is NOT rock solid, I think it has to do with a non perfect WiFi (interference mainly) and also the philips hue bridge software and app, which is not super responive and still buggy (when I open the app I need to wait 1 to 3 seconds before it connects, after a while it gets annoying, I am trying now to put all commands in HA)
young family members still prefer the regular switch, and just occasionaly like to use a smartphone or Alexa/GH. Grandma prefers … well you know.
From my understanding the ZWave (like Fibaro Dimmer 2)
you put inside the switch so you have both systems; regular switch + HA automation
less frequency congestions then WiFi, so better coverage overall
With Z-wave you might have gaps in coverage, and to fix this you will need to get “repeaters”. Also, you’d need a neutral wire running to the switch itself, which you might not have.
Some always-powered Z-wave devices (i.e. wall plugs, sensors) will act as a repeater and I’ve also seen there are dedicated repeaters.
I haven’t tried Z-wave switches myself because they all require a neutral wire running to the switch, which my wiring doesn’t provide.
The neutral wire has to be connected to the neutral wire of the building
The norm in Europe is to have the neutral wire for a light bulb connected directly to the light bulb and not wire the switch with a neutral, only with a phase. Hence I don’t have a neutral wire to attach to the plate. After reading a bit about it, it seems in the US is more common to have neutral and phase to switches, but this is something you need to check for. So far I haven’t seen battery-powered z-wave switches.
