So simply put i have a few outlets that are controlled by switches. I have a lamp and wifi bulb in one that I am trying to control with a 3 way smart switch. The point here is that the wife wants manual control. I am really not opposed to it and well what the wife wants the wife gets when it comes to this stuff.
I had a Zooz Zen74 switch controlling the the bulb and in turn the outlet but that recently ran into a snag and i was informed that Zooz switches don't really work well in this situation. Because this situation is a 3 way and the bulb may or may not be on actually there is apparently a issue that the Zooz switch. It needs load for the 3 way function to work and not mess up the switch, and if the bulb is turned off, or the lamp gets unpluges that is a problem.
Does anyone have a switch that can work in this scenario. Basically be 3 way and not need a load when it changes from on to off
Trying to be certain I understand. You have an outlet(plug) that is controlled(power is cut) via a switch involving a 3way setup? What is the other switch in this 3way? smart, dumb or auxilliary smart switch?
Do you have a wiring diagram by chance?
I am using a zooz switch in this config, along with another dumb 3 way switch. It controls my kitchen light, but the Zooz switch is in the box where the power enters.
@mavrrick58 Youre case is not ideal. Especially killing power to the Wi-Fi bulb. I think the best way to go about it, would be to hard wire the switch in the box to always on and then use a button controller such as a hue scene controller or a pico to control the lights. First this allows it to be mounted exactly like a switch but you have constant power to the bulb. This satisfies the wife and makes it so that you can even add special scenes depending on the tap sequence.
Are these receptacles “half-hot” meaning one of the 2 outlets is controlled by a switch? The other outlet would have always on power. If yes just replace your switch with a smart switch. I have many rooms in my house with half hot outlets that I control via smart switches.
No I don't, but it is wired just like Zooz 3 way switch wiring on their documentation. I have another one in my kitchen as well. It is wired with a dumb switch and controls 6 recessed led lights. That one works great, but it is connected to the bulbs directly. The key is that it always has load when the switch expects it to. Because the one I am talking about connects to a outlet it may not always have load.
I completely agree, which is why I am asking the question. Originally I had the Zen74 set in smart bulb mode and the relay set to always on. This seemed to work well until a power outage. I even had a rule in RM to adjust the brightness, and keep the bulb and the switch in sync if something they did get out of sync. This seemed to work most of the time, even the secornday dumb switch would turn the bulb on and off. The key was the switch would send the state to HE and then HA would tell the bulb what to do. The bulb always had power since the relay in the switch was set to always be on.
I think the problem really centers around what happens if the bulb is not attached to the circuit. From what I gathered from Zooz, the switch in 3 way needs the load to always be there or the 3 way function can damage the switch. I don't know why but that is what they said. They even indicated if i used it in a single pole setup it would probably have been fine, It just wouldn't be recommended since they say their switch shouldn't be used on outlets.
Though killing the bulb isn't optimal, the Phillips Wiz Connected bulbs actually are designed for it with special settings to accommodate it. I am currently discussing with the Wife about simply putting a Zooz Zen34 remote switch to control it. She uses this allot so it needs to be Wife approved.
Yes the outlet is half hot. I think that is part of what caused the problem. After a power outage, I was having an issue getting the relay to go back to on, so I just moved the lamp to the always hot outlet. I didn't realize that would kill the switch long term.
Are you switches running in 3 way configuration though. I was told in a single pole setup this wouldn't have been a issue. It is something related to how the switch detects load and relates that to the 3 way configuration.
I am thinking about either putting a dumb switch back there and using a remote switch, or converting it to single poll and then going back to what I had setup before. The reality is that the 3 pole switch is almost never used.
Just to be clear as well Zooz has been great at helping me with it. They did a great job helping me get things resolved with the failed switch. This just falls into a tough spot they don't really support well. ie 3 way with smartbulb mode hooked to a receptacle.
Yes I have several rooms with 3 way switches on the half hot outlets. 95% of my switches are GE with a few Zooz and Innovelli scattered around. All my 3ways are GE/Jasco using the Aux switch. In all cases I have lamps plugged into the half hot outlet with a dumb bulb plugged in with light turned on. This way the switch controls the bulb.
I also have 5 or so GE Smart Receptacles controlling lamps too with Simple Automation rules controlling timing. This could be another option for you assuming you don't have a ton of half hot outlets controlled by the switch.
Ok so the GE Embrighten may be an option. Do they have an option for Smartbulb mode where they don't control the relay and just send the status to the hub?
I could put a regular bulb in the lamp sure, but a smartbulb is a smartbulb. With a standard bulb then I can't control color temp and such or brightness.
