Ugh! Those parameters were my original hope for solving the problem! Thanks for looking at them
I edited my post above. I don't see anything in the 1st 100 parameter slots that looks like a %/step setting.
So it looks like you get the fast/slow setting (which is already on fast by default), and switch mode/dimmer mode and that's it in terms of dimming speeds.
From a driver perspective is there a way to change the dimmer/switch mode (parameter) so that I can put it in switch mode to power it off gracefully (without flicker on other rooms lights)? And then turn it back to dimmer mode afterwards?
If that is feasible I will have to learn how to tinker with the drivers to try that out.
Now that's an interesting question.
- When turning it on/off from the hub - yes, you could override the OFF command and do a setLevel=0, with a duration=0.
- When turning on/off from the physical switch - definitely no.
Again, that only works from the hub though. And if you are doing it from the hub anyway, in your automations just do the setlevel=0, duration=0 instead of off. No driver coding needed in those cases.
Nothing you can do about how it dims on OFF when turned off physically from the switch.
I played with the setlevel and duration to 0 and that does help when calling from any RM / other HE events.
But no matter what I do it still leaves that if I hit the physical dimmer switch (when in dimmer mode) to turn it off that I get the flicker somewhere else. I guess I could come up with a solution to manage dimmer/switch mode so it is in the "switch mode" for use with physical switch situations.
As far as you know there is no way to "stop" the physical switch fade BS once it starts right? As in catch that the off button was hit - stop what it is doing - put it in switch mode - and then turn off?
No way I know.
Another thought, but it would take some person "training" so might not be attractive, is that you could setup double tap down/off to do a setlevel=0 in the hub.
Thanks for your lending your expertise to my situation! It sucks that there isn't something that I was overlooking and have a silver bullet to fix the situation - so back to the drawing board!
It is very encouraging that so many people have suggested ideas to the problem and trying to help out. That was exactly what I was hoping for when I decided to go the HE route!
Thanks again!
Another another thought... I seem to remember an interesting feature of this device, but I could be remembering wrong.
I think in "switch mode" you can actually still dim the light... Might try putting it in switch mode and see if you get the best of both worlds.
EDIT: Kind of. In switch mode you can still send it setLevel commands from the hub, but can't dim/brighten it from the physical switch.
So there you go. That''s all of the options I can think of.
I hesitate to comment again because I don't want anyone to take offense to my suggestion. However, I humbly suggest that you not waste time implementing a solution until you've identified the problem.
A flickering bulb or a bulb that makes noise is almost always an incompatibility with the bulb. Dimming an LED bulb is not easy. And not all dimmers work the same. A wide variety of LED bulbs should work fine with your switches. That would be the first thing I'd rule out.
And, again, the fact that other lights in your home (different circuits/phase even?) flicker when you operate a switch not in its path is very remarkable. Almost sounds like an overloaded circuit or something, but that isn't likely.
Good luck.
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OK WAIT!
Why not just get some motion sensors and base your room so you don't have to use the dimmer switch?
my whole house is based on motion and presence according to mode/tv on or off. Works great and we don't have to touch a switch. Or get a couple of picos and program them to be used instead of the switch? Maybe a hardware approach instead of addressing the uncertainty.
I also agree with @HAL9000. More likely an incompatibility with the bulbs because I've experienced the same and moving to a different bulb fixed it and saved me time because it wasn't overthinking the problem.
I've blown money on less significant things. (looking in my drawer of shame) You'll find a use for the other bulbs.
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Wanted to clear up when this device is needed... when the load of your switch is very low wattage and from what I have read in the OP this device won’t help. I have had to use these Aeotec devices twice where I had a smart switch controlling a LED transformer for closet or undercabinet lights. What happens is this transformer doesn’t pull enough load so the switch leaks a little power and enough to energize the transformer ever so slightly where the lights will turn on and off every few minutes when the switch is turned off.
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Thanks for the input on that. Just came to mind and I wondered if it would be a solution. Now we know.
Good thought but unfortunately I don’t think it would help.
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I have unfortunately come to the conclusion that the 2nd gen GE dimmers are a step back in quality from the 1st gen zwave+ versions, and should be avoided. I’ve had multiple situations where they cause flickering on lights that are perfectly dimmable by both dumb dimmers and other smart dimmers. To me they seem like a faulty design.
There have certainly been multiple people reporting dimming issues with the new dimmers - so you may be right.
I only have 2x of them, and they both dim fine with no issues.
But that doesn't change that I've seen multiple reports of people having dimming issues.
I take no offense to any suggestion - I came here for any thoughts from the community that could help me go in the right direction! I agree it seems funky that one switch would impact lights on another unrelated switch / room.
Before I bought a house worth of switches I tested a room with 1 light and a room with 10 lights in it and they worked perfectly fine. At this point about 30-35% of the house shows the behaviour and the rest of them work fine. All of the LED bulbs are the same and all of the switches are the same version.
We are talking over 60 switches and a house full of LEDs here so while I agree with the general premise that switches and bulbs can sometime be incompatible - the fact that 65-70% of them work as expected suggests to me that the pairing of my specific LEDs and these switches are compatible.
I am not sure if they are different circuits but have suspected they have to be on the same one. I guess it is time to isolate that part and see if they are actually on the same circuit or others. I am not sure what that will tell me - but I am thinking it is a good piece of the puzzle to know for sure.
That is my fear... I thought I was being strategic in testing them in various scenarios before I bought a ton of them... What a pain!
I am going to try to change the troublesome ones with the 1st generation Z-wave + ones to see if it helps... I guess I will try to make a stink with JASCO to see if they will replace the bad ones if the 1st generation one resolves the issue... Maybe they will treat their customer right? Who knows...
Thanks for all of the suggestions.. I will give them a go and see where it takes me then replace them with 1st generation ones if I am at a standstill.
I would have thanked you last night - but since I am a noob on the forums I was limited on # of posts!
Thanks again!
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um .. I'm just curious. Have you ever tested the line? Perhaps it's a bad breaker? I know they "say" that it's unlikely, but I've had two bad breakers in our home. Not smart home related, but it does seem odd that you're getting this. After contemplating it a bit and rereading the thread, I wonder if maybe you should change the breaker on the line that's affected?
