GE Z-Wave Smart Wireless Lighting On/Off Switch

My only complaint is that the tabs that you are supposed to break off do not come off easily. I tried various pliers and cutters, and ended up just using my dremel to make the "pre-cut" cut deeper so that I could use pliers. Depending on how good/drunk you are with a dremel this can be a quick task or a longer one. Anyways I was installing quite a few of these so once I had my system down it was pretty easy, but you just need to make sure you plan ahead and know where each switch will be and take off the edges BEFORE you install them. If you're comparing these to the Linears, those tabs come off really easy with pliers. So for the actual switch, I will be comparing the GE 12722 + 12723 combo directly with the Linear WS15Z-1 + WT00Z-1 combo. Quick bit of knowledge: I am not an electrician so some of this is probably obvious and possibly incorrect. A 3-way setup involves two switches with a traveler going between the two. A 4-way setup involves 3 (or more) switches, with the "4-way" terminology being that one switch in the setup has two ins and two outs, this switch is connected to TWO switches instead of just one. So first off is price (and prices being the price as of writing this). The 12722 is $40, the accessory switches (12723) are $20. For Linear the main switch is $29 and the "accessory switches" are $34.50. In a 3-way setup GE would cost you $60 and the Linear would cost you $63.50. In a 4-way setup with 3 switches GE would cost you $80 and Linear would cost you $98. I made the mistake of reading the OLD reviews for the GE 45xxx switches which were rated pretty unfavorably, so I initially went with Linear, and now I have a frankenstein combination of GE/Jasco and Linear switches. The Linears will only save you money if you are replacing individual switches that are not in a multi-switch set up. The GEs can do a true 3-way / 4-way / multi-way setup, meaning that if an EMP wipes out your server and your z-wave network dies, you can still turn off the light to your dungeon from the switch on the false wall in the kitchen. The Linears are a virtual multi-switch and do not have the ability to incorporate a traveler wire. The ability to control one light from the other has nothing to do with with the wiring, the control of both devices is dependent on your Z-Wave controller. As far as I know GE doesn't have a native virtual switch, however (at least in Homeseer) I can have the Linear WT00Z control any device on my network, so if I did need to add a remote switch to control my GE lights I could use one of those to do so. Color. The switches in my house were standard white, I believe they were Levitons. No idea if this is just the type of white I had for my switches, but the GEs match perfectly whereas the Linears are a slightly different shade of white. It's not really noticeable, but when you have one Linear between two GEs you can tell if you look at them close enough. LEDs. GE: Blue; Linear: Green. Up to you. Installation. GE hands down wins here. The GE switches use punch in terminals and the Linears require wire nuts. The problem with wire nuts is that it adds more bulk to your gang box, and I probably would have punched a hole in my wall before managing to cram three Linears into a 3-way box. The GEs just use the existing wires, save for a wire nut required for the Neutral, which you should just be able to take off from the existing bundle of neutral wires and add it to them (reusing the wire nut that's already there). As mentioned above, it is way easier to remove the metal tabs from the Linears than it is for the GEs. On that note however, the metal on the Linears is much thinner than that of the GEs. The GEs feel as robust as the mechanical switches I took out of the wall, the Linears feel cheap and the metal can bend if you're not careful. All said and done both products work well but if I was purchasing again I would have just done all GE. The Linears that I bought mostly went into single-gang boxes so that I could use the wall plate they come with in order to have the colors match. I'm hesitant to give much in the way of installation tips as I am far from a professional, but if you're wondering what to do with the original line and load wires in a 3-way set up I was told to tie them together with a wire nut since they're not being used. In a 4-way set up you need find the 4-way device and wire nut the two travelers with a pig tail that will then plug into the accessory switch. Know that there are numerous methods for multi-switch setups, and GE doesn't use any of them, so you need to understand how your set up works in order to incorporate the GEs. I highly recommend getting a non-contact voltage tester, a wire tracer/tone generator, and if you live in a house built more than a few years ago make sure you have neutral wires hidding behind the wall switches so you don't waste your time.