Best Prices Today: Leviton Decora Smart Z-Wave 800 Dimmer (model ZW6HD)
Smart lighting controls that operate over Wi-Fi are great, because they don’t require a hub; they connect directly to your router. The downside is that they must compete with all the other clients on your home network: Your computers, gaming consoles, media streamers, smart speakers, home security cameras, smart plugs, and many, many more. Why Z-Wave is a better option
I live in a very small home—less than 800 square feet—but there are still more than 80 devices connected to the Eero 6 router in my Ring Alarm Pro. Given that the Eero 6’s practical limit is 128 clients, there just isn’t a lot of room for light switches and dimmers. Hence, my affinity for Z-Wave, the connected home technology at the heart of Leviton’s Decora Smart Z-Wave product line. Z-Wave is a better option because it uses a different frequency range, the 900MHz range, which is less crowded and less susceptible to interference. This means that Z-Wave devices can communicate with each other more reliably, and with less chance of being absorbed by a home’s building materials.
- Backward-compatible with every previous version of Z-Wave
- Uses the latest-generation Z-Wave 800 chipset
- Robustly built and easy to install
- Compatible with a wide range of smart home and home security hubs
“The industrial designs of the dimmer and switch are necessarily slightly different. Both have a small green LED centered beneath their paddles that glows when the device is receiving power.”
Specifications
The Decora Smart Z-Wave Dimmer 800 Series (model ZW6HD) and the Decora Smart Z-Wave Switch (model ZW15S) use the latest-generation Z-Wave 800 chipset, which is backward-compatible with every previous version of Z-Wave, and the Z-Wave Plus protocol. As for the Z-Wave hub I use, I chose a Vivint Smart Home panel as the foundation for my first smart home in 2007, and I had it installed in my new home when I moved from California to the Pacific Northwest in the fall of 2023.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Neutral wire requirement | Both devices depend on the presence of a neutral wire in the box where they’ll be installed. |
| Range of operation | Leviton specifies a range of 50 feet from any other Z-Wave device or your home’s Z-Wave hub. |
| Power consumption | Handles incandescent loads up to 600 watts, LED and CFL loads up to 300 watts, and MLV loads up to 600VA. |
Installation and setup
I installed both switches as single-pole devices, but both can also operate in 3-way scenarios where the connected load can be controlled by a switch—or switches—at other locations in the room. In a 3-way installation, however, you’ll need to purchase one of Leviton’s “companion” switches: the Leviton DD00R Wired Dimmer Companion or the DD0SR Wired Switch Companion (street priced at about $23 and $17 respectively).
The Decora Smart Z-Wave dimmer and switch both have pigtails (line, load, neutral, traveler, and ground) that you’ll connect to the electrical wiring in your home using the provided wire nuts. While both devices are considerably bulkier than their dumb counterparts, I had no problem stuffing them side by side back into box after I’d made the required connections. Performance
I connected the switches to pair of dumb BR30 LED ceiling lights in my hallway, and it dutifully turned them on and off: at the switch itself, with the Vivint app and at the physical Vivint control panel, and with Alexa voice commands (I need to say “Alexa, tell Vivint to turn on—or off—the hallway,” but that’s a Vivint thing). You can do the same with a “Hey Google” command if your smart home revolves around Google Home. The same is true of the dimmer, except that I can specify in the Vivint app, control panel, or as part of my voice command the percentage of brightness at which I want the twin LEDs in the connected ceiling fixture to glow). More importantly, the dimmer control to the right of the primary paddle smoothly dimmed and brightened the connected LED bulbs and the corresponding green LEDs to the left of the paddle accurately displayed the brightness level. Tapping the paddle to turn the bulbs does so instantly but tapping it to turn them off gradually dims them until they’re off—after a little more than 2 seconds. At no point did any of the LED bulbs flicker or behave erratically.
Should you buy the Leviton Decora Smart Z-Wave 800-series? If you’ve settled on Z-Wave as your smart home ecosystem of choice, no one makes better lighting controls than Leviton. The Leviton Decora Smart Z-Wave Dimmer 800 Series (model ZW6HD) and the Decora Smart Z-Wave Switch (model ZW15S) feature the latest generation of Z-Wave 800 chips, and they’re robustly built, easy to install, and compatible with a wide range of smart home and home security hubs. While Leviton doesn’t offer Z-Wave 800 in-wall outlets or fan-speed controllers, or plug-in dimmers and smart plugs with the latest generation of Z-Wave silicon, it does offer those device types with previous generations of Z-Wave technology, and those products are fully interoperable with these new ones. Leviton is one of the largest manufacturers of smart lighting controls, and it was one of the earliest adopters of Z-Wave technology. You can buy its Z-Wave 800 smart dimmer and switch with confidence.