Hi Everyone, I’m curious about people’s experience with device operating temperatures listed in their respective specs. Many switches and similar devices list an operating temp down to roughly -10 F. GE it seems says +32 F!! Anyway, I plan on putting some switches in a couple of my non-insulated buildings and in winter some days can be down to -30 F. I would think things would stay “warm” enough to remain operable since they are hardwired…
If anyone can share their experiences good or bad, that wood be great.
I have Popp siren which survived winter outside, but this is outdoor device.
I had a Vision motion sensor which survived -10 C (i don’t know how many F it will be) and the only thing I’ve noticed is that it had many false alarms if the temperature was below 0C
I have two switches (one rated to -10C and the other to 0C) in sealed boxes outside the building but I can’t tell much about their durability as the least temperature they’ve had till now is c.a. -3C.
You may try to insulate your devices somehow but be cautious as you need to use non-flammable materials.
@tameanaka, if you run devices outside of the specified operating range all bets are off. It is not guaranteed to work, but it doesn’t mean it won’t. Where I work we have networking gear in areas where the temperature is maintained at -20 F. We have had to put some of our network switches in heated NEMA boxes to get them to work reliably.
In your case, if it is not critical, I would just try it. If it is a problem, there are small heaters you build or buy. Take a look at what people use for hummingbird feeders to keep them from freezing in the colder months. Good luck.
Generally cold is usually not a problem. You are guessing as to whether GE/Jasco didn’t want to test at lower temperatures to save cost and time and figured this is fine for a consumer product or if they had a problem and decided spec the higher temp. Like the others who have commented I’d say give it a try. It’s not guaranteed, but it is likely to work. If you really must depend on this then you will need to find a means to keep it warmer or find another solution. Then again, you can’t 100% depend on z-wave anyway. It’s pretty good, but I’d never use it for life support…
One more thought: If it is AC powered device, it probably need to have some AC/DC power converter built in to not fry electronic parts inside. Then it probably heats itself a little during normal operation, probably enough to keep reasonable temperature if put in relatively small, insulated box. If it says inside in-wall box it will probably be enough, depending on the wall insulation.
Yes of course I will try. Was just curious is anyone had any prior experiences/issues with the cold. It is not critical application by any means. All good suggestions and advice.
At some point my buildings will be insulated and heated to a balmly 30F for winter, but in the meantime…
I?ve been wondering the same thing about operating temps.
Both the Leviton DZPA1 and GE/JASCO 14282-2 outlet switch (appliance module) specs state a minimum operating temperature of 32 degrees F. I?ve been using the Leviton to control lights in a pole building where the air temperature inside is about the same as outside. So far this this winter, the lowest temp was -18 degrees F. The devices worked perfectly. If I had to create a warmer environment, I could do so with a low wattage bulb underneath the device (and maybe enclose the device).
I have a yard light that is controlled by a single-pole switch on the light?s pole, so it would be difficult to warm a z-wave switch. As an alternative, I could use a z-wave open/close controller located in the house or pole building, run 18/2 wire to the pole, and replace the light switch with a latching relay.
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