I'm pretty sure a trigger would work (or any app that subscribes to this event), but I'll have to experiment when I get home to see for sure.
And to the original poster, I'd strongly recommended following this advice and all you've received so far: the smart home functions should augment and not replace what would already be there--smart wired switches, for example, so they can be swapped out with regular switches if you move, not no wired switches at all.
I have GE switches and dimmers that support double taps. I can double tap up and trigger some device, automation etc. without turning on the light attached to the dimmer. Likewise, I can double tap down without turning off the light if it was on. If you had a multi-gang box, I don't see why adding a switch with no load wouldn't be a reasonable option providing a wired button controller. Some devices may not support being disconnected from the load.
Because double tap is not the same as tap and On is not the same as double tap. If you turn a switch off that is already off, it doesn't turn off again.
@bertabcd1234, I have tested this. And i just did it again.
After the off event listed here, i pressed off on the device 3 more times. No off events. This is a standard on/off z-wave switch.
As I said, a wired switch is an option. The switch would match the look and color of the other switches in the home and for some that might be as important as anything else. My dimmers support double tap so I have a 4 button controller. I have not tried one without the load connected but I would certainly consider it. The Homeseer switches support triple tap or more. Again just an option.
No, you do not. A button controller reports events for every button press. Try to hit the bottom button on your switch when the switch is off. You will get no event. I just showed you the evidence but you refuse to listen.
Show me an event list where you have two off physical events in a row. Only then can you say a switch is the same as a button controller.
You are correct, I probably should not have used the term button controller, Without a load connected device you would only have the on tap and the off tap register as single events. The double taps and potentially triple taps would register multiple events. It is an option.
If anyone who would have to use the device knows to double tap instead of tap...then yes, it is an option. I have guests who would not know that inherently so they would be standing there trying to hit on and nothing would happen.
I know there are switches that have the ability to disconnect the internal relay so they meant be used this way. Zooz or one of the other odd names. When I have time I will disconnect the load on one of my switches and see. As long as I get an on event when I push up and an off event when I push down I should be able to trigger something to happen in HE???????
You need to have a custom driver to handle that parsing. It's not that the switch isn't sending anything it's that the driver won't parse it. So, you would have to write a customer z-wave driver. Which, is what I said that the top, too complicated for most people (including myself) to be able to do.
Just tested this with my HomeSeer HS-WS100+. It will send another "on" event to the logs (if descriptionText logging is enabled), but it doesn't create another "on" event on the device's Events page. I assume this is because the driver set isStateChange to false. However, it does also send a "button 1 pushed" event. This is, presumably, because it's a scene-capable switch that supports multiple taps, and they made button 1 (and whatever the down button is), a single tap of the upper paddle, consistent with multi-presses of the paddle that also send button events. You would not get this with a "regular" on/off or dimmer switch (i.e., one that is not a "Central Scene"-type driver), though if the device itself still sends something when the paddle is pressed even if the relay is already in the desired state, you could write a driver that does the same. Whether you can do this is up to what the specific device will send. I would trust most, if not all, scene switches here, and I'd probably trust some "regular" switches or dimmers to same (certainly those that allow disabling the relay), but I wouldn't get one just for that purpose when the scene switches are more capable anyway. 
That's not quite what I meant. I said that some switches (and dimmers) allow disabling the internal relay, so pressing the paddle or switch up/down doesn't actually cut/restore power. The relay is left always on (or theoretically off, but I'm not sure any switch actually does that). On the software side, you can disable the relay (via setting a Z-Wave parameter or sometimes a special tap sequence with one or more buttons on the device itself). Inovelli has always had this feature and advertised it as being good for smart bulbs: you have switches that look and work like people expect, but it doesn't actually cut power to the bulbs and render them "dumb." Zooz recently added it (or will soon) with a firmware update to many of theirs. Any switch would theoretically allow working this way if line and load are wired together (this is actually what Zooz previously suggested), but I suspect it would get tricky as stated above if the switch doesn't send, for example, another "on" if it thinks it's already on (unless this is the only way you'd ever manipulate the bulbs and then they'd stay in sync), some of which may be able to be overcome with the right driver, depending on what the device actually sends.
And I will say this again, just so that I am clear...yes, while many of these things are possible, they require advanced knowledge on writing drivers which most people do not. You make it sound like it is super easy to just drop some code in there and get it to work. And, IMHO, it is not that simple.
I didn't mean to contradict you, but with my scene switch and the stock driver, up and down are just other button presses, so that actually is pretty easy. Like I said, can't guarantee regular switches/dimmers here (but I suspect any that support disabling the relay would do this, otherwise that part isn't super useful...).
Why having a dumb HE setup would cause any issues?
Selling means you share the house configuration.
~15 switches
~15 relays
~40 wall outlets
1 hub that have no automation at all. Password is the part of the deal.
Why would this cause troubles?
One issue is that not everyone wants a smart house. So if you sell your home in the future, you are limiting your options to only those buyers that want both your house and the DIY automation system that comes with it.
Without rule machine smart buttons just doing their on/off job.
Download the Hubitat app
