Leviton Z-Wave Universal Switch - Your Choice Price: $29.99 Shipping Options:: $5 Standard OR $10 Two-Day OR $20 One-Day Shipping Estimates: Ships in 1-2 business days (Monday, Jun 12 to Tuesday, Jun 13) + transit Condition: New
Both of these require the presence of a neutral wire for installation. That’s pretty common with smart switches, with a few exceptions (Lutron’s Caseta dimmer switch doesn’t need a neutral, and Leviton’s older model dimmer switch didn’t need one, but is hard to find)
There’s no side view in the pictures, so let me assure you that these things are pretty big. You’ll need to have plenty of space available in your wall box in order to fit one of these. Modern constructed (1980’s onward) homes probably have the right kind of outlet boxes to accommodate these. If you have an older home, you’ll want to make sure to measure first.
The rocker switch tends to confuse people, so let me clarify: while it looks like a standard Decora rocker switch, the rocker itself always stays at center position. Pushing on the top or bottom of the switch simply registers a click, and then the rocker returns to center.
50% of the stuff Woot (Amazon dumping ground) offers is over priced or products which are not moving elsewhere or about to be upgraded with a newer model. Plus, even if you’re a Amazon Prime member, Amazon does not honor the same shipping policy for companies it owns and operates.
I suggest you take a few minutes to read Woot’s return policy very carefully before you make your purchase. Then read Costco’s return policy (membership required).
Note that there are new versions of these that support Z-Wave Plus, and instant notification. These do not support instant status.
If find the dimming bar really hard to use on this model.
Edit: Looks like it’s the VRF01-1LZ that I would need ($80 on Amazon!!!). Oh well.
Does anyone know if you could use this for a ceiling fan motor?
I have a dimmer switch for my bedroom fan and was thinking I could easily just replace it with a z-wave switch, but after googling a bit it looks like TRIAC dimmers could damage the motor and that they require a VFD dimmer. I could not find either acronym in the spec sheet, but I presume this is the TRIAC kind which could pop my fan motor.
Most modern-day ceiling fans support 3 speeds (hi/med/lo). Unless your fan came with a variable switch, you risk not only ruining the fan, but a possible fire.
Thanks! One was wired up to the fan when we bought the house and it works fine, I am just hoping to get it tied to my OpenHAB system at some point. Turns out there is a GE VBR Z-Wave fan controller on Amazon for $45, well worth the extra $25 to prevent a fire
The GE switches are really good. They’re a lot cheaper than the Leviton, Lutron, Belkin and Insteon switches, and work just as well.
I have a GE switch for my kitchen lights, and a GE dimmer + add-on for a 3-way setup in my dining rom.
These will also work with Harmony and the Samsung SmartThings hub, without the Hub Extender.
If you’re looking to get into home automation, the SmartThings hub is a much better value than the Harmony Hub Extender (which might be discontinued at this point)…
In my configuration, I found the GE switches don’t fade nearly as smoothly as the Lutron/Leviton switches, which drove me nuts.
I have these exact switches in my SmartThings/Google Home setup and they work flawlessly. I’m glad that Woot has 'em today! Not so glad I can only buy 3…
I’ve found that the smoothness of dimming seems to be tied more to the brand of bulbs than the switches. I have GE Z-Wave dimmer and a Lutron Caseta dimmer. I had the Lutron installed first, and the fade was really clunky. I was just using some cheap dimmable LEDs. I later swapped them out with some Osram bulbs, and the fade was far smoother. When I installed the GE, I bought Philips bulbs, and they fade just as smoothly as the Osram ones.
I’m also on a SmartThings/Google Home setup, with a ton of IFTTT and Stringify thrown in to automate things.