2022 - State of In-Wall Switches

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Hi all - I've been reading all the discussions on in-wall switches and I wanted to just pulse the collective group before making a big investment. I'm about to purchase 70 switches for a new home and so I'm trying to do due diligence on the best in-wall switches (specifically dimmers mostly). Given the number of switches I'm not considering wifi and only looking at Caseta, z-wave, or zigbee.

  • Inovelli - Great switches but are completely out of stock and backordered with no reliable dates to acquire these. So, I'm ruling them out.
  • Lutron Caseta - Rock solid reliability. Weird switch style and no support to remember dimmer level on the standard dimmer switch. I almost never use my switches at 100% so unfortunately this is a deal breaker. Also the dimmer is really slow to ramp and that's not configurable. Am I missing something?
  • Zooz 700 S2 - Seems very comparable to others and has some nice tap features. However, supply seems limited and I can't get my hands on one for a week via Amazon. How do these compare to GE/Jasco Embrighten?
  • GE/Jasco Embrighten - I've used the older generations of these for 6+ years without much issue. I like that they remember the previous dim setting, but I do wish that they had double-tap full brightness like Zooz. Some people report issues, but they seem on par with Zooz. I see a fair bit of chatter that they kind of suck reliability wise. Is that still an ongoing concern? I don't find my mix of Embrighten/old-gen to really have any issues. Some issues at times, but they generally work fine.

So I've ruled out Caseta over lack of dimming memory, Inovelli because I can't get them. Zooz is an option but I'm just not sure if they stand ahead of the GE switches that I've got to know well over the years. Therefore, I'm leaning towards GE.

Am I missing anything?

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If you have neutrals everywhere, the Caseta PD-5NE is a great dimmer/switch (it has the Favorite button like Pico), but it is pricier than the plain dimmer. Lutron ain't cheap, that's for sure.

Zooz makes nice stuff overall and are well supported (officially and by the community here) -- have you look at buying their stuff directly from them at The Smartest House site (that's actually their own store front although they sell some other brands there too).

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Thanks - yes I do have neutrals but for 70 switches $120 (Amazon) for a PD-5NE on a switch I generally still don't like is just too much to take. Over $5K delta over the GE switches just to get a basic functionality.

I checked TSH - they're actually OOS there and only offering openbox/refurbs. I've never had good luck there so want to stick to NIB. I did pick one up off Amazon though and if I like them and can source them in time for the construction schedule they might win out. I was just curious how they differed compared to say the GE switches.

Thanks!

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One other quick point.
It's important for your family (or significant other) to "like" the Lutron Caseta style.

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This is true of the Red Series for the moment, but they will probably open up Blue Series (similar idea but Zigbee) pre-orders soon. There is some discussion in their forums about this and lots of information the product. Probably not for a couple months or so yet, but I wouldn't rule them completely out.

They do appear to be out of stock of some, but a tip: for Zooz (really most products in general, including Inovelli but likely others), I almost always prefer to buy directly from the manufacturer. It's usually cheaper, even factoring in shipping. Zooz's official store is The Smartest House, and at least one 700-series dimmer appears to be in stock (not the other; there is a table on their website elsewhere with the differences): Light Switches - The Smartest House.

I have mixed feelings on some of their products (and perhaps Z-Wave in general, not necessarily them), but their support is fantastic. :smiley: I haven't used any of the newer switches/dimmers so don't have an opinion on those myself.

Compared to GE, I'm not sure, as I haven't use them since their "classic" Z-Wave models, which were annoying because they didn't support instant status updates (they didn't license a Lutron patent and needed polling). That is no longer the case. IMHO, they are now overpriced for a features vs. cost comparison, but if you don't care about that, at least it's a reputable brand name.

I don't see HomeSeer on this list, but perhaps you'd be interested in their switches/dimmers to. The HS-WX300+ is the newest model, capable of being put in switch or dimmer mode (before installation), and is Z-Wave. I also find them a tad expensive, but at least there is a decent feature set to match.

Can't speak to Caseta, though Lutron does have rock-solid reliability (I have RA2, but I'm not all-in by any means). I think Hubitat added some preferences recently that might help with your dimming issue, though maybe that only matters for digital vs. phyiscal on/off commands, or perhaps I'm getting that mixed up with something else entirely. Someone who actually uses them may need to comment.

Finally, there are also various in-wall (or in-ceiling if needed) modules you can use with whatever light switch you want, usually including the existing "dumb" switch--not to complicate the issue further, but another option if you are picky about decor. :slight_smile:

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I still vote for Caseta:

  • rock solid reliability - as you an others have stated
  • if you run your lights on automations rather than physical manipulation, the brightness issue is a non-issue.
  • rock solid reliability - again - coming from someone who had a house full of Z-Wave Leviton switches
  • Level ramping can be adjusted when turning on/off the lights via rules (at least I can through node-red)
  • rock solid reliability - because air gapping in-wall switches is not what I want to be doing with my life

Oh and one more thing - Pico remotes, Pico remotes, Pico remotes.

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according to homeseer.com they're also OOS and I don't see them on Amazon. :frowning:

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Didn't think to check that, but probably should have! There have been major stock issues for 700-series Z-Wave chips for a while now...

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I'd vote for RadioRA 2 as it addresses your (and my) issues with Caséta. Street price (get quotes!) for a dimmer isn't much different than the Caseta PD-5NE. But of course you'd want to add some keypads, which will drive the average price up a little. If the price is still out of your budget, I'd wait for the Inovelli Blues. As a bonus, Inovelli's plan is to make them flashable to Thread in the future (but that's a bit up in the air for the first run of hardware).

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I've bought a ton of Leviton wall dimmers (DZ6HD's) and have been super reliable for me. I also like the fact that there is a tiny vertical strip of LEDs along the side of the paddle that shows the dim level/status at a glance.

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I come to pretty much the same conclusions. Zooz has been the go-to in my house, though I sprinkle in a few Jasco Zigbee switches to maintain both meshes. I recently purchased and installed Zen71 and Zen77, so any supply constraint is probably recent and transient.

Zero hesitation in recommending Zooz for Z-wave applications. Pairing, color-match paddles, intuitive function, configurable, reliable. These are the backbone of our home lighting. I only started playing a bit with the tap features (my wife liked having a double-down-tap trigger her Pandora playlist on the Sonos speakers).

No experience with Inovelli switches (aforementioned stock situation). Lutron is a fabulous company ... Caseta just doesn't happen to be a fit for me.

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As much as I respect Lutron's reliability and support, the physical layout of the buttons make them a non-starter for me. Of the 35 or so Jasco manufactured dimmers and switches I have installed, I've lost 2 switches to failures. Both were covered by Jasco's warranty extension to 5 years and they were pretty easy to deal with and sent me replacements with minimal hassle. I ended up fixing both of them by replacing a failed capacitor which is easy to do if you have decent soldering skills.

The UltraPro version (which I believe used to be Honeywell branded) is also manufactured by Jasco and is typically available for under $35 bucks (and often as low as $30) makes it pretty hard to pass up IMO. Like the GE variants it also features QuickFit and SimpleWire.

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Have you considered Radio RA2? The Maestro switches are conventional in appearance and the dinner rate is adjustable.

There’s also RA2 Select. It also uses Maestro switches/dimmers, but I don’t know if the rate is adjustable.

Tagging @marktheknife and @bill.d for their input.

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Yeah @bill.d mentioned above RadioRA 2 actually seems to meet OP’s needs much better than Caseta, and I agree.

If you are prone to sticker shock, then you may want to sit down when seeking quotes.

Sounds like OP’s planning a DIY installation, so could probably get a pretty good price on RadioRA 2 devices when bought in bulk.

But a pretty good RadioRA 2 price is still more than any z-wave switches.

It’s absolutely worth it though, IMHO.

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Yes, I saw that after I replied. The perils of not reading a thread :grinning:

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Zooz, but only their switches, and only the Decora style. The toggles feel mushy compared to others after a while, and are sorta loosey-goosey. Avoid the sensors and plugs, they seem to give many people issues. Zooz support and involvement with the communities is terrific. They do firmware updates, and I even had some devices that gained capabilities due to these updates. Buy from thesmartesthouse.com, the prices are better than Amazon, and they always have sales. They sometimes do a 2-pack at a reduced price also.

The GE/Jasco/Honeywell/whatever else are OK, but they don't have quite as many features as Zooz and they are a bit more expensive. The toggles are definitely better than Zooz in feel and (maybe perceived) quality. There is no firmware updates with these so if there are bugs, you are never getting them updated. And there have been some early deaths with some versions of these, but Jasco was apparently pretty good about replacing them if you contact them.

Inovelli are great, and they are also quite active in many communities. The Zwave chip shortage has really put a bind to their availability, and until they get some Zigbee stuff going it is going to be rough for them. I really hope they can succeed, they are fairly local to me here in Michigan, and we need all the tech companies we can get here. And they seem like nice people that are very committed to their products. If you could get these, it would be a near tie with Zooz over which I would buy.

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More like heart attack. At the very least have a paper bag to breathe into when you see the price so you don't hyperventilate.

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I put a bunch of Caseta switches in, but have stopped to wait and test the Inovelli Blue Zigbee switches. Interesting that the same switch can be configured as a dimmer, or an on-off switch. They offer everything I was getting from my Insteon switches. My Zigbee stuff so far seems reliable in my home. I'm hopeful.

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If I had to change all my switches (or had a new install) and could wait a few months, I would definitely go with Inovelli’s Blue series. The Inovelli switches look great, have easy firmware updates and the LED bar is really useful for notifications! I have been very happy with all my Inovelli switches!

As others have said, Zooz have a pretty good reputation as well - I have a couple of their scene switches and they work well to quickly setup scenes via buttons versus multi-presses.

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I don't have any but, Sinopé makes traditional style ZigBee switches and appears to have some availability.

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