I have several locations where I would like to add zwave controlled lighting to my system, the typical spots, Bedroom, Bathroom, Kitchen, Living Room etc. etc. so I can set up my motion detectors to have them come on dimmed at night and auto go off (Already got this working with virtual switches for testing before I buy and install anything).
But I want to keep this process as simple as possible, I started by looking at various zwave bulbs, which seemed good but then the regular wall switches would need to stay permanently on and you know someone will accidentally turn one off or get frustrated when they flip it on and off and the light doesn’t come on.
I want to keep the functionality of having a switch in the room for normal on off and added dim functionality without having to always pull out a phone or zwave controller etc. but I don’t want to take out the existing switches if I can get away with another option.
So my question would be, is there a surface mounted type of wall switch that would fit over the top of existing switches, to cover them up and replace them without having to remove them and hard wire in a new switch, something battery operated etc.
Your best bet is to replace your existing switches with zwave compatible ones. That way you will still keep your standard manual switch capability but you can also have a zwave controller switch them. There are switches that look exactly like eg a standard paddle or toggle switch so they’ll easily blend in with standard switches. For example the Jasco/GE brand ones.
The drawback is that the switch location needs line, load, ground and neutral wires available. Not all houses are wired that way, lacking neutral. Especially older homes.
There are scene controllers that you can stick to the wall but for those to work, the standard wall switch would have to be always in on mode and you would only be able to use the scene controller to switch the light. An example of these is the Jasco/GE 45631 which can control 4 devices or scenes.
The current home is only a rental so the less invasive my modifications and the easier to put everything back as it was in the future should I leave the better it would be for me.
I thought I had once seen something about a switch that literally sat over the top of your normal wall switch blocking its operation so it could be left on and providing a zwave dimmer switch functionality powered by battery, but I cannot find the site where I saw this mentioned or any other mention of anything like this, so perhaps at the time I read something wrong.
Also not sure how old the homes wiring is and if the switches will have this neutral wire as you mentioned.
Do you know of any stick on wall switches that have on off and dim functionality to control at least one light and have good reviews? Something that I could stick next to the original switch and just block the switch in some way to stop people turning it off, so they are forced to use the zwave switch.
This would be much easier for me than trying to replace a dozen switches (some 3 way switches) and deal with all the possible neutral wire problems and putting it all back down the road when ever I move.
If you donot need the switch to trigger scenes as well as control lights you can look for z-wave switches thatcontrol via association. That way, even if Vera is out of action, the light can still be controlled.
For blanking your existing switches you are probably best talking to your local hardware shop
The Cooper RF battery powered switch would fit the bill, you can often find them on sale for about $40, as a bonus you can directly associate them to the zwave bulbs so they will work even if the Vera is down.
If you have toggle style switches you can buy a bag of covers that fit over the top (you use the existing face plate screws), you kind of have to stick your finger arround the cover to use the switch so seriously discourages use.
So with those Cooper RF switches I would just need one of those combined with standard Zwave bulb for the room and I could do on/off and dim and then also be able to control the bulb via the Vera box too.
Sounds like the best idea for my situation as I took a look at my existing switches and I am not sure who wired them in but every cable is black for starters, so I cannot easily tell which is which and they look like they may fall apart if I mess with them lol so best not to, especially since I’m only renting right now
Yep you associate the switch to the bulb and it will work just like you described. However, from the website/app, if you are trying to manually use the website to dim/brighten a bunch of bulbs as a group, Vera doesn’t support that directly (and you can’t dim/brighten the cooper switch from the UI either because they don’t support the type). But you can create scenes that you can run from the UI that will dim/brighten all the bulbs together as a group.
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