The Smartest House: Select Zooz Z-Wave Products: Dimmer, Remote Switch Expired

If I redo all the switches in my house, I'm likely going for the Lutron Caseta switches. Everything I've read is these are the gold standard -- all be it expensive!

Many people are happy with their Caseta setup, but there are a few pitfalls:

1. Lutron and the associated "Clear Connect" wireless is a closed ecosystem unlike Zwave, Zigbee, and most of the other IOT wireless technologies. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it will severely limit your selection of devices if you venture outside of their light switches and remotes. Aside from light switches and remotes, Caseta only has ONE repeater and TWO smart plug options, while Zwave has literally hundreds, if not thousands of options in virtually every IOT category.
2. Every non-emergency, mains-powered Zwave device acts as a repeater for a true mesh network. Lutron is more of a hub-and-spoke setup, with an artificial 75 device cap per hub. You can add a repeater and/or a second hub for more devices or better coverage, but it could still be problematic for reaching edge devices.
3. More of preference thing, but the Lutron switches are what they are. Whether you love them or hate them, they all look the same, and you don't have any other aesthetic options in the Lutron line.

Zooz has been extremely reliable for me and while their prices are typically a little higher than a lot of generic brands you'll find, for me it's worth the extra money I've paid. Definitely jumping on a few of these deals.

Looking to outfit my new (old) house with Z-wave stuff powered by Hubitat and Google Home. Was checking out Inovelli for paddle switches, which are a bit more expensive. How does Zooz compare?

As long as it works with Home Assistant, I don't think "closed ecosystem" is an issue

Inovelli are typically a bit more expensive, but have (arguably) better build quality and a few more quality of life features. That said, if you're planning for an immediate install, check stock on the Inovelli stuff. Most are completely out of stock for 2022, with no in-stock ETAs. While I really appreciate Eric's transparency with their customer base, it does not look good [inovelli.com] for getting any Inovelli stuff anytime soon.

Lack of stock has been the main reason why I've gone with mostly Zooz stuff over Inovelli. I've had no issues, and their CS has been responsive when needed.

Good luck finding a GE branded switch for close to $20. Maybe the add on switch.

But that's what makes zooz even better. No need for a companion switch in a 3 way set up. In addition, if you get the proper switch (Zen 76/77, Zen 26/27, etc) you don't even need to require the companion. Great cost AND time saver.

Also, after many power outages that have claimed GE / Honeywell / Jaisco switches, I've never had a zooz switch die.

Cost, Time, and reliability. They win on all 3.

Here you go. [amazon.com] For some reason, the light commercial/residential switch is cheaper than the resi only.

$27 is much closer to $30 than $20, and not many people still use toggle style switches over the Decora paddle standard. By comparison, a similar Zooz ZEN73 toggle is only $22.

Okay, so I have been looking at these since the price is great with the sale. I have a SmartThings hub and have thus far only used GE/Jasco switches (older models, which have all worked fine for me). One thing that caught me off-guard was that most say they cannot be used with a fan. I did find the 71 model that says it can be used with a fan that is 3A max and less than 5 years old. The two fans I have left to wire up are under 3 years old but I cannot find a current rating for them. Only thing I have found is a spec on Lowe's website which says "High Speed Electricity Use" is 54W, which is under 0.5A. I was initially skeptical, but several results in Google say that 0.5-1A motors is typical. So I guess my fans qualify. The 5 years qualification still seems odd to me. Should I be worried in a few years once they exceed the 5 year mark? If it really is only 0.5A, that seems sufficiently under the 3A max even if the motor gets way less efficient as it ages.

Along those lines, should I get all 71s? Or just 71s for the fans and 76s for the lights? Is there a specific benefit to the 76 for simple 2-way lights? I have only ever done on/off switches due to the fact that for the GE switches, dimmers were always quite a bit more expensive (in addition to needing more expensive dimmable LED bulbs). For only $1 more for a dimmer, I might consider getting some. Need to think on where dimming might be useful.

I might also have to consider picking up an RGBW controller for $32 to connect to the LEDs I put behind my TV. We don't really use them since turning them on/off requires a separate IR remote. Could be fun

One thing that caught me off-guard was that most say they cannot be used with a fan. I did find the 71 model that says it can be used with a fan that is 3A max and less than 5 years old. The two fans I have left to wire up are under 3 years old but I cannot find a current rating for them. Only thing I have found is a spec on Lowe's website which says "High Speed Electricity Use" is 54W, which is under 0.5A. I was initially skeptical, but several results in Google say that 0.5-1A motors is typical. So I guess my fans qualify. The 5 years qualification still seems odd to me. Should I be worried in a few years once they exceed the 5 year mark? If it really is only 0.5A, that seems sufficiently under the 3A max even if the motor gets way less efficient as it ages.

It's not about the age of the fan, it's more a generalized estimate about the technology used to make it. Think of it this way: Before 1998 (24 years ago), airbags were not required in cars, and often were not equipped. That doesn't mean that a car built last year will suddenly lose its airbags once it reaches 25 years old; just that as of today, any cars over 24 years old may not be equipped with airbags.

Same goes for fans. As technology advances, most 'modern' fans will have soft-start circuitry to minimize inrush current, and be built in an efficient way to keep running current low, allowing us to use lower spec'd switches and wiring. Zooz made a generalization that most fans that are under 5years old will fall into the sub 3A category. It's not a hard rule, just an estimate. If you want to be safe, just check the specs on the fan and the switch to make sure everything will work together.

As for the Zooz switch selection, the ZEN71 and older ZEN21 should work for fans as long as they don't exceed the load limitations; basically on-off switches WITHOUT accommodations for traveler wire 3-way setups will work. (Dimmers like the 22/72 and 27/77 definitely won't work, and on-off switches with direct 3-way wiring like the 26/76 are probably not advised.)

From Zooz: "The short story is that the S2 switches are much more flexible and easier to install in multi-point control circuits (you just need to replace the switch with direct connection to power and neutral with a Zooz switch and you're done). But since they use 2 travelers, there wasn't enough space to make them as powerful as the ZEN21."

Although not on sale, the ZEN30 is another option, as it has two outputs; a dimmer for lights, and an on-off relay for a fan. The ZEN32 is also a valid option, and forgoes the light output of the ZEN30 for a 4-button scene controller.