I've been going through more reading and can't seem to determine what the best wired outlets will be?
I would like them to be Zwave since I've bought Zwave light switches so far.
I looked for a 2022 year in review best of but didn't see one?
So what are the best outlets/receptacles based on these criteria:
-repeater capabilities
-quality radios for building the mesh network
-ability to track electric usage (not necessary but would be nice)
-anything else a veteran user has discovered but a newbie would not know to ask
Here's a 2021 "Best of" thread. Even if the products aren't available, the manufacturer's current products are likely very comparable.
Plugs tend to dominate this category over in-wall receptacles, and zigbee and wifi are generally more popular than zwave.
Just found this...enbrighten gets generally positive reviews around this community, but I've never used them. Price is right if you're looking for light almond...
Looking solely at Z-Wave, I would vote for the Jasco Z-Wave (500 chip, I don't think they offer a 700/800 model) over the Leviton ZW15R (700 chip.) I had the Jasco before I switched to Leviton and they worked fine.
The Leviton has an annoying trait where it just goes deaf and dumb, requiring a breaker reset to correct. Rumor has it there is a firmware update to be released soon, but no word on whether it may or may not fix that issue, if they even drop the update.
That said, I am in the process of dumping Z-Wave for Zigbee on my receptacles. I still use Z-Wave for switches, and haven't had any issues with the Zigbee recepts. (Note that I do need some Zigbee repeating, and the recepts accomplish that, so my decision is not solely based on the performance of the recepts themselves, but I have had zero issue with the Jasco Zigbee recepts, and they activate quicker than the Leviton Z-Wave, in what should be similar mesh conditions, respective of type.)
Agree with your remarks about the ZW options. I have 2 Leviton ZW15Rs working OK, but another 2 I pulled out due to the offline wonkiness. I'm hangin' in there for the supposedly-coming firmware update -- I do like the overall cleaner look of the Levitons.
The GE/Jasco/Honeywell/Enbrighten version ain't sexy or super feature rich, but it's hella reliable -- I'll give it that!
Big fan of the Zooz Plugs. Look at the Zen04 and the Zen15 depending on weather it is going to be a typical load(less then about 600 watts) or heavy duty load(great then 600 watts).
I have a few Zen04's, a Zen15 for my washing machine, and a Zen25 which is known for being problematic. I got my Zen25 working good, but some have had issues.
if you don't need power reporting make sure you turn it off.
I have (3) Z-wave outlets and they all work fine in spite of being in the electrical boxes. In fact, one of the three is acting as a repeater for two z-wave lights on the opposite side of the house - one in the basement.
If you have never used a wired receptacle before one thing to note is they are typically a bigger foot print than a dumb outlet. I have had a couple of instances where I wanted to put in a wired smart outlet but couldn't because the box wasn't big enough or the wires in the box made it too tight..
