Best products from r/winkhub

First off, welcome -- it's a fun ride!

Re: Dimmers/Plugs/Etc
Caseta is nice, I have a couple of switches and they work great. Especially if you want to create 3-way switches without wiring. What I mean is that you can just replace one hard-wired switch with a smart switch and then use the Caseta Pico for the secondary location (which just adheres to the wall).

Just some thought starters as you explore further -- for hardwired switches, in addition to Lutron, I have had a ton of success with the GE/Jasco Z-Wave switches.

https://www.amazon.com/GE-Lighting-Control-Switch-Z-Wave/dp/B0035YRCR2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1479395673&sr=8-2&keywords=ge+smart+switch

I have the generic on/off switch, dimmer switch and fan switch by them (more on the dimmer function later).

For my plug-in switches, currently I have a couple different ones I use for Christmas lights, and a couple of lamps and a floor fan.

My favorite is this random one I found by Inovelli or Show Home (not sure -- looks like Inovelli is a distributor or something):

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Z-Wave-On-Off-Smart-Home-Plug-Control-2-Outlets-w-1-Module-Works-with-Alexa-/361826630198

I like it because you can control two outlets individually vs just one like all the other ones and it's around the same price too.

I also own a Leviton plug-in which works great too, but only controls one outlet -- still no complaints:

https://www.amazon.com/Leviton-VRPA1-1LW-Capable-Appliance-Module/dp/B00JFF1WP8/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1479395904&sr=8-6&keywords=leviton

Ok, now on to your question about blog/forum/guide, etc...
Here's a good place to start:

http://wiki.winkathome.net/Main_Page

I also enjoy reading the Wink Group comments on Facebook -- I can't remember the name of the group, but if you just search for Wink Home Automation, I think it shows up. That group has been awesome for learning new things. It's a fairly large group too.

Lastly, I think I understand what you're asking, but if not, I apologize. How the GE Dimmers work (and I'm assuming the other ones too) is that you can use the switch manually like any dimmer switch -- hold up and it gets brighter, hold down and it gets dimmer, tap the up button and the light turns on to the last setting you left it at, tap the bottom button and the light turns off.

You can also set the percentage (or approximate, I don't recall it having actual numbers -- it's more a sliding scale) you'd like it to go to from within the Wink app (ex: have your light come on to around 75% at 8pm, then dim to 50% at 10pm).

Make sense?

Hope this helps.

I don't have one, but your post got me interested in looking, as I am currently getting ready to add some smart switches. The price of these are great, your adding a motion sensor for just a few dollars more then a normal smart switch.

Anyways back to your question, I found this review on the dimmer version of the switch

> So, it works. Well, stand alone it works fine. Wink does not fully support it. So you get a phantom sensor that you can't control in the app and you get two switches (both do the same thing) in the app. They are aware of the need to upgrade their app. The tech was surprised since they support the Zwave switch and dimmers from GE without a problem. I was too. So, it works, I am keeping it, but with Wink, it's a bit winky. I replaced a sensor and non-dimmer switch with this. I like it

To add to this I have a Leviton Decora Dimmer switch that I just installed and it works great for some track lighting I have.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GONGX3O/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

/u/ekzoo85 explained how it works pretty well.

I'll add that the switch can trigger robots in the wink hub as well. So when you press the switch you can have it control pretty much anything else. Press this switch, when lights off turn additional light off, or if lights on wait 1 hour then turn lights off.

Controlling the switch from the app is very fast.

And there are options for the wiring a 3 way (4 or 5 way too). Using the Leviton Decora that I linked you would need a "matching digital switch". Here is the one I use for my 3 way.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001HT4M4I/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1



My track lighting is just halogen bulbs but my dimmer makes it a smart light. I can say Alexa set Living Room Track to 62% and it works great! Way better than the old dimmer I had too.

OK so my favorite accessory is, by far, the garage door opener and sensor system. It closes my door automatically at night if I forget and leave it open, and sends me notifications when it's left open during the day. Plus as I have the lights controlled, it turns on my main garage lights when I come home at night. https://www.amazon.com/GoControl-Linear-GD00Z-4-Z-Wave-Controller/dp/B00M75TEIU

Secondly, I know it's not a switch but I also love the Schlage connect lock. This was the first "smart" device I ever got, well before I had Wink. It's amazing as with remote start cars, and this, I now never have to touch my keys, and it works great for letting people in with temporary codes when you're on vacation. Plus when I go for a run I don't have to carry my keys. It integrates fantastically with Wink letting you set codes, lock door, change settings, etc. I actually only bought the Wink hub because of it since I wanted an easier way to program/control it (well, that and the fact that when Quirky went under Meijer was selling the hub for $5 and the controlled power strips for $10. No lie.) https://www.amazon.com/Schlage-Connect-BE469NX-Touchscreen-Deadbolt/dp/B00AGK9KOG/ref=sr_1_2?s=hardware&ie=UTF8&qid=1479481619&sr=1-2&keywords=schlage+keyless+lock

As for switches, I tend to prefer the Leviton ones as they are the cleanest looking, don't have obnoxious lights (like the GE ones) and are reasonably priced. I only have one Caseta switch, and while it works fine, I just don't know that I care for the style. (On a side note, the Caseta remotes can work for any Wink device if you set up shortcuts for the various buttons). The annoying thing with the GE switches is that you have to push up to turn it on and down to turn it off. While I know that sounds like a silly complaint since physical switches work that way, it's something you have to think about since it doesn't stay up or down, and instead is always in the middle. I have the same complaint with the separate buttons on the Caseta switches. This is another reason why I like the Leviton ones. Only one button which simply toggles the state.

Finally, all the Z-Wave switches work independently of the hub and will ALWAYS respond to your physical commands immediately, regardless of hub or no hub. They are always a physical switch first and remote second.

I didn't want to (or wasn't ready) to replace ceiling fans, and my light and fan were wired separately, so I opted for the Lutron Caseta in-wall dimmer for the light and the GE smart fan controller for the fan.

This setup works perfectly with Wink and Echo if you ignore Wink sees the fan controller as a light (just name it ceiling fan) and therefore, doesn't understand low, medium, or high (so I say off, 25%, 50%, or 100%).

I'll warn that I was quite happy with my Lutron switches until I saw how sleekly GE incorporated dimming into their Decora-style rocker switch ... which people are more accustomed to. Average Joe walks in, and although the Caseta is clearly labeled, they have a tendency to freak out.

On the other hand, what filthy peasant is still using their hands? ;-)

If you want switches, skip Hue all together. I use the Lutron Caseta Dimmers and they are top notch. I have 8 of them already and plan on adding more. They work with Wink Hub and the Lutron Hub. If you have neutral wires in all of your boxes you have plenty of other Z-Wave options. I have 3 internal switches that have smart bulbs in them, and guests are always turning them off. Most of them just didn't make sense for switches but I may re-evaluate.



Smart bulbs are good for things like Lamps and odd ball fixtures. I have an outdoor switch that controls two fixtures (4 Bulbs) that I wanted to control individually. Bulbs just worked out better, although I may still put a switch in there.

Yeah, I just relooked and confirmed with Jasco that the 2-Channel is, in fact, simultaneous control. However, they do have an individually controlled one (looks awesome BTW) that has USB ports built in: https://www.amazon.com/GE-Individually-Controlled-SmartThings-28177/dp/B0736311QF

Anyway, I just looked in the office and we have plenty of 2-Channels available. Feel free to drop me a message or shoot our team a message and let them know you talked to me on Reddit and they'll take care of you.

Have an awesome day!

-Eric

Go control didn't go out of business, it's just that the combo packs are a great deal for the consumer, so they aren't really available anymore. You have to buy the pieces separately.

I use the go control siren and it's great.

I also use these door and window sensors which work great and are cheaper: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HPIYJWU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Assuming you have a neutral in the gangbox that houses the two switches for each fan, I would recommend the following:

• GE z-wave plus fan speed control switch
  
• GE z-wave plus light dimmer
  
  Use the pull cords to keep the light switch in the on position, and the fan speed at maximum. After that, you can control the light and fan exclusive using the new switches, the Wink app, or GH/Alexa.

Make sure you use the Enerwave dual z-wave relays, and not the Monoprice ones. The Enerwave relays work great with Wink. Lots of reports of issues with the Monoprice ones. I had one explode inside the gang box

Also, if all you want is for the controlled outlet to be the bottom one, then there are a few choices that work with Wink:

• GE z-wave outlet
  
• Enerwave z-wave outlet
  
• Linear/GoControl z-wave outlet
  
  These are cheaper than using the Enerwave z-wave dual relay to make two controlled outlets, although the latter is more useful in many situations.

This is what I use: Sonoff TH16 https://www.amazon.ca/Sonoff-TH16-Temperature-Humidity-Monitoring/dp/B06XTNSJ46?ref_=bl_dp_s_web_17588545011

I have it wired into a 110v heater. The APP that it comes with works very reliably and has a few modes. I just tell it to come on at 19c and off at 21c and it happily cycles along. (Even has a history so you can see what it has been up to).

Just be sure to also purchase the temp sensor. (It plug's into the side) You can also order direct from the company https://sonoff.itead.cc/en/ They have all sorts of gadgets and the price is VERY cheap.

I have another two at a remote location and they also just chug along. Those two, are not hooked up to anything, I just check them now and then.

I have a Wink hub as well and I'm sorry to report it does not yet work in there. However, IFTTT support is there. . (sorta, I just glanced right now)

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If you have a 3 wire ran from the switch to the fan (white,black,red,ground) you can do some variation of what I did for my Fan/Light rooms.

This for the light control. Also This if you want it to match with the fan switch.

This for the fan control.

If you only have a 2 wire ran from the fan/light to the switch then you would have to do something more along the lines of what u/caddymac suggested.

Hope this helps and if you have anymore questions let us know.

Enerwave ZWN-RSM2 http://amzn.com/B00JWVNH4Y. Works by adding zwave light switch. It also appears that the dual switch works as well, as two switches appear in my Wink app. I didn't have a chance to attach a load to both switches, but I was able to hear the device clicking the contacts inside it for either switch.

Aeon Labs Micro Smart Energy Switch http://amzn.com/B008VWBNAU Like the plug in switch, it works but does not show energy usage.

The Lutron Caseta also has an on/off switch (no dimming) that will pair to Wink.

http://www.amazon.com/Amp-Max-Multi-Location-Incandescent-PD-5S-DV-WH/dp/B00NCEMBIA/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1420417941&sr=8-10&keywords=lutron+caseta

I have a ceiling fan with a light and this could be a perfect solution for that. Obviously I won't be able to control the ceiling fan from Wink, but I can at least automate the lights hopefully.

EcoLink Door sensor on Amazon for $29 works great. You add it as a Z-Wave sensor and it works fast and consistently.

Ecolink Intelligent Technology Z-Wave Door & Window Sensor, White & Brown (DWZWAVE2-ECO) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HPIYJWU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_ufrnyb2JP9NZN

GE 12730 Z-Wave Smart Fan Control https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PYMGVVQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_k.W2wbCC5SW29The GE Fan Control switch works. You'll have to have a switch for both the fan and light.

I believe your problem is that you have Smart bulbs connected to a smart switch. If the smart switch is off then the smart bulbs wouldn't work. I would think your bulbs would still connect to wink as long as the power is on. Since they're both dimmable you probably should use the Lutron Casetta On/Off Switch rather than the dimmer.

You may also be able to pair the light with a connected bulb switch that can be wall mounted next to the regular switch using this Lutron Pico Wallplate Bracket and a 2 gang wallplate.

I'm using this Lutron on/off with Wink Hub 2. I just installed it last week for a pair of garage lights and it's been working great. It'd be nice if it was a tad bit cheaper though.

https://www.amazon.com/GOCONTROL-WNK01-21KIT-Essential-Z-Wave-Security/dp/B00XUXYSWU/ref=sr_1_2?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1484259929&sr=1-2&keywords=wink+go+control

I imagine these would work. I use them on my front door.

I'm using a MyQ, it's more expensive but works great.

The GE 12722 is a normal on/off switch, will work with a fan or light, on/off only. They work great, although there is about a half-second delay between when you tap the switch and the light turns on/off, along with an audible click, which is kind of annoying.

The GE 14294 is a dimmer control, works with dimmable bulbs only, cannot be used with a ceiling fan except to control the lights. Press and hold up or down to change the light level. They work well, but I get some weird buzzing from dimmable LED's when they're set to lower levels like 10-20%.

The GE 14287 is the only one compatible with ceiling fans to control the fan speed. Low, Medium, and High settings, which are described as anything between 0-33% being Low, 33-66% is Medium, and 66%+ being High. Also press and hold to increase/decrease speed. I've had no issues with these, they work great in my bedroom to control the fan speed.

I looked into the GoCOntrol briefly and I'm not sure why I passed it by. I have other GoControl peripherals that I like. Is THIS what you are talking about, it is the same price as the Chamberlain setup.

Edit: I remember why i passed this up. I had read people were having issues with the sensor, it doesn't know that it is up or down just that the door moved so if for some reason the laser gets tripped you cannot tell that the door went back open during its attempt to close. This may be incorrect information, I'd love to hear your take. Also I bought the Chamberlain for myself, each of us has 1 large 2 car garage door.

If you're interested in the color changing feature of the bulbs, take a look at the Osram RGBW bulbs, or the Osram Tunable White bulbs (if you're okay just adjusting color temperature and not getting funky with it).

Same basic functionality, much cheaper, and they connect just fine to a Wink hub without needing the Osram Bridge.

Thanks. I also asked in /r/homeautomation and had this suggested. Looks like it could possibly work if I can jam a couple of them in the box with the rest of the wires.

Yes, but you have to get the Lutron pico remote that works via Zigbee rather than Clear Connect.

Lutron LZL-4B-WH-L01 Connected Bulb Remote https://www.amazon.com/dp/B014STZASK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_-Yr2AbER079XE

You can set it to turn on individual bulbs, or turn on entire scenes.

I had already been leaning towards creating an alarm solution through Wink and getting rid of my alarm company, but this has pushed me over the edge. Ordered the GoControl WNK01-21KIT Z-Wave Essentials Wink Enabled Security Kit and have already set up most of the shortcuts/robots/IFTTT stuff you mentioned. I'm only planning to start with Wink notifications for the alarm for now, but might set up phone calls for the smoke detector. Need to determine if I can get the Z-Wave sensors already installed to work with my system. Might save me some time/money.

The GE one. These have always worked great for me.

With no neutral in the switch box, you must have it at the fixture. Could you rewire the fixture such that the fixture is always hot, convert the return leg of the wire to the switch back to a neutral, use it to power a smart relay like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Vision-Z-Wave-Micro-Switch-relay/dp/B00R883YKU/ and use your existing switch to control it? Then trigger the robot for the other bulbs off of that relay’s status.

Will these work? They're about 15 bucks cheaper and supported by Wink.

https://www.amazon.com/GE-Wireless-Lighting-Receptacle-12721/dp/B0013V1SRY/ref=sr_1_1?s=lamps-light&ie=UTF8&qid=1501015861&sr=1-1&keywords=ge+zwave

Edit: Probably not as I think they're only 15A

Depends on the sensors. I moved into a house that had an ADT system with the embedded door sensors in all the exterior doors. I used the ecolink door sensors to add the z wave functionality to those sensors. https://www.amazon.com/Ecolink-Intelligent-Technology-Operated-DWZWAVE2-ECO/dp/B00HPIYJWU

They have a dry contact which I used to connect the already installed door sensor wiring to. I removed the wiring from the ADT panel and installed the ecolink sensors next to the panel where the hardwired door sensors were run to.

If your home has wireless sensors on the doors then you will have to look at the protocols that it uses and supports.

These work just fine with Wink:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XTKQTTV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_gtC.zbHA5AZVP

I got one of the go control kits that comes with a motion and 2 doors for $42 off amazon and they work.
https://www.amazon.com/GOCONTROL-WNK01-21KIT-Essential-Z-Wave-Security/dp/B00XUXYSWU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479839716&sr=8-1&keywords=go+control

Here's one http://m.smarthomedb.com/product/ecolink-garage-door-tilt-sensor/p372

Also this zwave garage door opener works with wink GoControl/Linear GD00Z-4 Z-Wave Garage Door Opener Remote Controller, Small, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M75TEIU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_CeaEybE8ENTP1

I have this switch: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B017LRCG38/
So far I couldn't get it to work with Wink...

Just ordered 2 of these, they arrive tommorow so i'm going to see how they work but I ordered them for basically purpose you're asking about

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014STZASK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Ahhhh, I see. So to integrate with Wink I would neither either this...

http://www.wink.com/products/chamberlain-myq-garage-door-controller/

Or one of these?

https://smile.amazon.com/GoControl-Linear-GD00Z-4-Z-Wave-Controller/dp/B00M75TEIU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1479394170&sr=8-3&keywords=go+control

I just replaced my dumb wall switches with this:

GE Z-Wave Wireless Smart Lighting Control Light Switch, On/Off Paddle, In-Wall, White & Lt. Almond Paddles, Repeater & Range Extender, Zwave Hub Required- Works with SmartThings Wink and Alexa, 12722 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0035YRCR2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_j9XZDbN51E8C6


Sometimes the robot for my garage lights when the door opens after sunset is a bit slow, but I think that’s more to do with wink and not the switch.