wall switches

[waltzer11]

pardon my dumb question. i dont have zwave switches yet but planning to buy some 2-way, 3-way, etc. i have two dimmable lamp modules. i put a masking tape on the their switches so that the wife wont accidentally switch them off, lest it will override the scene that i have created for these lamp modules.  she's not too happy about it because she cant turn on the light in the living room.  my dumb question is will the zwave switches work normally with their on/off functions (just like non zwave switches), withour interferring with the scenes that i will create. sorry if i wasnt too clear.  just want to make sure that the wife can operate the zwave switches normally. thanks in advance.

[pgrover516]

I started to answer but realized that I don't know which switches you taped, the ones on the zwave module or on the lamp?

[waltzer11]

thanks for your prompt response. i know i wasnt too clear and sorry for that. my main concern is: if i replace the existing wall switch in my garage with a zwave switch and created a scene to turn the light off (wife always forget to turn it off) after 5 minutes; if i turn the switch on/off manually, will the scene i created (turn off after 5 minutes) still work.

i know the dimmable lamp modue that is plugged into an outlet that is controlled by a switch will not work if i turned that switch off. i apologize for my vague explanation.

[pgrover516]

That depends on how the scene is designed, if the event trigger is "a switch is turned on" then it would always turn off as designed even if switched manually though that is not desireable because one may want the light on longer ( ex if the wife needs 10 min of light it will shut off on her in 5), many here use motion sensors to turn off lights when no motion reported for X seconds. The trick here, of course, is to make vera be nice to your wife so she will not kill you for the thousands of dollars this hobby will eventually cost you! lol   

[waltzer11]

excellent response - great idea too because i have a ZIR000 motion sensor in the garage. it is armed at 11:30 pm and bypass at 6:30 am and when triggered it turns on my family room light. i will have to figure out how the motion sensor and the zwave switch communicate with each other. at least you gave me an idea. thanks again. i am ready to buy some wall switches.