Kitchen bulb suggestions

I would go with a Zigbee or Z-Wave Smart Dimmer in that case, and still use dumb dimmable LED bulbs.

or

https://www.amazon.com/GE-Repeater-Required-Works-Smartthings-14295/dp/B06XV25Z5R/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=GE+Z-Wave+Plus+Dimmer&qid=1558304085&s=gateway&sr=8-4

or

https://www.amazon.com/GE-Lighting-Compatible-Monitoring-45857GE/dp/B015YJAHY0/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=GE+Zigbee+Dimmer&qid=1558304130&s=gateway&sr=8-3

I use Sengled A19 Color bulbs in floor and table lamps. For ceiling or wall mounted fixtures, smart switches is the way to go.

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Yeah isn't this all abit much for 4 lights? Why not just get a switch dimmer like the Fibaro dimmer 2 and get the spark to wire down to the switch so there is a neutral.

For lights I don't know what you get over there but I have switchable white downlights. This way if I quickly turn off and on my downlights at 100% I can flip between 3000, 4000 and 6500 Kelvin. They were £12 each bargain

[quote="BorrisTheCat, post:22, topic:15904, full:true"]
Yeah isn't this all abit much for 4 lights? [/quote]

Not really; I'm starting down the home automation trail, so I would continue building on this foundation.

just one person's thoughts ... I have Lutron Caseta dimmers, but probably would not get them again (although I keep the smart bridge pro for using with Pico remotes). They are very high quality, but I feel from a user experience perspective they're just a little too weird for newbies. In future I plan to make extensive use of Qubino z-wave devices that install inside the wall box behind the switches/dimmers. This way there is zero learning curve, even my 103 year old grandmother knows how to use the existing toggle light switch.

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Fair enough if your planning on expanding. I was worried it was alot of faf and money for one switch. When there are cheaper and potentially better options for you if your starting small.

I can never get over how butt ugly and bulky your switches are in America :joy: ours are small and can be decorative.

Hmmmm :thinking:

But here in America we have access to a ton more options for smart devices, at much lower prices (for now :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:)

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Too true dam you Americans getting all the best smart stuff and your ugly switches :joy::joy:

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Do either of these dimmers work directly with HE, without going thru the cloud? I'm researching like crazy, but haven't found that answer yet...

Yes. All Zigbee and Z-wave devices pair directly to the Hubitat Elevation hub’s Zigbee and Z-wave radios respectively.

Zigbee and Z-wave are mesh network protocols. I personally prefer Zigbee devices.

In both cases, mains powered devices typically act as repeater devices, strengthening their own respective networks. Battery powered devices are not repeaters as that would kill their batteries very quickly.

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Very cool! Well then, since tomorrow is fast approaching, I'll have Sparky install the "dumb" HomeDepot can lights and a regular dimmer switch, and I'll order an HE and whichever switch I can get my hands on. Then I'll replace the switch, hook it up to the HE, and begin my journey. :smile:

Thanks everybody for your input, I really appreciate it! I look forward to asking for more help in the future. :smiley:

Just be sure your electrician installs a neutral wire in your wall boxes. These days it is code to do so, but since you mention it is a remodel, I thought I’d mention it. Most smart switches need a neutral wire, along with line and load, in order to function properly.

Just for some further reinforcement, In my kitchen remodel, I used @ogiewon's approach. I have 4 under cabinet dimmable LED light bars, controlled by a GE Zwave smart dimmer, an array of 6 pot lights using dimmable sylvania/osram LED BR30 bulbs, on a Zooz Zen27 dimmer, and a set of 3 pendant lamps using Philip's LED filament style dimmable bulbs also on a Zen27. The Zooz stuff is all Zwave Plus.

The under cabinet lights are tied to a Samsung Smartthings Motion sensor, and come on at 40% whenever someone triggers the motion sensor. Going off after 5 minutes. Just enough light to navigate by and do routine activities.

The pendant light come on after dark just to provide a little ambient light during the evening.

No smart bulbs required. The pots are on a dimmer, just because, well, I can. And who knows, maybe I'll use that ability at some point!

Scott.

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@ogiewon, do you have a recommendation on a Zigbee dimmer?

BTW, as I'm researching, it seems that z-wave, zigbee, wink, etc. are the "protocol", and that companies like GE, Samsung, HomeDepot, etc build devices that use those protocols. Is that accurate?

Z-WAVE and ZigBee are wireless mesh protocols used for home automation and other stuff for ZigBee.

Wink is a hub like hubitat. These hubs have master radios in that all the wireless devices connect to. Essentially hubitat is the brain that ties these protocols together along with LAN and allows them to talk together though small programs (apps).

Yes the manufacturers buy a licence to use these protocols in there products and to add the badge to say that they have been tested and will work together.

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I would probably try the follow Zigbee Dimmer from GE. I am using Lutron Caseta these days, after ripping out my older Z-Wave switches and dimmers. Z-Wave has gone through some iterations of technology, with the newer standard being Z-Wave Plus which are much improved. Most of what I ripped out was the older revision of Z-Wave.

In general, I feel Zigbee is easier to 'pair with the hub' and easier to reset in the event you'd like to change hubs for some reason. Also, Zigbee Motion Sensors, and Door/Window sensors, are usually quicker to respond to the hub when there is new data.
https://www.amazon.com/GE-Lighting-Compatible-Monitoring-45857GE/dp/B015YJAHY0/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=GE+Zigbee+Dimmer&qid=1558304130&s=gateway&sr=8-3

Oops; new guy had to wait 3 hours before posting another reply! :smiley:

@ogiewon, thank you, and my apologies...I just realized you gave me an awesome list further up in the conversation. :smiley:

Thanks @BorrisTheCat; that makes sense! I immediately associated this with my drone hobby. So the HE is like my Taranis X9D with the mult-protocol module installed. I can fly drones from many different manufacturers, that use many different RXs...FrSKY, Spectrum, MJX, etc...and I only have to have one TX (my Taranis).

So with the HE in my house, I can have zigbee devices, z-wave devices, and others, and control all of them thru one interface (HE). Some of them will have to route thru their own hubs first (Lutron Caseta, for instance), then I control the hub with the HE.

Slowly gaining steam on this idea. Yes, 4 lights is a small start, but I just realized I've got a pendant light, a dining room light, a light over the sink, eventually I'll do some under-cabinet lighting, and that's just the kitchen/dining room! I also have 6 Harbor Breeze ceiling fans throughout the house that I can get remotes for that interface with HE.

Yeah...it might be time to sell a kidney... :blush:

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@scottygu3, I like this idea. Do you have a link to your under cabinet lights? Or a thread where you've described installing them?

Thanks!

I posted in this thread: Under cabinet strip lighting about my undercabinet lights.

The lights I used are all AC and I had my electrician pull a single circuit leaving pigtails under each cabinet or group of cabinets. Then I selected appropriate lengths of light fixtures and installed them later. The bulk of them are on one Zwave switch, and a final strip (in a cabinet separated from the others) is on a separate switch. The motion control rule controls them both, and it works a treat.

The fixtures I picked are in oil rubbed bronze, are thin, and easy to install. They also have 3 color settings on the fixture, and we have them in the middle, which I think is around 3K. They are fully dimmable, and the GE Zwave switch handles them faultlessly.

S.

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