Which z-wave switch to control under cabinet lights with their own transformers?

Community Playground General Discussions
1

I have 3 under cabinet light units with their own transformers that are currently wired to an on / off wall switch. I tried a leviton 5 amp incandescent z-wave on / off switch but it would not work at all. (The z-wave switch is good. I’m using it at another location now.)

Can this type of light setup be controlled with z-wave? (preferably leviton)

Thanks in advance for any help.

Will Byrum

2

I installed a GE appliance module to control my 5 florescent undercabinet lights in the kitchen. It’s mounted above one of the cabinets hidden by the crown molding.

Works like a charm.

3

Pretty much any z-wave switch that uses the neutral wire will work fine for on/off control.

Your VRS05 supports on/off control of incandescent loads only and, even for incandescent lights, needs to see a minimum load of 40 watts.

Staying with Vizia RF wall mount gear, you want one of:

[ul][li]VRS15-1LX on/off switch, controls one 1800 watt load[/li]
[li]VRCS2-MRX 2 button scene controller, controls two 1000 watt loads[/li]
[li]VRCS4-MRX 4 button scene controller, controls one 1800 watt load[/li]
[li]VSCZ4-MRX 4 button zone controller, controls one 1800 watt load[/li][/ul]

All of these are relay based switches, are immune to the load flavor and have no minimum load.

The controller versions can be configured as desired. After configuration, the controller buttons are independent of the switch function. The controller buttons can control anything and the switch in the controller can be controlled by anything.

All of these require a neutral (typically white) wire in the switch box. Any switch that doesn’t connect to neutral will be similar to your VRS05 and won’t work. Other vendors will have the same requirement for this type of switch.

An appliance module will work as well (but won’t mount in a wall switch box).

4

Thanks for the info.

5

Note I was being precise with the term Switch.

Switch: something that supports on/off control of a load

Dimmer: something that supports dimming a load

Dimmers exist that use the neutral wire. These dimmers support non-incandescent loads. You need the right dimmer for the load involved. Low voltage lighting uses either an electronic ballast or a magnetic ballast. You usually need a different dimmer for each and figuring out what a particular light needs is difficult (the lighting manufacturers rarely tell you). These dimmers are not cheap (can be double or triple the price of the equivalent incandescent dimmer).

No dimmers that I’m aware of have support for florescent lights.

I think Cooper makes a “universal” dimmer that can handle incandescent, magnetic ballast and electronic ballast loads. I don’t know how it does this – whether it figures it out automatically or whether it requires the installer configure it in some way. I looked at Cooper for a while when shopping for something that could dim an 1200 watt electronic ballast load (one track with 24 50watt fixtures). I ended up buying a Leviton PE-400-10W Power Extender (which I haven’t installed yet).