Zwave Bulbs

Other Devices & Integrations Lighting & Load Control
1

Wondering if anyone knows …Do Zwave Bulbs act as repeaters as Zigbee bulbs do ?

I am tied of the HUE issues, Phillips removing bulbstealer capability, and telnet capability to reset my bulbs, or add other zigbee bulbs to hue.

I want to get away from HUE, and need range info for my front posts at the driveway.

Thanks for any information!

2

It will depend on the manufacturer, but I would say that most if not all do. If the Z-Wave device is mains powered, it usually acts as a repeater.

The Linear/GoControl LB60Z-1 Dimmable LED Light Bulb and the Domitech DTA19-750-27 Dimmable Smart LED Light Bulb both act as Z-Wave repeaters.

Edit: Be aware that I see many posts on these forums talking about these bulbs turning on by themselves during the nightly heal.

3

@Zwaver - Thanks for the info, and thanks for the heads up about the heal…

4

My unsolicited, unfounded advice would be to buy switches instead of bulbs. I’ve never used Z-Wave bulbs, but I can’t think of a single instance in which I’d rather have control of power at the bulb instead of at the switch… FWIW.

5

[quote=“DeltaNu1142, post:4, topic:191452”]My unsolicited, unfounded advice would be to buy switches instead of bulbs. I’ve never used Z-Wave bulbs, but I can’t think of a single instance in which I’d rather have control of power at the bulb instead of at the switch… FWIW.[/quote]In most cases I would agree. The one exception I can think of is a home theater retrofit when you have ceiling can lights. In that case being able to dim lights differently across the room can be very useful not to mention you don’t have to rewire them.

6

Is there still a heal with the latest UI7 and new zwave firmware?

7

Officially, there is no heal. In my opinion, this is an interface design flaw as waiting until the next day to be able to use a newly installed device, as is liekly to happen in mixed or legacy Z-Wave networks, is unreasonable.

But, many people have had luck triggering a heal with one of these options:

Manually initiate a network heal in UI7.

http://:3480/data_request?id=lu_action&serviceId=urn:micasaverde-com:serviceId:ZWaveNetwork1&action=HealNetwork&BatteryMinutes=30&StressCycles=2&StartStage=1&StopStage=3

This Lua code accomplishes the same task.

[Code]

– Initiate Z-Wave network heal.
– Intended for starting heal after adding new devices.

– Depending on the size of your network, a heal can take a very long time.

local URN = “urn:micasaverde-com:serviceId:ZWaveNetwork1”
local ACT = “HealNetwork”
local BATT = {BatteryMinutes=30} – Default 30. Nightly 60.
local ITR = {StressCycles=2} – Default probably ample.
local START= {StartStage=1}
local STOP = {StopStage=3} – Default 7. UI7.10 or greater probably needs to go no further than 3.

luup.call_action(URN, ACT, BATT, ITR, START, STOP)[/code]

8

I agree in principal. But in practice, in a retrofit, using zwave/zigbee bulbs can free up space in outlet boxes for new zwave switches and controllers. Most of my “on at dusk” exterior lights are zigbee, because I wanted to use the interior switch outlet box for zwave scene controllers.

Trying to do multiple zwave load control in a single outlet box generally sucks. I hate my leviton two button scene controller. By putting load control on the lamp itself via zwave/zigbee/wifi, a single enerwave scene controller can manage many lights.

In new construction designed for zwave I doubt I would use any zigbee type lamps except for a few Hues.

9

Ah, I suppose, if you are limited to a fixed number of slots in an electrical box. I’ve expanded more than one box to accommodate a new scene controller. I guess I shouldn’t say “expanded,” when it’s really cutting out an old 2-gang box and refitting a 3-gang box, for example.

10

Z-Waver, this is gold. I was searching for something like this just yesterday and I couldn’t find it. You nicely sum it up in a thread about ZigBee/ZWave bulbs of all places.

Thank you.

[quote=“Z-Waver, post:7, topic:191452”]Officially, there is no heal. In my opinion, this is an interface design flaw as waiting until the next day to be able to use a newly installed device, as is liekly to happen in mixed or legacy Z-Wave networks, is unreasonable.

But, many people have had luck triggering a heal with one of these options:

Manually initiate a network heal in UI7.

http://:3480/data_request?id=lu_action&serviceId=urn:micasaverde-com:serviceId:ZWaveNetwork1&action=HealNetwork&BatteryMinutes=30&StressCycles=2&StartStage=1&StopStage=3

This Lua code accomplishes the same task.

[Code]

– Initiate Z-Wave network heal.
– Intended for starting heal after adding new devices.

– Depending on the size of your network, a heal can take a very long time.

local URN = “urn:micasaverde-com:serviceId:ZWaveNetwork1”
local ACT = “HealNetwork”
local BATT = {BatteryMinutes=30} – Default 30. Nightly 60.
local ITR = {StressCycles=2} – Default probably ample.
local START= {StartStage=1}
local STOP = {StopStage=3} – Default 7. UI7.10 or greater probably needs to go no further than 3.

luup.call_action(URN, ACT, BATT, ITR, START, STOP)[/code][/quote]

11

I’ve posted how to initiate a network heal in UI7 in other places as well as this thread.

I’m glad to hear that it worked for you.

12

You can still control the LB60Z-1 manually from the wall switch. From the instructions:

Manual Operation

The Smart LED Light Bulb can be manually operated using the wall switch while keeping it on-line with the Z-Wave network.

To manually turn the Smart LED Light Bulb ON:
Flip the wall switch OFF then ON. Be sure the switch is ON when finished.

To manually turn the Smart LED Light Bulb OFF:
Flip the wall switch OFF then ON twice within two seconds. Be sure the switch is ON when finished.

I have a storage room I am never in for more than one or two minutes. I may not go in it for two weeks, then I go in and find I left the light on. For me, it was much simpler to install a door sensor and replace the bulb than swap out a switch.

13

This is one of those preference things. I’ve got a few places where I plan to use the micro dimmers that hide behind a switch or whatever. I’m not sure they’ve got the bulbs down to something I wish to deal with as of yet. Price wise or the effort to get them / keep them working.

14

[quote=“jsingle, post:10, topic:191452”]Z-Waver, this is gold. I was searching for something like this just yesterday and I couldn’t find it. You nicely sum it up in a thread about ZigBee/ZWave bulbs of all places.

Thank you.

[quote=“Z-Waver, post:7, topic:191452”]Officially, there is no heal. In my opinion, this is an interface design flaw as waiting until the next day to be able to use a newly installed device, as is liekly to happen in mixed or legacy Z-Wave networks, is unreasonable.

But, many people have had luck triggering a heal with one of these options:

Manually initiate a network heal in UI7.

http://:3480/data_request?id=lu_action&serviceId=urn:micasaverde-com:serviceId:ZWaveNetwork1&action=HealNetwork&BatteryMinutes=30&StressCycles=2&StartStage=1&StopStage=3

This Lua code accomplishes the same task.

[Code]

– Initiate Z-Wave network heal.
– Intended for starting heal after adding new devices.

– Depending on the size of your network, a heal can take a very long time.

local URN = “urn:micasaverde-com:serviceId:ZWaveNetwork1”
local ACT = “HealNetwork”
local BATT = {BatteryMinutes=30} – Default 30. Nightly 60.
local ITR = {StressCycles=2} – Default probably ample.
local START= {StartStage=1}
local STOP = {StopStage=3} – Default 7. UI7.10 or greater probably needs to go no further than 3.

luup.call_action(URN, ACT, BATT, ITR, START, STOP)[/code][/quote][/quote]

Doesn’t a zwave heal happen automatically every night with the latest Firmware in UI7 without the need for the user to do anything?

15

Yes, there is a nightly heal.