HomeSeer is joining the growing number of smart-home companies offering products with wireless Z-Wave Plus.
Z-Wave Plus products offer increased range, extended battery life, over-the-air upgrades and more RF channels than earlier-generation Classic Z-Wave products. Z-Wave Plus products, however, are backward-compatible with Z-Wave Classic products.
HomeSeer’s Z-Wave Plus products consist of an in-wall light switch and in-wall dimmer, each at a suggested $44.95; plug-in lamp and appliance modules at $39.95 each; and a $39.95 Z-Wave LED light bulb. The light switches will be available March 31; the other products are shipping.
The wall switch and dimmer are the only wall switch and dimmer to be Z-Wave Plus-certified, marketing director Mark Colegrove told TWICE.
Like Z-Wave Classic products, Z-Wave Plus products create a wireless mesh network to control lights, thermostats, and other Z-Wave home-automation devices. Z-Wave Plus products, however, offer 50 percent longer battery life in sensors, a 67 percent improvement in range from one Z-Wave device to the other, three RF channels to improve nose immunity and deliver higher bandwidth, improved network self-healing capabilities, and over-the-air firmware improvements.
HomeSeer’s new HS-WD100+ wall dimmer and HS-WS100+ wall switch can be programmed to launch HomeSeer system events, or scenes, by double-tapping the devices, triple-tapping them, or pressing and holding, Colegrove said. One scenario would be turning off all lights in the house while arming the security system, he said.
Unlike other similarly priced switches, he added, the switches feature instant status feedback when locally controlled.
HomeSeer automation products work with central HomeSeer Z-Wave controllers, which also connect to a home’s Wi-Fi network to deliver control from smartphone apps. HomeSeer products interoperate with products from other Z-Wave suppliers, including Cooper, Schlage, Kwikset, Baldwin, Yale, GE, Honeywell, Leviton, Linear, Everspring, Evolve, Fibaro, FortrezZ, Aeon Labs, RCS, Ecolink and others.
HomeSeer’s products are available through its web store, online retailers and installing dealers.
