New to Hubitat - Need rule engine help (Turn outlet on when a light is turned on (and off when off)

Hey all,
Newbie to Hubitat. My smartthings hub was affected by their stupid error that deleted everything on my hub (grrr). That was the last straw and I bought and received a Hubitat C8 hub. I've already added all of my old devices and created some rules to run things. I'm struggling with the following scenario and need some help from the gurus around here.

I have a GE/Jasco Dimmer in my dining room to control my overhead light, as well as, a generic Z-Wave outlet that powers/controls a pair of lamps. I would like the lamps to turn on when the overhead light is turned on and go off when the light is turned off. Seems simple, but I've tried a number of basic and rule engine rules and cannot seem to get it correct.

Your help is greatly appreciated.

Take a look at the built-in Mirrot app. It should do what you want much easier.

EDIT - Mirror app.

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Not sure I'm doing something right, nothing happened.

Do the lights all turn on and off using the device details page?

Seems to work if I do it via the app or dashboard, but not when I press the physical switch, which is really what I want.

What is the Master switch Zwave type? If it is an older one, it may not immediately notify the hub that it has changed state. When you toggle it on the device page, does it show on the page that the state has changed?

Apparently it's older than I thought. Probably early 2017 model (Jasco 12724). Not sure if I'm looking in the right place, but the digital events seem to log (i.e. from the app/dashboard), but the physical touches don't seem to register at all. On the device page on the app I can get it to turn on, but not off. On the dashboard I can get it to toggle.

Most likely that it's Z-wave and not Z-Wave Plus. I can't remember the details, but the gist is that non+ devices don't send updates when physically controlled (either that or it is super delayed). IIRC, ST overcame this by using the cloud platform to constantly poll devices. Hubitat does not by default to prevent the CPU on the hub from being overloaded.

My recommendation would be to upgrade the switch to Z-Wave+ or ZigBee. In the interim, you can use the built-in 'Zwave Poller' app to get status updates from the device. They just may be a little delayed waiting for the next poll cycle after the switch is turned on/off.

Makes sense. Thanks for the info. Question. The GE/Jasco switches are very temperamental and fragile. Any suggestions for a decora style wall dimmer and slave (3-way capable) that will last a long time?

I think most will either recommend Zooz or Lutron. Lutron is more expensive and, in my opinion, only worth it if you plan to replace all of them. But everyone that has them swears they are bullet proof. I have 90% Zooz (~30 switches) and have only ever had an issue with one that was running a bathroom vent fan.

For on/off:

For dimmer:

EDIT: Here's the wiring diagram for the ZEN77 in 3-way. I realized you are probably using the GE add-on switch. You will need to replace it unless you just go for another GE Z+ switch

https://www.support.getzooz.com/kb/article/210-3-way-diagrams-for-zen26-and-zen27-switches/

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Thanks. One more question: Does the "on/off" zooz switch basically perform the function of the "add-on" (aka slave) Jasco switch? Meaning one press up is on, down is off, hold up/down brightens/dims?

Also, should I go ahead and relace the outlet plug with a newer z-wave plug as well?

You just use any non-smart, generic paddle switch for the add-on with Zooz.

If it has the same issue of not updating, then it wouldn't hurt. If you only ever plan to control the outlet from the switch (via a rule or association) then it isn't necessary. The only issue with non+ is not reporting back to the hub for physical events.

The cool thing about Zooz is that they support Z-Wave associations. It basically allows the devices to talk to each other directly.

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I had the exact same issue and found the easiest setup for this is to use the Mirror app.

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Mirror app did nothing when actually pressing the button on the light switch. Works fine through the app, but that is not what I'm wanting to do. I think FriedCheese helped with the "why" it doesn't work. Off to purchase some newer equipment. :slight_smile:

But a non-smart won't actuate the functions of the master switch, right? The add-on Jasco switch bascially emulates the pressing of the up/down functions on the actual smart switch. That is the fx I want to maintain. So would I need both the switches you recommended to do this?

I'm aware. No, Zooz has a modified way to wire up the main switch to use a dumb switch where it will just tell the main Zooz switch to do something.

That hasn't been my experience. :man_shrugging:

To check the generation of your older Z-Wave devices look for the inCluster - 0x5E - in the Device Details: Data section.
If the first cluster is 0x5E then it's a Z-Wave Plus device.

image

Jasco also has firmware updates available now that may be helpful.

It's not the firmware. I've had about 10 switches die from simply turning off the breaker and turning it back on. Apparently common in the early versions. I haven't had much trouble with the newer replacement ones, but I also haven't had them as long.

I have heard about this and saw mention of replacing a component in the switch to repair them.
Not exactly user friendly. :wink:

I started with GE switches and had four die back to back. Three were on one circuit together. Have a power outage and one dies. Get a replacement, turn off the breaker, swap it out, turn the breaker on, and another one bit the dust. The third died while replacing the second. The fourth died when the first one did on a different circuit. I replaced all of them with Zooz.

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