I just decided to get rid of rules to control my Lutron dimmer settings, and try Mode Lighting. I set up this Mode Lighting app:
If I turn the dimmer on at the wall, it works perfectly. If I turn the dimmer on via the device page, it sets the light to the previous level set in the dimmer. Here are the events from the dimmer:
Starting at the bottom of the events, I turned the dimmer on at the wall, it went to 100% as the Lutron dimmers do, then Mode Lighting set the dimmer to 50%. Then at the wall, I set the dim to the 77.65%. Then I turned the light off then on via the device page, and the dimmer was still at 77.65%, did not go to 50%. Then I turned the light off via the device page and back on at the wall, it went to 100% and then Mode Lighting set the dimmer to 50%.
I am not real sure what the Mode Lighting options are, so may not have set it up correctly. What I want is for the different modes, is to have the light come on to the different dim levels whenever it comes on, regardless of whether is is turned on at the wall or via the dashboard or device page.
Lutron Caseta dimmers don't work that way. When you press the top button on he dimmer itself it will always come on to 100% that is a limitation of the firmware of the dimmer, not of HE. Most dimmers will come back on to the previously set level when turned on with the top button. But there is no way to change the level on most dimmers without turning them on. The one exception being the GE Motion dimmer switch. Otherwise, whenever you turn the light on locally with the top button, they will come on to the previous set level except for Caseta which will always turn on to 100%.
I do understand how Caseta dimmers work...what happens is that they come on at 100% and then go to the level that I want them to end up at. That is not the problem.
The problem is that they only perform that way when used at the wall. They come on at the previous level if turned on via Hubitat (dashboard or device page) without first going to 100%, which I suppose makes sense if Hubitat is controlling them rather than Lutron.
The issue is that Mode Lighting is not setting the level if the dimmer is turned on via Hubitat. You can see that in the device event list.
I don't use Mode Lighting, so I am not sure what the trigger is but I believe the trigger is the mode being set, not just anytime the light comes on. It might be doing it because the light comes on to 100% first and it knows that is not right. So, you are trying to override the previous level of the dimmer from the dashboard? Why not use a virtual button instead? one that would set the lights to whatever level you want through the button controller app or through RM?
Mode Lighting does exactly what I want if I turn the dimmer on at the wall: if the mode is Day, it goes to 50%, if the mode is Evening it goes to 40%, if the mode is Night it goes to 30%. The problem is that it doesn't work that way if the dimmer is turned on via Hubitat. @bravenel, any clues?
That could be because it is at 100% when turned on via the wall switch. When you turn on via the dashboard it is not being set to 100%. Do this, instead of turning on via the dashboard, set it to 100% via the dashboard and see what happens.
Mode Lighting is looking for physical events. So, yes, it doesn't work when you turn on the dimmer with a digital event.
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Thanks Bruce!
I found this when I was trying to use both Motion Lighting and Mode Lighting for the dimmer and it wasn't working. I thought I had to use Mode Lighting to get the "adjust levels when mode changes" but then I found it in Motion Lighting so all is well. But I didn't understand why the digital didn't work.
