Will the GE Z-Wave 45601 Remote Control compliment a Home Automation network?
Spoiler Alert - yes, the GE 45601 Home Automation remote control may truly compliment your existing Home Automation network. In the early days of my automation fun, controlling lights through from phone was pretty satisfying. Now that the novelty has worn off a bit, I realize that its much easier to use a remote like this one instead of navigating through the controls on my phone or via a website on a computer.
Being able to wirelessly control your lights and scenes from the comfort of your couch is awesome. The speed and availability of doing this from a dedicated device like the GE 45601 LCD Remote is makes it even better.
Set Up
It was not easy at first. To setup this remote control with my network, I had to create a set of On/Off scenes for each light that I wanted to control. This device does work directly with Z-Wave devices as a Primary Controller, but because I'm relying on my Vera as the Primary, this extra step was necessary. Once all the scenes were created and I transferred the commands over to the remote I was good to go.
Summary
As much as I hate having another remote sitting around, this device was a smart choice. I picked it up at Radio Shack for $9.99 on clearance. Hard to criticize the value of that, thanks Radio Shack.
