Eaton Device Support

[ritchierich]

Lowes has often been my go to place for Zwave switches and my house is full of GE/Jasco devices. They are dropping the GE products (Check your local stores btw as they have existing stock on clearance) in favor of Eaton products as they have been selling their dumb switches and wall plates for years. Are there any plans to officially support the Eaton Zwave product line? Only 1 product shows on the official list of compatible devices.

@mike.maxwell @bcopeland

[mike.maxwell]

Dedicated device support is added based on demand and requirement.
The Eaton products haven't been super popular, there is also no reason they shouldn't work with one of our many generic zwave drivers.

[bcopeland]

Just looked at the specs.. Nothing super special about them and they should work fine with generic drivers..

[bcopeland]

If not.. Let me know

[ritchierich]

@mike.maxwell @bcopeland thanks for your response. I dont have any yet but when I searched the community prior to my post I saw this recent post which prompted me to ask after not seeing them on the official compatibility list:

Eaton ZWave Plus Dimmer Support

I just bought the Eaton RF9640-NDW Dimmer and none of the standard device drivers: 1 ) Generic Component Dimmer 2) Generic ZWave Dimmer 3). Generic ZWave Smart Dimmer would manually (from Device Menu) turn it on/off.... finally I found the “Generic ZWave CentralScene Dimmer” could control it but then when I made a Tile and put it in my dashboard... the Tile had a question mark on it (I tried Dimmer / Switch /Bulb Icons) but nothing would make the question mark go away... nor when it is swit…

[bcopeland]

Well.. Since my last post on this.. I ordered one of each model to verify compatibility.

[ritchierich]

@bcopeland

I ordered one of each model to verify compatibility.

Hopefully not from Amazon, their prices on the Eaton are ridiculous compared to local Lowe’s which now stocks them. I hadn’t noticed them before as they are buried within the dumb switches at my store meanwhile Wi-Fi and old GE are in a different isle.

Thank you for your efforts on these devices!

[JasonJoel]

Just a few comments on the Eaton dimmer devices...

The bad:

1. No programmable default on% capability (like the newer GE/Jasco/Honeywell have).
   • That would be the deal breaker for me, as I use that function heavily in mode lighting.
2. Cost. A lot more expensive than the GE/Honeywell/Jasco Enbrighten dimmers ($25/ea for the dimmers in 2 packs from Costco or Amazon versus $45/ea for the Eaton).
3. Non-standard faceplate/layout (that is 100% subjective though).
4. Expensive 3-way setups vs the other options in this space

The good:

1. Can change LED brightness (one of the frequent complaints about the GE/Jasco/Honeywell).
   • Note that it would take a custom driver from Hubitat to support changing those settings, or the user would have to set the parameter elsewhere
2. Built-in (at the hardware/firmware level) flash/panic mode. So can do flashing without loading up the hub/zwave mesh.
   • Note that it would take a custom driver from Hubitat to support that feature.
3. Non-standard faceplate/layout (that is 100% subjective though).
   • Some may like the multi segment LED bar that shows % ( ).
4. Available, and in-stock at local Lowes stores

[2ac16mo]

@JasonJoel

able default

I have used Eaton products for some time. I don't know about other manufacturers, but one of the features I really use on the Eaton is the "delay off time" When leaving an area I like to activate this so the lights shut off 15 seconds after I leave. I also use the dimmer ramp time.

As far as cost goes, I just watch for bargains on ebay - I have bought Eaton ZW+ dimmers and switches for as little as $18 each with free shipping.

[JasonJoel]

Every manufacturer has ramp rate adjustments of some kind. Most don't have delay off time though. That is somewhat unique to Eaton.

[2ac16mo]

@JasonJoel

ments o

Pre-Eaton, I have a number of Cooper Aspire RF9534 dimmers in use. These are non plus zwave devices, yet they report status changes to Hubitat 100% and report physical or digital activation.

[slgiblin1]

I have a couple of dimmers and a smart switch and I like them. Always been a fan of Eaton electrical products and these switches seem solid. If you look at the instruction pamphlet that came with the dimmers there seems to be a lot of features that could be controlled by a dedicated driver. I have a bunch of GE/Jasco Z-wave switches and dimmers only because t they were available a Lowe's when I was starting my smart home journey. I'm guessing that the Eaton devices will become more and more popular just because they are readily available in store. As a matter if fact when I purchased my latest dimmer the other day, I had to go to a different Lowe's because the one near my house was out of stock...