What do you think of these new GE smart switches? Will they be supported in Hubitat?
They're bluetooth (unsupported) and WiFi (cloud dependent). And, sorry if it offends anyone, but in my opinion, they're quite ugly too.
If you're interested in GE switches and dimmers, look for the Z-Wave Plus models.
I think GE hired some old thermostat designers. Its the only way they could design something that ugly (IMHO).
Bluetooth is OK in general (but not great), but as you point out unsupported.
Nope, stay away. Other than it being cheap, I haven't figured out why people want to connect their things to some server somewhere unknown. Sure they work today, but what about if you lose the internet, or they close the servers down in 5 years? Using your Wifi router as a hub, also seems like a pretty awful idea.
Yes they are.
These along with the Caseta are some of the best switches I have. They seem to give very little issues in general, and the fit/finish and feel is pretty decent. I have other brand Zwave switches where they definitely feel cheaper.
I am interested in the screw in adapter for LED flickering. I appreciate it being something that is user accessible, unlike the Aeotec Bypass.
One of the only consumer companies using Bluetooth Mesh:
Another standard that I question on who is supporting it.
I might buy one of these (which I otherwise have zero interest in) just for that--definitely a neat idea! Hopefully it's similar in concept to things like the Aeon and Fibaro bypassses and would work with products like the Inovelli dimmer that require one under certain circumstances. This would have been a lot easier than taking my light fixture down...
+1 on the screw in load adapter. I have one lamp that flickers at dim settings and I’m now forced to pull out the switches in a very tight gang box to experiment if a Lutron LUT-MLC will resolve. Maybe eventually GE will sell these separately. The switches are practically useless in a locally controlled Hubitat environment.
I vote for the Zigbee models.
I know that these new switches have the adapter to mitigate circuits without a neutral....but what if you have a neutral? Why have to use the adapter if I could just wire in the neutral? It sounds like there are only 3 wires available on the switch, hot, load, and ground. That seems like an odd choice to me.
I don't mean to be picky here but I get really annoyed when marketing jargon trumps facts. (no political inference intended)
From the above link..
The vast majority of smart lighting switches and dimmers on the market require an extra wire in the junction box called a neutral wire, which is lacking on many older homes. This wire is used to control and regulate voltage and is necessary for many dimmers to work properly.
My grandparents home was built in the early 1900's. They used knob and tube wiring back then. They all have a neutral. I know at least one of the switches I replaced the old dual buttons with a toggle could easily be replaced with a regular smart switch.
This probably should be in the lounge.
I think that they're likely referring to the fact that it wasn't added to the electrical code that all switch boxes have a neutral until 2011. My house was built in the 60s and there are definitely a couple places where a box with a switch in it has just a line and load wire.
I think it's interesting that some of these don't require a neutral, but I'm a little curious how they're doing it (are they running current over the ground wire? maybe some kind of rechargeable battery?) I also like the idea of smaller switches, as space in some of my boxes is at a premium. But I really don't want any more wifi devices in my setup, so that makes them a non-starter for me.
They run the radio and controller circuit current through the load. You can see this by the fact that some really low current LED lights flicker, even when off. A bypass is needed to beef up the path for the radio and controller current.
The other issue is that there is always a low current going through the load. That means you can get a shock when you change the light bulb, even when the switch is off.
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