I have a real first world problem here. I have about 45 GE zwave switches in my house. About half are non-plus models from the Lowes IRIS branding days, and the others zwave-plus models ranging from some of the first all the way to the current line. Every single switch in my house has been upgraded to a GE zwave switch except for the attic and crawlspace lights.
Now for the problem, I can't pass up a good deal on these switches and have probably 20 Embrigthen plus models new in box in my spare drawer just collecting dust.
On one hand I am tempted to swap out all the non-plus models with the new ones, but on the other I am thinking I should sell the majority of the new ones to recovery some of my money. However, a couple things are holding me back. I feel like the non-plus models, while they lack in features like status reporting and double tap are incredibly reliable. I do not think a single one of these have died on me. The plus models are pretty good too, but I have had many fail on me over the years and the manufactur warranty has always worked out, just a hassle to go through.
The non-plus models are all in places do not need any fancy features such as bathrooms, closests, etc.
My network feels pretty solid aside from a couple contact sensors at the edge of my property that don't always stay connected. Seems swapping could reduce some 40kbps connections and would likely update more to 100kbps.
What are your thoughts? Replace non-plus with plus models I have on hand, or leave the system as is? What is your experience with reliability (capacitor failures) with the various models?
If the older switches are functioning normally, there is no need to replace them. You probably ought to keep a few of the new replacement switches on hand in case one of the older one fails. However, there is no urgency in doing so. If you need a cash infusion, sell some of them, but keep some as a backup.
Remember that if you use PayPal to facilitate the sales transaction, you will have to provide your SSN# so they can report your annual sales to the IRS. Previously, the total had to exceed $600 before they bothered doing this, but the IRS rules have changed. Taxes do not normally have to be paid if you sell the item for less than you originally paid, or if it is a hobby sale that is offset by hobby expenses, but you have to fill out some extra forms to account for offsetting expenses. That is a big obstacle for those who sell a few items a year.
You just got lucky. I replaced my non-Plus GE switches with Inovelli after enough of the GEs failed over a 5 year span. The Inovellis have octa tap, but we can't remember what the double tap does, so multi-taps are not really a must have. However, instant status updates and reduced latency may be worth upgrading, especially if you notice any delays in automation.
What are the date codes on the new Plus models? How long have you had them? I ask because the 2017 17XX models were garbage and had a cheap capacitor in them that fail which is likely why GE/Jasco extended their warranty to 5 years.
@rwclements228 Thank you, I did not remember that they did that. While having a cash infusion would always be nice, I am not in need of that right now. Just anytime I open the drawer and see them all I see $$$ being wasted.
@bobbyD Thanks for the input! I love my double tap, octa would be sweet but there is no way I could remember what does what. I just swapped out a C-5 for a C-7 and it took forever to remember what I had setup to double tap what.
@ritchierich The sticker on the switch says "2048b" which I believe means 48th week of 2020, not sure what the "b" is for. Are you pretty confident in 2017/17xx models being the most impacted? I certainly have had several go out, but never tracked it by model or date to pick up on any patterns. If the ones I have are less likely to have that capacitor issue then I am very inclined to swap them out.
Same here. If you haven't had those old switches fail you've been amazingly lucky. The good news is that the manufacturer has really stood by those failed switches and replaced my failed ones with Z-Wave Pluses. The rest I proactively swapped out myself because I prefer not having to poll them for updates.
