Leviton’s new Zigbee smart lighting controls are already available to Xfinity Home users

Leviton announced a new line of Decora Smart Zigbee 3.0-certified smart lighting controls today, and Comcast almost simultaneously announced that it will support the new products in its Xfinity Home smart-home service.

There are four new devices in Leviton’s Zigbee 3.0-certified lineup: A 600-watt in-wall dimmer (model DG6HD), a 15-amp in-wall switch (model DG15S), a plug-in switch (model DG15A), and a plug-in dimmer (model DG3HL). The in-wall dimmer is priced at $42.99 and the other three products will cost $39.99 each. As do Leviton’s Decora Smart Z-Wave and Wi-Fi in-wall lighting controls, these new Zigbee in-wall switches will require the presence of a neutral wire in the box into which they’re installed.

Smart lighting controls allow you to create automated lighting scenes; control lights—turn them on and off or dim them—using voice commands; schedule lights to turn on and off according to a defined schedule (including while you’re on vacation); and much more. Depending on the capabilities of your smart home hub and what other smart-home products you have installed, they can also be programmed to turn on when doors or windows are opened or even according to your physical location, using the concept of geofencing.

Leviton

While Leviton’s press release mentions only Xfinity Home, documentation on the Leviton’s website indicates the new devices should be compatible with any Zigbee hub, gateway, or controller, including Samsung SmartThings, the Amazon Echo Plus (first or second generation), and the Echo Show (2^nd Gen). The Xfinity Home press release, meanwhile, indicates that Xfinity Home customers who also subscribe to Comcast’s cable TV service will be able to use their X1 voice remote to control Leviton’s new devices, too.

While Xfinity Home is a professionally installed solution, Comcast says subscribers will be able to acquire and install the new Leviton products themselves, using the Xfinity Home app to enroll the devices to their Xfinity Home Touch Screen without needing to call customer service.

As is typical of this type of product, multi-pole installations—where more than one switch controls the same load—will require companion devices at the other locations (a companion switch or a companion dimmer). The Treatlife Wi-Fi dimmer (model DS02) is one of the only products of this type we know of that doesn’t have such a requirement—it will work with any other ordinary switch. We haven’t seen a photo of the back of Leviton’s new in-wall products, but judging from the user manual we peeked at, they will have wiring backstabs as opposed to pigtails.

Leviton

In terms of industrial design, the new devices look virtually identical to the rest of the Decora Smart line. The in-wall dimmer and switch have broad vertical paddles that turn on the connected load when the lower half of the paddle is pressed. The dimmer has a second, thinner vertical rocker to the right of the paddle for dimming and brightening. A stack of seven LEDs on the left-hand side indicate the current brightness level.

The in-wall products come out of the box in white, but included color-change kits let you swap out the exposed components to match your décor. These are provided in ivory, light almond, gray, black, and brown. Matching wall plates, on the other hand, must be purchased separately (although you won’t need them if you’re replacing a conventional paddle switch and can reuse the plate you have).

Leviton

Leviton’s new plug-in switch and dimmer strike us as being quite large compared to the recent competition, but photos indicate they won’t block the adjacent outlet in a duplex—provided they’re installed in the lower outlet (or upside down in the upper)—because the client device’s cord plugs into the bottom of the unit. Speaking of which, the dimmer accepts only two-prong cords while the switch can handle three-prong cords (such as what might be attached to a space heater).

Updated shortly after publication to add prices: $42.99 for the in-wall dimmer and $39.99 each for the in-wall switch, plug-in switch, and plug-in dimmer.