Jasco acquires Zooz: what it means for Z-Wave buyers

Jasco, the company behind the GE Enbrighten Z-Wave switch in this site’s catalog, announced on 13 October that it has acquired Zooz, the Z-Wave brand I point to in a lot of my guides: plugs, dimmers, sensors, the ZAC36 water valve, the ZST39 controller stick. Zooz’s own storefront, The Smartest House, followed up the next day answering customer questions directly.

Short version: nothing changes about how these devices work, and nothing in the announcement moves any of them off local Z-Wave control. Zooz says plainly that the hardware isn’t changing, the same factories build it, the same team runs it, and prices and support stay as they are. Jasco’s press release frames the deal as additional investment and a push into the professional/installer channel, not a wind-down. I’m not moving any Zooz pick over this. The one thing worth tracking, and that I can’t settle from an announcement, is whether firmware cadence or new-model pace changes over the next few months - that takes time to show up, not a press release.

What was announced

Jasco put out a press release through Business Wire on 13 October saying it had acquired Zooz. Jason Trice, Jasco’s CEO, called it part of a broader growth push: “We believe Zooz has tremendous untapped potential, and we are excited to help fuel its next chapter of growth.” Zooz’s Agnes Lorenz, VP of Brand and Partnership Support, said picking a long-term home for the brand was “one of the most important decisions we could make.” Neither side disclosed a price or deal structure.

The release leans on Zooz’s Z-Wave Long Range (ZWLR) lineup, calling it the largest of its kind on the market, and frames the deal as adding a professional-channel angle: a Z-Wave ecosystem Jasco can offer installers, distributors and developers alongside its own distribution and marketing scale. Jasco says it will contribute 50% of net profits from the Zooz brand to charitable causes, which it says is consistent with how it runs its other brands.

Zooz answered customer concern directly through its own retail storefront, The Smartest House, in posts on 13 and 14 October. The key lines, quoted because they’re the actual commitment being made:

• “The hardware is not changing as a result of this transition.” Same “established processes and factories we use today.”
• “The team behind Zooz remains in place.” Brand and product line continue - “Zooz stays Zooz.”
• “Our products are not being rebadged Jasco devices” (added in the 14 October follow-up, after customers asked directly).
• “Our commitment to competitive pricing remains in place” and “our customer support remains in place,” with existing accounts and order history carrying over.
• Fulfillment: the company expects faster delivery for some customers (it names the West Coast as an example) from an expanded network, otherwise no change.

What neither source says: any dollar figure, any named product that’s changing, or anything about warranty terms specifically.

What stays local, what doesn’t

Nothing here touches the radio. Every Zooz device on this site is Z-Wave, talking directly to a Z-Wave controller (a stick like the Zooz ZST39, an Aeotec Z-Stick, or Nabu Casa’s Connect ZWA-2) through Z-Wave JS in Home Assistant, or natively on Hubitat. That protocol layer, and the local-only control it gives you, is unaffected by who owns the company selling the hardware. An acquisition is a corporate and distribution event, not a firmware push, and nothing in either statement claims otherwise.

The actual risk an acquisition like this creates for a buyer isn’t “your existing device stops working locally” - it’s slower firmware updates, a support team that quietly shrinks, or a product line that gets thinned out over the next year or two as the new owner rationalizes the catalog. Those are real risks with corporate acquisitions generally. They’re just not things an announcement from either side can confirm or rule out; they show up later, in what actually ships or doesn’t. I’m flagging it, not predicting it.

Buy, wait or ignore

Home Assistant house already running Zooz gear. Ignore this. Your Z-Wave JS setup doesn’t know or care who owns Zooz. Keep using what you have.

Home Assistant or Hubitat house shopping for Z-Wave gear right now. Buy as you would have yesterday. My picks that point to Zooz - the ZEN04 plug, the ZAC36 valve, the ZST39 stick, the ZEN34 remote, the ZEN77 dimmer, the ZSE11 sensor - are unchanged by this announcement on every fact I can source. If you’d rather wait and watch for a quarter before buying into a brand mid-acquisition, that’s a reasonable, if cautious, call; it’s not one this brief can make for you with what’s public so far.

Budget buyer comparing Z-Wave brands. Nothing in this announcement is a reason to pick Zooz over an alternative, or an alternative over Zooz. Pricing, per both companies, isn’t changing; it’s still the same spec-and-price comparison it was last week.

Does this change my picks?

Not yet, and not on anything I can source today.

• Best Z-Wave devices for Home Assistant. The Zooz picks (ZSE11, ZEN77, ZAC36) stand. I’ll revisit if a specific model is discontinued or re-priced.
• Best local smart plugs with energy monitoring. The Zooz ZEN04 800LR stays the Z-Wave-household pick.
• Best Z-Wave water valves for automatic shutoff. The Zooz ZAC36 Titan stays the recommended actuator.
• Best smart buttons and remotes for Home Assistant. The Zooz ZEN34 stays the Z-Wave-house pick.
• How to pick a Z-Wave controller. The Zooz ZST39 stays a listed option alongside the Connect ZWA-2 and Aeotec sticks.
• Best local smart switches and dimmers. The Zooz Z-Wave family (ZEN71/72/77) stays where it is.

I’ll come back to this once there’s something concrete to report - a discontinued SKU, a price change, or a firmware-support slowdown - rather than guess at what a corporate acquisition will eventually mean.