I see the GE ones recommended a lot. Is there any particular reason? I need to buy 2 to fit in a double gang box and there are SO many options.
Is there one that people seem to generally like here pretty well? (I notice the Honeywell ones on amazon have good reviews too)
Is there a "best" z-wave switch?
Re: Is there a "best" z-wave switch?
Hello,
I've used GE and Honeywell and I believe they're both rebranded Jasco products (and I don't think they really hide it--I think I've seen the Jasco name in the Amazon descriptions). My house is full of them since 2015. What I've found is that the dimmers are generally solid--they sometimes need to be reset by pulling the air-gap, but I haven't had any fail permanently. I have been having an issue where sometimes switches will basically lose their device ID and I'll have to re-include them. I have no idea if it's the switches or the Razberry Pi setup that I have.
I HAVE had the GE/Jasco on/off paddle switches die--quite a few of them. It seems they only last 2-3 years. I've been replacing them still with GE's, but the newer ones that have Z-Wave Plus. I can't speak to the longevity of them, but Z-Wave Plus is a huge...plus! I think as I've been adding more and more Z-Wave Plus devices, the performance of the overall system has improved significantly. (I think the added range is allowing more devices to communicate directly with the hub and also provides a reliable hop for any other nearby devices.) Also, the newer Z-Wave Plus on/off paddle switches have air-gap switches so you don't need to go to the circuit breaker to reset them. (The old on/off switches have no air-gap.)
SO, whatever switch you go with, I highly recommend getting Z-Wave Plus switches.
I've used GE and Honeywell and I believe they're both rebranded Jasco products (and I don't think they really hide it--I think I've seen the Jasco name in the Amazon descriptions). My house is full of them since 2015. What I've found is that the dimmers are generally solid--they sometimes need to be reset by pulling the air-gap, but I haven't had any fail permanently. I have been having an issue where sometimes switches will basically lose their device ID and I'll have to re-include them. I have no idea if it's the switches or the Razberry Pi setup that I have.
I HAVE had the GE/Jasco on/off paddle switches die--quite a few of them. It seems they only last 2-3 years. I've been replacing them still with GE's, but the newer ones that have Z-Wave Plus. I can't speak to the longevity of them, but Z-Wave Plus is a huge...plus! I think as I've been adding more and more Z-Wave Plus devices, the performance of the overall system has improved significantly. (I think the added range is allowing more devices to communicate directly with the hub and also provides a reliable hop for any other nearby devices.) Also, the newer Z-Wave Plus on/off paddle switches have air-gap switches so you don't need to go to the circuit breaker to reset them. (The old on/off switches have no air-gap.)
SO, whatever switch you go with, I highly recommend getting Z-Wave Plus switches.