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GE 3-Way Switches

Nathan shared this question 4 years ago
Answered

I'm wondering if anyone has used the GE 3-way switch setup with the 14294 Main Switch married with the GE 12723 slave switch. They are both Z-wave, but how do they communicate with each other? Is it just a matter of adding the main switch to the Zipato for automated control and then the slave handles switching the load like a normal switch does? Or does the slave communicate with the Zipato, which then controls the main switch?


This entire 3-way setup is quite confusing.

Replies (8)

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So no one has used any 3-way light switches? I’m just trying to find out how to add them.

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The GE12723 slave does NOT function as a zwave switch or dimmer on its ow. So you can not pair with zipato. It communicates with the 14294 using its own zwave protocol. you can try to pair the 14294.switch. I am not sure this swith is known to Zipato, otherwise you will see some unknown device.

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Thanks John Rabbit for your help. Any idea how I might determine if they work with the Zipato? I already purchased 9 and have my electrician coming by tomorrow to get them installed.

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The only way to find out is to connect one and start a Zipato Zwave inclusion. However because themaster/slave combination acts as 1 device towards Zipato I think that when you try to include the 14292 switch, because of the desciptor, Zipato will add the switch at least as a generic on/off switch. When the device is known you will get some additional info (if present).

@Zipato: Anyone awake overthere? Is this right?

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I was hoping that I'd just need to add the 14294 master and not worry about the 12723. Then the 14294 would just communicate with the 12723 slave on it's own.

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I got one installed as a single switch (not in a 3-way circuit). I was able to add it, but it's not showing up like my other dimmers. I'm able to use it by setting a percentage, but it just immediately jumps to that percentage. All my other dimmers ramp up and ramp down.


So if I set this GE to 100%, then it's immediately on at 100%. All my other dimmers ramp up over a period of a second or two from 0 - 100%. Is there a way to change that behavior?

You can see the difference. The GE Switch (Front Bar Lights) have groups and are listed as a Multilevel Actuator. The normal dimmers are listed as "Dimmer". Unfortunately, it won't let me change the type since Dimmer isn't a choice.

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Look in your manual. There are parameters for dimming (steps and timing). With these parameters you can set the wanted behaviour. ( Click the right most icon, select tab configuration)

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I was messing around with that yesterday and no matter what I set the parameters to, I couldn’t get the on to ramp up. It was always instant on.

According to the website I found, there are two parameters that control ramp rate. Number of steps and time between steps. It looks like parameter 7 & 8 are for a Z-Wave Command, 9 & 10 are for manual use of the switch and 11 & 12 are for an All On / All off command.


It says by default, all 6 parameters are set to 1 step and 30ms. With that said, the switch performs correctly when I press the buttons, but not when issued a Z-wave command. No matter what I set parameter 7 & 8 to, I can’t get it to ramp up.

I’ve even went so far as to start a spreadsheet and use the upper limit values (99 & 255).

Any thoughts? Thanks again for all your help.

https://products.z-wavealliance.org/products/1442/configs

https://www.ezzwave.com/advanced-operation/

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Found it. Apparently when the device is sent a level specific command, like 56% or 88% it’s required to “jump” to that level under the new Z-Wave certification guidelines. Apparently instead of telling the switch to turn on, the Zipato is issuing a level specific command making the switch jump to 100%.


I found a hidden parameter 6 where 0 = the “jump” and 1 = the old behavior of ramp up to X%.


“When we did this, we had to upgrade the behavior of the dimmers to the latest spec as defined for Z-Wave certification. This new specification requires that when receiving a level specific command (1-100) the device is required to immediately jump to that level.


Because this is a requirement for Z-Wave certification, the product must ship with the newest behavior as default. HOWEVER, understanding that our customers may want the previous behavior, we developed a new configurable parameter into our latest GE 14294 and Jasco 14321 In-Wall Smart Dimmer.


? Dim Up/Down rate

? Parameter Number: 6

? Size: 1 Byte

? Valid Values:

o 0 (Default) ? New Required Behavior (Instantly move to level)

o 1 ? Ramp up and down slowly (3.0d and previous versions behavior)“


Credit to this person who had reached out to Jasco.


https://community.getvera.com/t/ge-14294-operation/197000/4

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Congrats! You found it. Good to hear that they work with Zipato

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I haven’t tried it with the accessory switch yet in a 3-way, but as a stand along switch they do work.

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But that should work. The slave only "talks" with the master and the master is reporting its status to zipato.

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I have used the 12723 Add-on switch and it works great as a 3-way switch.

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Got them all wired up and working.

On a side note, has anyone ever used one of the Monoprice recessed door sensors? I can't seem to find anyone that's used them.

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