GE 14294 Dimmers with @JasonJoel driver question

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So, I have been perusing the forum looking for anything that might address what I would like to happen and have not seen anything... My search skills may be lacking, but I have read dozens and dozens of threads over the last week since I received my HE. So far, EVERYTHING that I have wanted to do, someone has had a solution, so I don;t think I am breaking any new ground here with this one either.

I have a mix of GE 14294 dimmers and associated add on (2 way) switches, as well as the same switches by Honeywell (39350 and 39351). ALL of those switches have @JasonJoels amazing double tap drivers and seem to be working flawlessly.

That said, I would like to create a rule that would set the dimmer value to 15% when the mode is set to "Home-Night" which is a mode I have defined already.

The rule would need to be in play if the lights are off and someone physically pushes the on switch or executes the command through GH "living, dining, hallway, or game room lights on".

The rule should be freely overridden by < GH example> "living room lights 50%" or if the switch is physically double tapped.

Ultimately, what I am looking for, is when the hub is in night mode, lights off, then physically touching a switch, or telling GH to turn x light on, should limit or set the value to 15% unless over ridden as described above.

To simplify things if need be, the rule does not necessarily need to be mode specific. It can be in play 100% of the time for now, since I am a low light person. I do not like bright lighting pretty much any time, except when cleaning or cooking, so I would prefer to always have the lights start at 15% then require input to go higher through either method.

Again, all help genuinely appreciated !!

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Here's a little demo of the process:

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The problem with the 14294 is that you can't tell the switch what to do when you physically push it. It will always go back to the last dimmer setting when it was turned off. Some other switches allow you to set the on dimmer level without turning the light on, but not the GE (not on this model anyway).

You could make some program that sets the dimmer to the desired value when turned off, so that it will turn on at the 'night' % if turned on - some have done that - but the logic is tough to get 100%.

So while what you want to do is easy for on/off initiated by the hub, it is not easy for physical switch presses.

Now, you could use mode lighting, or a number of other ways, to set the dimmer to a specific value after it turns on. What it will do in those scenarios is turn on to last dimmer %, THEN dim to the requested value 15%, or whatever.

It is pretty fast, but you still get an initial ramp up to last brightness before it dims.

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Could he set the parameters in the dimmer itself to have a really slow ramp, so that Hubitat would catch the On event and issue a setlevel before the ramp had exceeded 15%?

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No because the ON event doesn't happen until the ramp ON finishes.

Good thought, though.

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Bummer.

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I was JUST about to say....I tried the exact same thing when I had my GE connected to ST. At first I thought it was ST just not catching it fast enough. Burned up half a day I'll never get back trying to figure that one out!! Where were you a year and half ago? You could have saved me a major headache! :wink:

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I wish the GE had a few more options...

  • Leviton dimmers have a parameter for turn on dim level.
  • Inovelli has that (and every other option in the universe).
  • The new GE motion dimmer even has that.

But the original GE dimmers - nope. :frowning:

I'm going to whine about that to Jasco next time I'm in OKC.

That is another thing that zwave 700 will fix... It is SO HARD to debug zwave device code right now that most manufacturers are very hesitant to add any more than they think they need in their device. With zwave 700 it is more normal code debugging, which makes adding features trivial in comparison.

But I digress. :smile:

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wait....what? zwave 700 ? IS that something new that is coming? I just spent nearly a grand on new zwave plus switches...... PLEASE don't tell me I should have waited a month....

Im already regretting it now that you mention "other" switches that have the capability that I wanted/indicated in this post..... ugh.... this is infuriating...

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Zwave 700 is still a ways off. devices might start coming out toward the end of the year, but probably not much before then.

I've seen a few prototype devices, and have access to a zwave 700 development kit. But mass production of the chips and final API version won't be for another couple months.

And then who knows when the Hub would support it.

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There's always going to be something new down the road. That's just par for the course.

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I'm fine with what I have. But I will say if the new inovelli devices would have come out six months earlier I would probably have 100% those at this point.

Well, I say that... But I have so many of the motion dimmers and switches maybe I wouldn't. I sure love those GE motion devices.

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See, I don't think I'd like them. Looking around my house, all my switches are in terrible places for motion sensors. I wouldn't use the motion part at all. And then only time I touch switches now is to turn things off early. Motion sensors tied to time-of-day level adjustments for everything else.

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Ha! It's the exact opposite for me. Usually the only time I touch a button is to inhibit a motion detector triggered automation to prevent a light from coming on when i don't want it to (stealth mode).

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One thing I have done as part of my good night settings is to turn the lights on that I want to have set at a dimmed state, set the dim level and then immediately turn them off. In the morning I have a similar routine that sets the lights back to 100% and then off. Spooky if you happen to be in the area when it happens though.

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I'm going to have to do that on my next round of switches. I wish they all had the child device capability like inovelli switches

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It would be nice if you could set the dim level before the lights came on. As it is, unless you are there to witness it happen, it works well enough.

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You can on the GE motion dimmer, but not on the non-motion dimmer.

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The problem is, when you turn on the lights from the switch, it is the switch controlling them, not the hub. One of the hubitat staff (@mike.maxwell) solved this problem. He replaced all his physical switches with Lutron Caseta Pico remotes and then used aeon Z-Wave in wall micro controllers to control the lights. That way, you can have the lights come on to whatever level you want.

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The GE Motion dimmer is what I am using. Thanks. That eliminates a rule.