The Zooz Zen30 states it does not need a load and can work as a dry contact. Is that for both of the switches or just one or the other?
Per the discussion here, I used two Zooz Zen 51's to control my Panasonic spot ERV in a seldom used part of the house.
This works VERY well, but when my z-wave network went down I had to get into the box to reset the Zen51's.
I'd like to find a solution to control the other Panasonic spot ERV that does not require getting into a jbox to reset. The install on this other one is a bit different, in that I have easier access to the ERV wiring box, and have space to change the existing dumb single gang double switch to a two gang single switch. However if I can make the ZEN30 do the same thing in a one gang space, that would be great.
So
a. Are both switches on the Zen30 dry contacts?
b. Can both switches on the Zen30 be set to on off only (ie is there a setting so neither is a dimmer?) @agnes.zooz , can you advise?
If so, could I just use on of those to control this other ERV?
For those who are going to caution me to not make this ERV smart, I really only want control of the on/off so when noone is in the house for days at a time, and I forget to turn the thing off before I leave, I can turn it off from the airport when I finally remember everything I forgot...
Did you look at the documentation? Just a quick glance at the pictures seems to show that the dimmer switch is one line/load (not a relay), and then the other switch is ONE dry contact relay.
Thanks. I had looked a one of those. So I've concluded that I can't use one Zen30 to control both the power and fan speed of my ERV, but if I change to a two gang box, I could perhaps use TWO of these? It would go like this:
Get line power to the box, which I can do. Power both switches with line power.
Connect each set of ERV control wires to the dry contact relay on each of two ZEN30's
This would only work if the ZEN30 relay is entirely isolated from the load size.
And I would be mixing line and low voltage in the same box, but that is always going to be the case when using the Zen30 as an isolated dry contact for LV. The advantage to this is the install is soooo much cleaner than a Zen16 + plug, and it is so much easier to access than the Zen51
The ZEN30 includes a 120 V dimmer which is not isolated in any way and is powered by the same circuitry as the ZEN30 device itself. The dimmer can be used as on/off switch but should be used with lights up to 75 W (LED) only. It could not be connected to a fan or any load that is not a light.
The relay button on the ZEN30 is a dry contact relay which can be used to control a load that's on a separate circuit than the load controlled by the dimmer. It has 2 pigtails (in and out) that can power a dry contact load (no Voltage), or any Voltage load up to 120 V and within 15 A.
You mentioned "working without a load" so I just wanted to clarify that the ability to turn the ZEN30 into a remote control device with no load connected is not tied to the relay being a dry contact relay in any way. In other words, any Zooz switch can be used without a load and just powered by line and neutral to send button signals to the hub for remote control of other devices in the network. I'm not sure whether this was your question or use case but I thought I'd clarify that in case someone else is looking for this type of information.
In terms of choosing the right device for the ERV, it will all depend on the specs of the load and how it's wired now (what wires are available in the switch box, etc). I recommend sending all of this detailed information to our support and a group of experts will review it to point you to the best solution.
