The ZAC38 Range Extender includes a built in backup battery that allows it to continue operating even when mains power is lost. When the device detects a transition from mains power to battery power, it reports this change to the Z Wave network. This power status change can be used by your hub as a reliable event trigger.

In this knowledge base example, we will walk through how to use the power outage event to send a notification to the user. However, the same reported event can be used for any type of automation you want to create. This includes sending alerts, triggering scenes, activating other devices, or combining it with additional conditions in your automation system.

The key concept is that the ZAC38 actively reports when it switches from mains power to battery backup (and vice versa), and this report can be leveraged as a trigger in your hub to build flexible and meaningful automations around power loss events.

Rule Machine is the easiest way to program this. If you don't have Rule Machine installed:

1. Click on Apps in the side menu

2. Click on "+ Add Built-in App" in the top right corner

3. Select Rule Machine

Once you have Rule Machine, programming is simple:

4. Click on the Rule Machine app under Apps now that you've added it

5. Click on Create New Rule > Enter a name for the rule > Click on Select Trigger Events: Click to set.

6. For the Trigger Event, we're using the Power Source of the ZAC38 Range Extender report battery.

7. Your action can be anything you want; here we're having a notification sent to the user's phone.