SwiidInter Cord Switch at Vesternet

Back in the Summer we started working with the French company Swiid while they finished the development of some exciting new Z-Wave devices. Since then we've been testing the devices and helping them to improve the features for our customers.

Just before Christmas they launched the first devices in their range - the SwiidInter Cord Switch

SwiidInter Cord Switch

The SwiidInter Cord Switch is a great new Z-Wave device.

Firstly it's an inline Z-Wave switch - you replace an existing cord switch or wire it into the lamp's cable. It's the only Z-Wave in-line switch designed specifically for the task - it's small, discrete, has a manual button (more on that later) and is available in black or white.

Fitting it is really simple. Remove your existing switch, open up the Swiid Cord Switch and wire it to the lamp. Then add it to your Z-Wave system and away you go. You can control the lamp from the device's manual button and of course, being Z-Wave, you can also control it wirelessly from any device or remote control on your system.

Using an inline switch is a much better solution than a traditional Z-Wave wall plug as there's no chance that the manual switch can be turned off leaving the lamp without power (and unable to respond to Z-Wave signals). It also means that if you do want to use the manual control, it's in easy reach rather than having to scramble around behind a bedside table.

Controlling Other Z-Wave Devices

The Swiid Cord Switch isn't just about controlling the wired lamp, where it really comes into its own is being able to control other Z-Wave devices from its manual button.

It features Instant Status updates, so each time the lamp is switched On or Off this is immediately reported to the Z-Wave controller. You can use this to trigger a scene that can then control many devices, start a timer or even send you an alert. This is how we'd expect most people to use it - especially when sitting in bed and wanting to turn all the other lights off with a single button press. Initially, instant status update wasn't part of the device's features (as you'll see from the current user manual) - but we felt this was such an important thing to include we worked with Swiid to have it implemented.

The switch can also be associated with up to ten Z-Wave devices. These are split into two groups so that you can control each with either a long or short press of the button. This gives you direct control of the associated devices and adds extra flexibility to the Swiid Cord Switch.

In Use

We've really enjoyed using the SwiidInter Cord Switch. In Z-Wave mode, it easily included into the controllers we've tested it with (check our Z-Wave Compatibility Guide) and worked nicely with other devices. Using the manual control worked well, although it can be a little confusing at first due to it having so many options. We now use it to trigger scenes and this works perfectly.