I am looking for a solution to have a 3 way switch, with a z-wave smart bulb (Illumin color bulb).
So my thoughts are to use a zooz zen26 or zen27 and associate it with the smart bulb. The switch would be put in smart bulb mode, and use scene control. I also have a GE add on switch to connect to it.
So my questions are:
When in smart bulb mode/scene control mode, do the z-wave associations still get triggered? For instance 1 tap up will turn the bulb on and 1 tap down will turn it off (without killing power to the bulb).
Can you trigger scenes and associations from the add on switch?
Is dimming an option via association? If so with both 26 and 27 or just 27 since it is a dimmer?
What is the limit to the number of devices a switch can be associated with?
We haven't tried associations with the Illumin bulbs but have heard from a customer that they require a different association group for on/off and for dimming. The ZEN27 VER. 3.0 supports Group 2 and Group 3 but we haven't had a chance to test how it works with the Illumin bulbs yet.
If you need control in a 3-way set-up, you wouldn't be able to connect a GE add-on to a Zooz switch. You could use the ZEN22 VER. 4.0 dimmer (also supports Group 2 and Group 3 for associations) and connect it in a 3-way with a regular on/off switch to get control of the smart bulbs from both ends.
Most devices support up to 5 different devices per association group.
On the Zen22 - does it also support smart bulb mode (disabling relay control from the switch)? Also, from this comparison of the zen27 vs zen22, it indicates the zen22 has a min load of 20 watts. A single smart bulb will often run under 20 watts - especially when off. Does that mean it won't work?
Since you'll disable manual control, the ZEN22 won't actually be controlling the bulb electrically (you couldn't connect any type of dimmer to a bulb and control it directly like that), this rating is not relevant for your application.
