Looking at the new retail smart home series from GE, you can tell the technology giant is taking Z-Wave more and more seriously. Besides updated versions of their best-selling models, they added a whole new switch to their home automation family - the GE 12730 Z-wave In-Wall Smart Fan Control.
It’s the first intelligent ceiling fan switch since Leviton’s overpriced Vizia product. The good news is that you’ll easily buy the GE Z-Wave switch under $50 and it will most likely work with any kind of Z-Wave gateway. Aside from the usual suspects, VeraEdge and SmartThings, the device is supported by Staples Connect, Wink, and ADT Pulse to name just a few.
Already got the GE Z-Wave fan switch? Post your thoughts and questions below!
You often ask us for recommendations: what are the best, most reliable Z-Wave motion sensors out there? The choice seems endless with new devices coming out every day. While we have our favorites, choosing the right sensor for YOU will depend on YOUR needs, lifestyle, and ideas on how to apply the product to your Z-Wave network and collection of devices. So we thought we should ask one of you to test and compare our best-selling smart home security sensors.
We wanted feedback from someone who has tested and programmed lots of Z-Wave devices but most importantly, from someone who has used them in real-life scenarios at home. The comments detailed below and the invaluable side-by-side comparison chart are by Kevin LaFramboise, an expert SmartThings user and the creator of some of the most advanced and stable custom device handlers for the popular platform.
It’s easy to be wary of claims of long-lasting battery life, as so many products out there promise reliable and worry-free battery power and then fail to deliver. So when the Sensative Strips Door/Window Sensor arrived to the market – a sensor thinner than two credit cards stacked together, and featuring a brand-new kind of battery that lasts for 10 years – some of us were skeptical.
Sensative recently turned to Sony to put their product’s power consumption to the test with the help of Otii – a new energy-optimization tool that measures and analyzes the power consumption behaviors of battery-powered devices. Of its many useful features, it allows the user to pinpoint the cause of a draining battery by syncing the software’s debug output with its power readings. Otii’s findings confirmed that the battery in Strips can last much longer than 10 years with optimal configuration and network conditions.
We get a lot of inquiries from Wink users trying to connect Z-Wave devices which should "technically" work with their hub but are not listed on the device list in the Wink hub.
You can include most on/off Z-Wave products to Wink and Wink 2, including light switches, plug-in modules, dimmers, and even multi-channel devices such as our popular Zooz Power Strip which allows you to control 5 outlets individually.
Since Wink's support is not very obvious on how to include these "generic" Z-Wave devices to your network, we created this step-by-step guide with easy-to-follow instructions and screenshots to make everything super clear.
We hope it helps you enjoy your Z-Wave system even more!