Jasco In-Wall Motion Sensor Dimmer and Switch Explained

[DrZWave]

I've written up details on how to configure and use-cases for the Jasco Motion Dimmer:https://byjasco.com/products/ge-z-wa...-motion-dimmer

See my blog posting for more details: https://drzwave.blog/2021/02/16/jasc...mer-explained/

The Jasco Motion Dimmer is an ideal Z-Wave product for home automation. We want the lights to come on automatically when we enter a room and off again when everyone has left. The motion sensing needs to be reliable and sensitive and ideally not involve changing batteries every few months. Thus, a wall mounted, always-on dimmer with a built-in motion sensor fits our needs perfectly. In this blog article I’ll explain a few tricks to getting the most out of this handy device.

[mterry63]

Good article, thanks for sharing. I need 2 of these for closets.

[drhtmal]

Very well written article as are many of your older blogs. I could probably use a few of these. Thank you.

[Thedude]

To invest in Zwave today is like buying a fax machine :-)

[mterry63]

To invest in Zwave today is like buying a fax machine :-)

Why do you say that? I'm not sure I agree. I'm assuming you are implying using WIFI based devices, which I have plenty, but I don't think we're at a point where I suggest it replace Z-wave.

[TC1]

Why do you say that? I'm not sure I agree. I'm assuming you are implying using WIFI based devices, which I have plenty, but I don't think we're at a point where I suggest it replace Z-wave.

Yep, and IMO as a an engineer with experience in site reliability and resiliency, using anything other than a dedicated network for your home automation is asking for trouble. Zwave and Zigbee are perfect for HA since they use a mesh network design for communication resiliency which doesn't compete with IoT or other devices in one's home.

[mterry63]

Agreed, and in relation to the "fax machine" comparison, z-wave has been improving over the various generations of standard and chips. It's not a "plug in and go/forget" technology, but none are really.

[risquare]

Here is the future of Home Automation backed by Google, Apple and Amazon coming soon. It's called CHIP (Connected Home over IP).
https://www.forbes.com/sites/moorins...-the-iot-green

Everything is going IP friends. Zigbee and Zwave are good for nostalgia and for museums. "Don't fix it if ain't broken" goes the saying, so there is nothing wrong keeping your Zigbee and Zwave devices but I do agree with Thedude that buying new right now is not a great idea.

[TC1]

Here is the future of Home Automation backed by Google, Apple and Amazon coming soon. It's called CHIP (Connected Home over IP).
https://www.forbes.com/sites/moorins...-the-iot-green

Everything is going IP friends. Zigbee and Zwave are good for nostalgia and for museums. "Don't fix it if ain't broken" goes the saying, so there is nothing wrong keeping your Zigbee and Zwave devices but I do agree with Thedude that buying new right now is not a great idea.

I know all about Project ChIP, here is the key statment you're overlooking:
"Here’s my optimistic view of what the world of IoT might look like in a few years if Project CHIP succeeds..."

Sure, you go ahead and put all your HA plans on hold for a couple of years.... Some of us need top get things accomplished now.

When ChIP type products finally hit the shelves I'll be more than happy to try them out. Till then....

[mterry63]

I'll have to agree with TC1 on this. Having been a Network Engineer since the early 90's, I'm quite familiar with TCP/IP and yes it's great. But the technology you point to as a reason to relegate Z-wave to the museum isn't available yet and I have an automated home now. I already have a bunch of IP devices in my automation mix, but they can't replace all my z-wave devices today or the near future.

[Bigstevep]

Yeah ChiP is the way to go if you want Apple, Amazon or Google controlling your home. For me no thanks I’ll stay with running my automation locally and skip the cloud until they get their stuff worked out which I’m not going to hold my breath. They can’t even get their own eco-systems running reliably let alone someone’s else. Looks like a good play for them to sell devices which I’m sure they are working on. If you want/need support where and how are you going to get it, you’re not for sure. Hell I have Google Nest Protect smoke alarms and for a year and a half now you can’t even connect them to Google Home (like the thousands of others) let alone anything else. I’m calling BS for sure!

[Thedude]

CHIP may be few years out and may never come and when and if it does you may not like it. This is not the point though. The point is that everything and everyone goes IP. You don't need to wait for CHIP. WIFi enabled IP devices are controllable by API today - all of them. It is true that some vendors are protective of their API but most are available either published or hacked. Actually the very idea behind CHIP is transparency and interoperability so that devices from different vendors can work under one hood and it doesn't need to be Google or Amazom necessarily. Could be HomeSeer.

[TC1]

CHIP may be few years out and may never come and when and if it does you may not like it. This is not the point though. The point is that everything and everyone goes IP. You don't need to wait for CHIP. WIFi enabled IP devices are controllable by API today -

You're being myopic... please show me a battery operated switch or sensor that uses regular TCP/IP Wifi and doesn't need it's battery changed every couple of months....

I've got zigbee multi sensors that can last 1 to 2 years on one coin-cell battery.

[Thedude]

I'm the opposite of "myopic" because I'm trying to look into the future, but you are entitled to your own opinion. As far as battery operated WiFi devices go, you are correct that the battery operated devices are the last bastion to be taken over and it is happening. The way they do it is by putting the device in "deep sleep" and wake it up (connect to WiFi) only when there is data to report. Here is one example of WiFi motion sensor with batteries that last 1-2 years.
https://shelly.cloud/shelly-motion-s...mation-sensor/

[TC1]

I know they are working on it, but again, they're not widely available yet. Your original declaration was (paraphrasing) "don't bother buying any current technologies now because the new stuff is coming..."

And that Shelly sensor you pointed out is HUGE (look at the size of the battery it needs!) compared to the tiny Aqara zigbee motion sensors I use (which also measure light). WAF would be zero. And it's not readily available in the U.S.