Your electrician will be familiar with just about any of the standard smart switch profiles like the Jascos - I haven’t seen a sparky who’s suprised by one in the last three years.
Did you/do you plan to move your old gear? If so I’d stay ZWave.
Why:
You’re familiar with its proclivities and you already have enough to build critical mass on the mesh (the biggest problem most people have with any mesh network. You have to get to a certain device density before everything evens out.
If you aren’t moving your old gear then I wouldn’t count out zigbee. Because honestly you can’t judge your success with it based on your old property.
The Caseta stuff is nearly bulletproof. But your electrical supply house will LOVE you because you’ll be giving them a lot of money.
Im on a similar mindset on Esp32 for general lighting, but im increasingly using it for specific purposes or devices that don’t have a commercial alternative. My standing desk, the gas meter, salt reserve tank on the water softener, etc.
Matter… Ah matter. Personally I barely consider the spec out of beta testing and would not build a new network on it… Yet. When they get thier act together on the cert sharing and commissioning works as promised I’ll reconsider. Until then - I’m not even installing a Thread Border Router on purpose (primarily because I don’t want six unique thread networks)
Don’t get sucked into the trap of its older so it’s obsolete… Is ZWave obsolete just because matter shipped? Absolutely not. See previous comment on matter. When matter is ready for primetime maybe? But until then… Buy for what works. Consider that you’re putting in lighting controls. Once you get them in they’ll stay until they die and you should expect them to last a MINIMUM of 5 years and probably as much as 10. Beyond that you’re probably replacing them but also by that time you’ll be 1) out of the house or 2) have something better to replace them with and will be fully aware of the price and what the new brings to the party.
So given everything you said I’d be ZWave if your keeping stuff. ZWave or Zigbee which ever gives you a better price if you’re not keeping stuff. And taking a good hard look at retailers that offer bulk deals (like thesmartesthouse if you’re going Zooz - it’s thier house brand and you can usually get bulk deals if you’re ordering a house full)
More importantly I’d be considering if I want a smart electric panel because power monitoring is so much better at the panel and new purchase is currently one of the only times it makes sense. (I wouldn’t retrofit yet-too expensive)
I’m not planning on moving any wired stuff. It’s also a mix of brands and generations, basically stuff I got on sale since I started down this rabbit hole. From early Linear and Jasco stuff to Inovelli and Zooz. As I said, my first choice is still probably ZWave, but I’ll probably price out ZWave, Caseta and Zigbee. I’ve had mixed results with Zooz. I’ve had several stop working, they seem more prone to surges or something than the other brands I have. I like the feature set, but they haven’t been as durable. But I know they keep improving too, so I’ll consider them if I go ZWave, especially if Inovelli continues to have stock problems.
Do you have a recommendation for a smart panel? That’s a good idea, thanks.
I own two SPAN panels (32 spaces ea.) and would compare shop against Schneider Electric’s offering. Expect about a 1500-2k$ usd premium over standard panels. Each has pros and cons depending on what your goals are.
I got mine primarily to support battery and automatic load shedding to extend the battery function. Solar is an after thought. The power monitoring is a bonus.
That’s interesting. I definitely had a number of GE switches bite the dust from this, but not any Zooz. We had a power outage that killed a GE switch in a three gang box. Replaced it with a Zooz and when I turned the breaker back on, another one died, rinse and repeat for the third one. From what I’ve read, a number of their older line used a capacitor susceptible to power fluctuations.
I do have a whole home surge protector, but I don’t know that it’s ever gone off.
I lost 20+ (12xxx series - the OG) Jascos between 2016 and snowmageddon (the Texas Snowstorm a couple years ago) I lost 8 during Snowmageddon. (all my remaining old 12xxx) And one 14xxx series. (but that event also smoked a 60amp tandem breaker in my outdoor panel.). My inovelli and zooz devices all survived.
They’re all replaced with the enbrighten counterpart and haven’t had any trouble since.
Its also why I have the Span panels (and whole home surge) now - thanks insurance!