Hello. I have a problem with my current heating which requires me to power my emergency shutoff switch off and on. That recycles the heat and works fine. problem is i have to go down to the basement to do it. I want to get a zwave toggle switch and setup few rules to auto cycle it. I opened the faceplate and it looks like a standard 15amp on off toggle with 3 wires. 2 blacks and one ground. Would a zwave switch work? I don’t see any issues but want to confirm it.
Here is the faceplate picture:
right side of the switch:
left side:
I would need a non neutral one and toggle kind. Also where can I buy it? not sure i can find these.
Even if the switch doesn’t use the neutral, a z-wave switch can still use it. As long as it’s the same circuit which it should be if it is in the same box.
Just to be sure, your system is in the US, correct. Assuming so then the white is your neutral.
Most likely (almost certainly) one of the cables is power in from your panel, the other is power out to your furnace. You should be able to use any Z-wave switch that is rated for motor use.
Having said that, and not knowing you problem with the Gas furnace, I would not recommended your course of action for two reasons:
[list type=decimal]
[li]If the Vera has a issue, it could leave your furnace off, perhaps when you’re away.[/li]
[li]Such a problem should be fixed a the furnace. Obviously you have reasons this was not chosen but recycling sounds like it might have some risk associated with it. Stay safe:)[/li][/list][/list]
I believe you should check out the GE12722 (instead of the GE12727 suggested above). The GE12722 website specifically states it is rated high current and motor loads (up to 1/2 Hp)
While I’m on a roll…
I took a quick look at the instructions of the GE12722 and they require you to know which cable coming into your blue box is power and which is the furnace. The safest way to do this is to:
[list type=decimal]
[li]Remove power from the circuit by verifying the power is off of the furnace by observing the furnace.[/li]
[li] Remove the wire nut on the black wires. Use a voltage sensor similar to a voltage presence sensor (Extech ET25 Neon Voltage Tester**). Making sure the two black wires are not touching anything, restore power, with the tester touch each black wire with one lead of the tester and the bare wire with the other. You should find one of the black wires will light the tester bulb, the other will not. The black wire that lights the bulb is your power supply the other is the furnace. [/li][/list][/ul]
** these testers are simply a neon bulb and should be $2 to $5 at any hardware store. The one cited above was simply the first I found on Amazon
Yes I’m in USA. I have an ongoing issue with the furnace where it keeps blowing out and not reigniting. This happens few times a day and solution I found was to reset the switch. That works every time. I have a plumber working on the issue but its a long process. I had this issue ever since I bought the house (new construction) builder gave up on it, I found new plumber that is working on it but with his other jobs its not a fast task. We started with process of elimination which requires changing one thing and waiting. Meanwhile Every Time it happens I have to take a trip down to the lower floor, power off the switch and power it on. This also happens at night when I’m a sleep and I wake up to a toasty 60 degree house
So I was thinking of using switch and automating it somehow. I have nests as well so i can probably setup a rule that checks if nest is heating and if so if the temp drops below threshold, power off and power on the zwave switch. Or at least if thats not possible I can at least do it from my location instead of going down to reset it.
Yes I’m in USA. I have an ongoing issue with the furnace where it keeps blowing out and not reigniting. This happens few times a day and solution I found was to reset the switch. That works every time. I have a plumber working on the issue but its a long process. I had this issue ever since I bought the house (new construction) builder gave up on it, I found new plumber that is working on it but with his other jobs its not a fast task. We started with process of elimination which requires changing one thing and waiting. Meanwhile Every Time it happens I have to take a trip down to the lower floor, power off the switch and power it on. This also happens at night when I’m a sleep and I wake up to a toasty 60 degree house
So I was thinking of using switch and automating it somehow. I have nests as well so i can probably setup a rule that checks if nest is heating and if so if the temp drops below threshold, power off and power on the zwave switch. Or at least if thats not possible I can at least do it from my location instead of going down to reset it.
Alex[/quote]
I’m sorry you have “Nests” and the only thing I might add is research that GE toggle closely. I have alot of GE flat rocker (new style) switches and they are great, I love them and recommend them. But this toggle (old style looking) switch is a new product that no other brands have. There have been reports/posts on here talking about poor quality and issues with this particular switch. it even left a bad rap for GE in his eyes.
So you might want to check into that or proceed with caution when you purchase. If you don;t need to use that same RED face-plate then you can swap out to a newer style rocker switch.
All Z-wave switches need a neutral wire to power up the z-wave antenna and communicate with the vera even if the switch is on or off. If a z-wave switch doesn’t require a neutral then its an old style dimmer switch (which you can’t use). Those switches would back feed neutral threw the light bulbs and it required old style light bulbs and certain amount of watts to be able to back feed the proper amount or energy. They stopped making those due to not working with many styles of new LED bulbs. Now even the dimmers require neutrals.
Thank you integlikewhoa and JohnRob. Yep i read your old comment. I will try it and if it has any issues I’ll replace it GE12722. Or I might get Leviton one if I go rocker style. I wanted toggle switch simply because of the red plate
Nests are ok, Not great but they do the trick. If i was getting one now, I would get something else but at the time when I moved in it was pretty much the only option.
[quote=“kalex1114, post:11, topic:190974”]Thank you integlikewhoa and JohnRob. Yep i read your old comment. I will try it and if it has any issues I’ll replace it GE12722. Or I might get Leviton one if I go rocker style. I wanted toggle switch simply because of the red plate
Nests are ok, Not great but they do the trick. If i was getting one now, I would get something else but at the time when I moved in it was pretty much the only option.[/quote]
Problem is they are way over priced for for not doing anything special. Vera is much smart and can do alot more with a 50.00 z-wave thermostat. You could actually by a VERA and a Z-wave T-stat cheaper and get alot more function, use and everything.
I understand they are better made for people who don’t have a “Smart Home” or “Smart Home Controller”. Most people that have a NEST without a controller think they have a smart home now that they have a nest and a Wemo plug.
[quote=“integlikewhoa, post:12, topic:190974”][quote=“kalex1114, post:11, topic:190974”]Thank you integlikewhoa and JohnRob. Yep i read your old comment. I will try it and if it has any issues I’ll replace it GE12722. Or I might get Leviton one if I go rocker style. I wanted toggle switch simply because of the red plate
Nests are ok, Not great but they do the trick. If i was getting one now, I would get something else but at the time when I moved in it was pretty much the only option.[/quote]
Problem is they are way over priced for for not doing anything special. Vera is much smart and can do alot more with a 50.00 z-wave thermostat. You could actually by a VERA and a Z-wave T-stat cheaper and get alot more function, use and everything.
I understand they are better made for people who don’t have a “Smart Home” or “Smart Home Controller”. Most people that have a NEST without a controller think they have a smart home now that they have a nest and a Wemo plug.[/quote]
Agreed on all counts. But I already have 3 and got them before i started automating my home. I actually don’t use vera anymore, ended up switching to smartthings and there is a app for it, but if I would do it again, I would not get nests
How is smartthings? I figure sometime in the future it would be time to give it a test drive. I just wasn’t sure what apps they have available (if any besides stock) and I think the last time i checked using my alarm panel wasn’t an option (which means 90% of my door/window/motion sensors won’t work). The cloud thing was also a let down on version 2. I figure it’s growing fast maybe by the next version it will have cought up with my needs and provide a good alternative.
How is smartthings? I figure sometime in the future it would be time to give it a test drive. I just wasn’t sure what apps they have available (if any besides stock) and I think the last time i checked using my alarm panel wasn’t an option (which means 90% of my door/window/motion sensors won’t work). The cloud thing was also a let down on version 2. I figure it’s growing fast maybe by the next version it will have cought up with my needs and provide a good alternative.
Whats your plus and minus of switching so far?[/quote]
for me it works good. I had vera before for a year but was never really able to figure it out completely. I know its powerful but for me it wasn’t clicking for some reason. Smartthings is different. Its app driven on the ios/android not web server driven. I like it. So far I haven’t had any real issues. I have about 20 devices in total and adding more as they go on sale. There are people that complain on the forum about stability and various issues, but frankly I had non of them.
community is very active and there are a lot of custom apps that are written. You can write your own too and publish them via IDE. I did rip and replace in one day. Basically removed all devices from vera and added them to smartthings. configured my rules and thats pretty much it. Never had version 1 so I can’t comment. One big plus in my case is that devices and rules react faster to smarttings hub than they did to vera
GE12727 arrived yesterday and i installed it today. no issues to report. Boiler, pump and everything else are all working and firing properly. Switch seems fine and works good. my red cover fit right in. Will report back if there are any issues.
Just an update in case anyone is interested. I have fully automated the reset. I have it working via smartthings which connects to my nest and monitors the temp. If heat is on and temp drops to 65 or below it shuts down the shutoff switch and turns it on after 10 seconds. Have been working as desired for over a week. I should have done this much earlier (didn’t think of it ) instead of waking up to cozy 59 degree house
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