer an issue. The real thing is the boss (wife ) is not complaining. She also does think that it takes a little more force to activate the non rocker switches.

I did read in the forum some place a user who did not like the fact that the Leviton were not true rocker switches.

 

[walken100]

I never used Cooper switches. The Leviton switches are solid, and quiet. A little click when pushed. Not having the rocker is a preference thing. I have nearly all decora type switches: Leviton Vizia+, Leviton RF+, and standard Leviton decora (rocker type) swicthes. It does not bother me me either way. I did have to get use to the slightly different feel seeing that I do have both styles. What I mean by this is in the beginning I would not push hard enough on the Vizia (non rocker) witches to activate them. After a couple of days this was no longer an issue. The real thing is the boss (wife ) is not complaining. She also does think that it takes a little more force to activate the non rocker switches.

I did read in the forum some place a user who did not like the fact that the Leviton were not true rocker switches.

Thats the kind of input I'm looking for. Thanks!

 

[walken100]

Still looking for peoples experience with other types of Z-wave switches. GE, Act, cooper etc.


Any input is appreciated.

 

[johnny]

i have both x10 and GE zwave switches. the x10 ones feel awful in my opinion. the relay on-off switches are also quite loud. any visitor to my house would jump at the click. the GE zwave one feels and looks much better. At the $10-$15 price range, its a clear winner for GE zwave. i liked them so much i bought regular priced GE on/off switches to complement the clearance ones.

my only problem is i havent figured out which switch to use for the 3ways. the GE 3ways wont work for my wiring and i may have to use another brand of zwave for the 3ways in the house.

i am only keeping the x10 stuff around for cheap compatibility with my Elk M1. once the new version of the vrc0p comes out, i'll buy that and upgrade all my switches to zwave for integration to the elk.

 

[walken100]

i have both x10 and GE zwave switches. the x10 ones feel awful in my opinion. the relay on-off switches are also quite loud. any visitor to my house would jump at the click. the GE zwave one feels and looks much better. At the $10-$15 price range, its a clear winner for GE zwave. i liked them so much i bought regular priced GE on/off switches to complement the clearance ones.

my only problem is i havent figured out which switch to use for the 3ways. the GE 3ways wont work for my wiring and i may have to use another brand of zwave for the 3ways in the house.

i am only keeping the x10 stuff around for cheap compatibility with my Elk M1. once the new version of the vrc0p comes out, i'll buy that and upgrade all my switches to zwave for integration to the elk.

I agree about the x10! Any other issues with the GE switches? do you poll them? was setup straight forward? any "beware ofs". Thanks for the input.

 

[johnny]

I agree about the x10! Any other issues with the GE switches? do you poll them? was setup straight forward? any "beware ofs". Thanks for the input.

Right now the only thing i have controlling the ge zwave switches is the handheld controller. I dont have a dongle or serial device that talks zwave so i cant say if they are pollable, but Im sure someone else has posted about this.

Setup was straightforward and matches what i expect for all the zwave switches. i recall the dimmers are two wire (no neutral), and the relays require neutral. So check your switch boxes before you decide what kind of switch goes where. The GE zwave 3ways have to be wired only one specific way unlike normal 3ways which are wired more than 7 different ways. There's also a 15 to 25 feet limitation on the traveller distance. There's at least 1 or 2 threads on this forum about the problem with 3ways.

I did have an issue with a 100watt bulb buzzing with the dimmer. I believe both the bulb and dimmer were buzzing. i had to switch to a 60watt bulb or change the switch to a relay to avoid the buzzing. This is preventing me from changing the switch that controls 8 recessed lights to zwave. I'm pretty sure 400-500 watts will make the switch buzz even more.

I wish i could get a feel of the different kinds of switches too. Before the radioshack clearance i was considering buying one of each kind to test out, but now i have like 6 GE switches for the cost of one Vizia RF+ so my hand is sort of forced in a good way.