For those that have used z-wave and z-wave plus switches, is z-wave plus switches worth the extra money for home use? Z-wave switches can be bought for 29.00 vs Z-wave plus for 39.00. $10.00 isnt a big deal for one or two, but it will add up after a while.
I was thinking of using z-wave Plus switches down in hallways and z-wave in rooms. Sound resonalble?? Would I be better of using one or the other??
Thanks.
Tough question…
Mostly the functionality of the devices will be the same, however behind the scenes ZW+ offers some more features for routing and maintenance. Additionally, the power output is higher and data rate is also higher - again, nothing the user would care about directly…
However, what this means is that the network might be more tolerant and performant (eg depending on the size of your house, you might not suffer from RF dropouts with ZW+ where this might occur with ZW).
So, it’s not so easy to answer directly - bottom line is the user probably doesn’t care, but it might be better for overall network performance…
I started my system out about 5 years ago with a vera lite and a bunch of lower cost zwave only switches and outlets. I slowly replaced all of the switches and some of the outlets as they were buggy and unreliable. (could be the brand or could be the fact that they were the lower cost non plus…)
I recently replaced the vera lite realizing its age and the fact that it didn’t support plus. All I can say is wow. The response of my devices is MUCH faster. I can’t say more reliable as they were pretty reliable before.
I have a rule that controls Christmas lights. It turns on 9 outlets at the same time. I had issues in years past where only some of the outlets would turn on because the network was too slow to handle 9 on commands at once. I modified the rules to turn on half, wait a few seconds and turn on the other half. I no longer need that crutch. Devices sent a signal at the same time would respond at different times, the outlets were a random clicking all over the house, now they are a single click from everywhere… same with lights turning off at the same time instead of all within a few seconds of the off signal.
So my experience is replacing the controller not the switches with plus capable but I would say that I will use only plus devices in my setup considering those non plus devices are still trying to repeat at a much slower rate than plus counterparts and have a smaller range comparatively.
Well, the question just got tougher. Local outlet hads the GE 12722 switches for 12.99. I might have to pickup a couple.
12.99 for a quality zwave switch?!! I would outfit my house…