Zooz Zen26 on/off Switch
	Zooz Zen27 Dimmer Switch

Overall Rating 

The Zooz Zen26 and Zen27 are two reliable Z-Wave Plus S2 switches. The Zen26 is a scene capable on/off switch, and the Zen27 is a scene capable dimmer. Being scene switches, they both support double-tap and multi-tap functions. The offer most of the capabilities you’d expect from a smart switch at a very affordable price.

Both of these switches support three-way control and they don’t require the additional aux switch, meaning they can be wired in using a mechanical three-way switch. In fact – DON’T USE AN AUX SWITCH – IT WONT WORK.

The is a utility switch (as opposed to an all singing and all dancing switch) that comes in at a great price point when compared to other utility switches. And for a utility switch it offers several great features – scene control being one to mention. I love these switches!

General Features 

The Zooz Zen26 and Zen27 are packed full of most of my favorite features. While the LED brightness can’t be controlled, the LED is very small and does not produce a lot of light. It’s very subtle and therefore doesn’t need to be controlled in my opinion.

1. These were early versions of the switch. Later models may include the air gap switch.

Scenes & Power 

You can use the buttons for scene control (multi-tap supported by select hubs only, check your hub or contact Zooz support before buying).

1. Given the nice Fan Switch, it would be great to have a power monitoring, even if only for the fan switch.

Dimmer Capabilities 

Smooth brightness control for incandescent and LED bulbs (up to 75 Watts of LEDs). Smart bulb ready! Double tap to full brightness, adjustable ramp rate, and dimming speed (your hub needs to support advanced setting input). 

I LOVE the fact that you can set the minimum-dim to the same value as the maximum-dim. Set the ramp rate low and you have essentially turned this into an on/off switch.

Wiring Options 

Single switch installations is garden variety. It wires in with the screw in switch lugs and requires the installer to pay attention to the Line and Load configurations.

Mechanical 3-way Switch

Three-way installation requires a normal mechanical three-way switch. This DOES NOT WORK WITH A SMART-AUX SWITCH. This is a great option for those installing switches on a budget. It does, however, remove the up-is-on / down-is-off experience that you would get from a smart-aux switch.

1. Smart Load Sensing is a feature where the switch automatically determines the line and load regardless of how the switch was wired.
2. This switch requires a neutral wire.
3. Three-way remote switch requires a mechanical three-way switch. These switches don’t work with a conventional smart-aux switch. Please see the three-way switch how-to section on this website.

LED Indicator 

I didn’t include this section in the overall ranking because it wouldn’t be fair. As mentioned previously, this is a utility switch, so I wouldn’t expect many of these features. It also wouldn’t be fair due to the Zooz approach to the switch LED. Rather than embrace the LED (like Inovelli and HomeSeer), Zooz chose to minimize the presence. It not only makes the LED indication subtle and unobtrusive, it sheds a lot of complexity from the firmware and device drivers. Can’t fault them for making this design decision in my opinion.

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