They can indeed do this, using @JasonJoel's amazing GE/Jasco/Enbrighten switch and dimmer drivers. You get 6 buttons total, double tap on can be automated to change the switch to whatever brightness you desire using the switche's virtual buttons in Rule Machine, the built in button control app, simple automations, etc.
I really like my GE/Jasco/Ultra Pro dimmers and switches, they are just about the only part of my home automation that never fails (unless there is a HW failure - i've had two in many years and both replaced by GE w/out question due to new 5 year warranty). I would buy them all again in a heartbeat. I don't use smart bulbs w/my switches so the "bulb mode" that other switches have isn't useful for me.
And Jason's drivers are just great and really amp up the functionality (and even speed) of the switches and dimmers.
70 is quite a lot of dimmers. Do you have 70 individual loads in your home to control?
I just moved into a 2500sq ft home, and while I have only added smart switches and smart bulbs to the top floor at this point, I only needed 8 dimmer switches. The remainder of the lights use Hue bulbs. The ceiling fixtures with Hue have the load and hot permanently tied together, and the switch is replaced with Lutron Picos. The reset of the 3-way and remote switches are actually just Pico remotes, not physical dimmer switches. My Lutron Smart Bridge Pro ties them to the hub and the button controller app lets me program them to act just like they are physical switches to control those loads. This allows you to program toggle, so dim levels are maintained, but you can program hold for the ON button (or any button you want) to quickly go full brightness if you need it.
I added 20 Picos at between $20-$35 a pico, depending on whether or not they could be installed in a gang plate, or needed their own plate. I moved to all Claro wall plates, so my cost was a bit higher as a result. I cannot imagine ever putting over $5000 or more in dimmer switches in my home. Just a suggestion you may want to consider. You'll save a bundle and the family really won't be able to tell the difference between what is a Pico and what is an actual dimmer, other than the appearance, since you won't be using Caséta for your dimmer switches.
Yes, mostly due to it being 5,200 sq. ft. and the fact that I'm covering every switch in the house including closets, fans, etc. And to be more accurate it's 70 devices total including fan controllers and the like. I dipped into smart switched for the first time in 2015 and over time I've never regretted expanding to more and more loads around the house (with dimmers). I like them.
I did this once and deeply regretted it. However, it was in 2015 well before picos were a thing. I relied on voice - that was probably the regret. These days, I try to maintain the "API spec" of a typical home so that I never have to explain to a visitor how things work. I suppose picos are just switches, but I'm not sure a non-tech savvy person is going to be able to work it out first try without any explanation or at least delay. When I was single/no kids I was able to really go all out with Hue style hard-wiring. But, with a larger family and lots of visitors I don't really have the option of having lights that need explaining. For reference, I have people in my house every day who don't live here. I'm not trying to say that one shouldn't take your advice - you seem to have a really nice system. However, in my lifestyle it's not worked well to have anything other than a basic paddle. One other thing I found with Hue is most of my lighting loads are 4+ bulbs which makes it much more expensive to use as many Hue bulbs vs. just a single smart switch.
I do like picos and I bought the hub for testing so I think I will mix them into my house, but just in places where I'm the primary user as opposed to grandma.
I understand where you're coming from. I bought my first Insteon system in 2017 and added my first Pico (controlling Insteon) in 2018. I have to say that having gone deep into automating absolutely everything I could get my hands on in past years, I'm quite over that phase. My system today if very reserved. I have always strived to build a smart home that doesn't need the cloud as much as possible and reasonable without going overboard, always has a backup method of control, and anyone can intuitively use it without needing to understand how it's configured.. I've definitely blown that at times.
The Picos in our new home are programmed to function like switches. ON is last dim level, OFF is OFF, holding dim up/down does just what you would expect (Insteon excepted, but that's an Insteon old design limitation). Any fancy commands are hidden in the Picos for me only and that hasn't been a problem. I learned a lot about keeping it basic over the years, and when I built a smart lighting system for the house I sold from the ground up. Previously I would never have trusted something like a Pico for the only physical control of a light switch, but they have proven over many years to be so reliable that I didn't hesitate to design the lighting in our new home to rely heavily on them. Same with the Hue bridge with the Hubitat Hue Integration. Rock solid, and so I have no issue relying on it too. It's fair to say that Insteon integrated to Hubitat with local control, Pico remotes with the Hubitat Smart Bridge Pro integration, and the Hue bridge Hubitat integration are the pillars of my home lighting. Super solid and reliable.
But you have to do what you feel is right for you and your family. I definitely do get it. Hope you find the right solution for your needs.
That's great to hear - I think I will really start mixing these in. They probably won't replace on-wall stuff but I can think of a ton of places to use them for other tasks. Prior to hearing your experiences I've basically shunned anything battery powered. I went all out putting door sensors in places but I can't keep up with the batteries.
Yeah, that's a problem with a lot of battery devices. Pico battery life is purportedly 10 years. If I had the same Picos I started with, I'd be able to verify that in about 5 years, but that ended up in the house I sold. I have never changed the batteries on any of them though.
For contact sensors I use Aqara sensors. But that's not joined to Hubitat. I run Home Assistant for them and use an integration that brings them back into Hubitat. That's not for everyone, but the family doesn't notice the difference. They're very small and really stable on Home Assistant with a Conbee 2 Zigbee stick. Battery life is around 3 years. For Hubitat direct, I wouldn't ever try Aqara sensors again. They drop off too frequently.
NYCE are probably the better choice for contact and motion, but they're expensive and not easy to get in Canada. I've actually started using Switchbot BLE contact sensors on two of my doors. Again, this is a type of integration that's not for everyone, but I'm pretty smitten with them. Really stable, with long battery life on 2 AAA batteries. They have contact, motion, brightness and a button, all in one device. But this again is a very specialized Home Assistant custom integration that is then brought back into Hubitat.
I have replaced just about every in-wall switch and dimmer in my 4300 sq.ft. house with GE/Jasco. They are super easy to install, have nice features for 3-way circuits, fit in with standard decor, and have been very reliable. Can't think of any issues I have ever had with them. I also use a user driver from Jason Bottjen on some of them to get double click capabilities. Since they are so well known and documented, there are also apps out there to automate features like mirroring.
You will also want to consider longevity and viability of the company that makes them. It's a considerable investment of dollars and efforts. If the brand you use could fold anyday, which happens in this space, due to weak business models, you find yourself stuck deciding what to do. I don't see GE going anywhere anytime soon.
One added benefit of Picos is Lutron makes pedestals for table placement, wall mounts, and visor mounts. I have them on every nightstand in bedrooms and family room tables for convenience. I have several mounted to walls where running wires was either impossible (because of headers or studs) or code didn’t allow a switch (near bathtub). While they look different than my GE switches, family and wife don’t mind. In my car I used it to open my garage versus garage door controller because my kids often leave the door open and hitting the controller button will close it, I have it programmed in HE to OPEN it only when I press the button.
I have a total of 55 Z-wave switches in a 3,500 sqft house.
I use the Inovelli Red series for dimmers - love these switches and the LED bars...you can do a lot with these. The only down side with the Inovelli dimmers is that if you hit the switch at more than 30 degrees "off axis" it sometimes doesn't register the push...kind of annoying that you have to hit them "square". Another great feature about the Inovelli is connecting them in 3-way...you can simply use the GE/Jasco add-on switch...very nice.
My ceiling fans all have a 3-wire run to them from the switch box...1 wired to light, 1 to fan, and 1 neutral. For these, I use the Zooz Zen 30 double switch. The dimmer is wired to the light, and the switch to the fan (I use the pull chain to set the fan speed and just leave it.)
The rest of my switches are GE/Jasco for on/off. I have had about 8 of them fail over the years. These were all switches installed in the 2016-2018 time frame. Every switch after that has been solid.
The GE/Jasco switches have the best "feel"...solid when you hit the switch.
The Zooz and Inovelli are more "squishy" when you hit the switch.
Jasco makes the devices, which is actually a good thing.
GE is in 3 businesses - aviation, healthcare, and energy. Everything else is a licensing deal. For instance, GE appliances are actually Haier (Chinese conglomerate).
Yes, I understand that. But that licensing is for way more than just Z-Wave devices. There are a lot of GE/Jasco products across the electrical market. For a licensee to be large and worthy enough for GE to license them, most likely implies they are not going anywhere soon. Plus with the infusion of cash from licensing, the Jasco business model is funded to stay in business. Unlike many of these other automation device companies which don't have enough of a business model to sustain them long. I was speaking very generally about the maturity and longevity of the company(ies) behind the GE/Jasco automation devices.
Can you point me to a post that describes the process to set these sensors up w/the Conbee 2 Zigbee stick & Home Assistant, or if it doesn't exist, can I beg on bended knee for a short post (in another thread, don't want to hijack this one) on this? 99% of my contact sensors are Visonic 340's, which I love as they are extremely reliable and quick, and are quite small and very thin so they are easy to hide in place. Very high WAF.
However, I have to replace the batteries a little more often than I'd like. For some of my doors/windows where hiding is easier or less important, I'd like to change to a longer battery life contact sensor and the Aqara are quite small and could be a good option if I have a way to keep them connected.
Very good points. However, large companies with many divisions can indeed sell off or discontinue product lines. Jasco may be a long-time player, but then so was Centrallite. When Lowes discontinued IRIS, that gutted the company and what's been rebuilt today is not the same. Lutron on the other hand is strong an
Do you have a spare computer around, like an old laptop or something. If so, one of the easiest ways is to just go to the Home Assistant website and then follow the instructions to install virtual box. They have a Home Assistant supervised image that you then download and tell virtual box to use that image by following their instructions. It’s really quite easy and you can get it going in about 10 minutes or less.
Then just purchase a ConBee 2 off Amazon and plug it into the PC. I would recommend if you’re going to use that PC permanently, that you use a USB extension cable and get the the ConBee 2 up high. Its range is excellent, but the higher it is and the more central in your home, so much the better.
Once you have your first device joined to HA, then follow the instructions below to install th the HA Device Bridge integration on Hubitat. Then after the device is first activation following the set up in the integration, it will show up as a device on Hubitat.
Sorry - I should have noted that I have HA Device Bridge integration already set up on my hub, and have a Pi with Homebridge running on it, and an iPad that I use as the i-device.
Yes, with a Micro micro male to USB-A female adapter. There's a version of ConBee 2 specifically for Pi, but I would avoid that. You never know how you might use this in the future and the Pi only version will bind you, plus limit how you can position the Radio. There's no speed advantage to using the Pi specific version.
You can also use many other Zigbee radios with it that are said to work equally well, but I can tell you for certain that the ConBee 2, while more expensive, is super reliable for me. I personally wouldn't bother with the whole DeConz setup. Just use the built-in ZHA integration. HA finds and configures it automatically in seconds.
Agreed. Both on reliability and user experience. The only thing about the DZ6HDs that I don't like is that they still use Hail to avoid the (expired) Lutron patent.
