I currently only have all paddle switches, but looking to dim my kitchen lights on a 3-way circuit.
I can wire the main end with a zen77 and be done with it, but then the other side is weird with only on/off control.
If I used a zen72 it says the 3-way needs to be configured differently? With the Zac99, is the "up" and "down" still naturally on and off, or is it strictly just a dumb mechanical switch not knowing the current power status, and really the only thing is "adds" is a neutral position along with the option of controlling brightness level?
ZAC99 is a momentary switch, it doesn't have an up and down. You can tell the ZEN72 what type of switch you are using for the 3 way with parameter 19:
3-Way Switch Type
Parameter 19: Choose the type of 3-way switch you want to use with this dimmer in a 3-way set-up. Changing this setting can allow you to control brightness and dim the light from both 3-way locations. Use a regular momentary switch (like the Zooz ZAC99 accessory switch) if value is set to 2.
Values: 0 – regular mechanical 3-way on/off switch, use the connected 3-way switch to turn the light off or on to the last brightness level, dimming only available from the Zooz Z-Wave dimmer and from the hub (or through voice control if smart speaker is integrated with your Z-Wave hub); 1 – regular mechanical 3-way on/off switch, tap the paddles once to change state (light on or off), tap the paddles twice quickly to turn light on to full brightness, tap the paddles quickly 3 times to enable a dimming sequence (the light will start dimming up and down in a loop) and tap the switch again to set the selected brightness level; 2 – momentary switch, click once to change status (light on or off), click twice quickly to turn light on to full brightness, press and hold to adjust brightness (dim up / dim down in sequence); 3 – momentary switch, click once to change status (light on or off), click twice quickly to turn light on to full brightness, press and hold to adjust brightness (dim up / dim down in sequence but always reduce brightness after double click). Default: 0.
Size: 1 byte dec
I personally have one room setup with mode 0 and one with mode 3, but I'm going to test out changing the 0 to 1. Oh...and it might be a little confusing/misleading. You do NOT need a "3-way" switch for the 3-way (which is really 2-way...) You just use a normal on/off el-cheapo switch.
Whatever option you choose, at the very least a "flip" of either switch will "toggle" the dimmer.
I decided against ordering the zac99 because while it sort of naturally adds some dimming behavior, it becomes a very inconsistent switch. Also I believe only the top paddle does something. So even worse, someone might hit it down and it literally does nothing
I’d rather leave as dumb mechanical so at least anyone could always flip the state of light, which is normal.
But yeah I had no idea about mode 1. Might try that myself too as it simply adds functionality if you know what you’re doing haha.
But ultimately I think I may just leave as a dumb switch and deal with manual dimming at the other end, or maybe add a 2nd smart dimmer switch if I really want. But also hopefully any of my automations and routines are fluid enough that the need for manual dimming is so negligible anyway
It's a momentary switch. It is sprung off (down) by default and does nothing in that position. If you press the top of the switch you close the contact. When you let go, it goes back "off". Think of it like a button. You press it and it does something, you let go and it's ready for another action. Momentary is nice because it's acting similarly to a normal smart switch that always "in the middle" and never on or off and ready for action.
If you use a normal switch and configure the zen72 appropriately, then every time you turn that switch on OR off, it will toggle the dimmer to invert whatever state it was in. The zen72 doesn't care about the on/off of the "3-way" it's just paying attention to whether that monitoring circuit is opened or closed. If the 3-way is "Off" and you turn on the dimmer, then if you flip the 3-way "On" it would turn off the dimmer. These types of switches can obviously get "reversed" from their actual state just like a traditional set of 3-way switches.
Ah, I see in the photos. I thought it was stuck in the “middle”/neutral position. So indeed it actually works okay. Maybe one day I’ll buy one to play around with, but still go back to I don’t think it’s ultimately going to be too bad leaving my existing dumb mechanical switch in. We shall see how things go
I changed ALL my switches to Zooz, mostly dimmers. Almost EVERY light has a 3-way in this house, some are stupid close to each other and should not even exist.
For the most part, we don't touch many of the switches anymore, and it worked out that the smart switch was in a better spot most of the time, so we really don't touch the other dumb switch connected to them hardly ever. I used regular 3-way white decora switches from the hardware store, since the old switches were ugly ivory toggles.
The formal dining room, the most often used entrance is the dumb switch and I have no automation for this room. So I tried out the ZAC99 momentary switch. I like the idea of it, but the switch is very stiff, as in, it takes more force to click it vs a normal switch. That is somewhat annoying. I did set it up for the fancy dimming options but rarely use it, typically just turning on/off by a single click.
The other room I use the dumb switch frequently is my office, the smart switch is on the exterior entrance which is not used very often. I still have a regular 3-way for the other entrance, I have considered changing to a momentary. But really with the normal 3-way in there it is no different than any other 3-way setup, the up/down does not matter and it always toggles the light when you flip it the opposite of current state.
Thanks for that! I decided to go with just the single smart switch - I can always “upgrade” later to the zac99 or another smart switch in a virtual 3 way.
Otherwise I have a totally working smart setup and hopefully don’t even need to touch the switches much - and yeah I especially don’t expect to need to control dimming manually so much.
Good to know the zac99 is rather firm/difficult to press!
I did quite a bit of research on this a month ago to find a solution for a lot of 3-way (and "more-way") switches for a house that is under construction. It looks like the vendors have taken a couple of different approaches.
Zooz's approach is to allow a ZEN77 to be used without changes (in most situations) to the wiring or other dumb switches in the light circuit. In most scenarios, you can replace the dumb 3-way switch that is connected to the "line side" with the ZEN77 and you're done. However, manual dimming can only be done from the ZEN77, and the remaining dumb switches on the light circuit cannot be dimmers. I think you can also replace both dumb 3-way switches with ZEN77's and have manual dimming from both of them (I guess this is a virtual 3-way). I didn't research this fully, so I'm not sure what has to be done, but some rewiring is probably needed to make sure power to the 2nd ZEN77 is always on.
Other manufacturers (mainly GE/Jasco?) allow you to replace the "line side" dumb switch with their 3-way z-wave dimmer and replace the other dumb switch(es) with their semi-dumb "add-on" dimmer(s) to allow on/off/dimming from all dimmers. The add-on dimmers are not z-wave, but they do communicate directly with the z-wave dimmer over the power lines. This approach requires re-purposing the wiring in the circuit.
I've bought a lot of ZEN77s in preparation for the new house, so I will probably use them with dumb 3/4-way switches for most 3/4-way light circuits. However, there are at least two light circuits in the house where I think dimming from multiple locations is preferable and will probably use the GE/Jasco dimmers for those.
I bought a zac99 thinking it was going to be a normally open single pole double through push button and was disappointed when it only had two screws. Still in the box and never used.
A big yes to putting in a second zen77 or really even a zen76 in the other box if you want dimming control. Do it all through zwave and you held functions can still dim the zen77. I guess if you want to do it with associations, then a second zen77 may be necessary. @jtp10181 can tell you that one for sure.
Btw- I too have zooz everywhere except where I want the pretty notifiers from inovelli.
