Sengled Element Color Plus Driver

[Ryan780]

I'm seeing some very odd behavior with the new Sengled Element Color Plus driver. When I have the attribute reporting set to 1s, when I turn the bulb off, the bulb reports off but the level reads as something around 9. So, the next time I turn the bulb on, it only comes up to a level of 9 instead of 100% that it was at before. Is there something wrong with the way I have the setting set for this bulb?

Or do we ALWAYS have to issue a setLevel command instead of ON? I'm only wondering since I'm trying to work out some transitions from one color to another using the color pre-staging rather than switching directly from one color to the other, first turning the bulb off then to the new color and then back on. With the color pre-staging activated, the set color doesn't actually turn the light on, which is nice.

Also, level pre-staging....how exactly is that supposed to work? Once you issue a set level command you're supposed to then issue an on command? I'm not quite understanding what that is used for. These bulbs always fade to zero before turning off when an off is issued to them. So, when you issue a setLevel command, it always has to ramp up from zero, even with level Pre-staging off. So, I'm not really understanding how to use that feature or what it's for. I could use some wisdom from the masters.

Oh..and since I know you were working on these @mike.maxwell, I'll tag you. Any insight into the inner workings of the new Sengled drivers (without revealing anything proprietary of course) would be greatly appreciated, both for working with the bulbs and general knowledge on how all this crap works. Thanks so much!!

[mike.maxwell]

@Ryan780

So, the next time I turn the bulb on, it only comes up to a level of 9 instead of 100% that it was at before

This wasn't the intent, but I'm pretty sure it can be fixed.

The way the prestaging is supposed to work, for color/ct and level:

With color prestaging enabled color commands will not turn the bulb on, so an explicit on must be issued after the fact.
With level prestaging enabled level commands will not turn the bulb on, so an explicit on must be issued after the fact.

Both of the above could allow for separate app controls of on/off, then another dealing with color temp, color and level, trying to do both of these within a single rule becomes difficult once you move past the color per mode options.

In an effort to work around the default "instant on no matter what" feature these bulbs implement, the on and off commands internally use setLevel so the transition times can be controlled.

color prestaging has been available in other zigbee bulb drivers, though I'm not sure how much its been used.

level prestaging is new, and there may be real world issues with it.
using setLevel (internally) in lieu of on off is also new, so there may be real world issues with that as well.

I don't have any of these bulbs in production due to not liking the instant on functionality, so interacting with this driver on a daily basis during development wasn't possible.
This driver does not work well with Osram and Hue bulbs which I do own, so that route was out...

In the end I decided to take a chance on a new driver model here, if the users didn't like it, one can always switch back to the generic series, in the mean time I can collect real world usage issues with this driver and see where that goes.

[Ryan780]

@mike.maxwell

With level prestaging enabled level commands will not turn the bulb on, so an explicit on must be issued after the fact.

I'm seeing that issuing a setLevel twice does turn the bulb on with level pre-staging enabled. Not sure if that is intentional or not.

@mike.maxwell

In an effort to work around the default "instant on no matter what" feature these bulbs implement, the on and off commands internally use setLevel so the transition times can be controlled.

AH HA!!! That's interesting. I was wondering how you were doing that.

@mike.maxwell

I can collect real world usage issues with this driver and see where that goes.

I just got a second one and haven't put it into production yet either. So, if there are any tests you want me to run with debug logging on or with a "dev" driver, just let me know what you want me to do and I can capture whatever you need.

@mike.maxwell

if the users didn't like it, one can always switch back to the generic series

Oh no, I definitely like the fading time instead of instant on. That's great. I just wasn't clear on what was intentional and what wasn't. But I get you and I definitely understand that in the end everything is a trade off. There is no "perfect" device unless you're able to build your own. And I don't own a device manufacturing company. Like I said, if there's anything I can do to help, don't hesitate to ask. Thanks for the info!

[bertabcd1234]

@mike.maxwell

using setLevel (internally) in lieu of on off is also new, so there may be real world issues with that as well.

Am I the only one who sees commands like setLevel(100,0) still ramp the brightness up over the course of half a second or so, rather than the "instant on" (or something very close) that I'd expect? Honestly, I'd usually not really want this, but it's just something I noticed when playing around with the new driver compared to the old/generic one.

I definitely like the direction these are going, though I also don't have many Sengleds in real-world use due to...just not liking their whites (except 2700-3000K), I guess.

[razorwing]

@bertabcd1234

.just not liking their whites

Have you tried these adj. white ones. They are very bright for 800 lumens (clear top) and have very accurate white levels. 2700-6500. Z01-A19NAE26W

[bertabcd1234]

I haven't--I have Hue bulbs and am quite happy with them (Sengleds aren't as bright with cool whites and don't produce as believable super-warm temperatures, in my assessment--like Hue's "Relax" scene), so the Sengleds were more of an experiment. I'm also slowly replacing all my CT bulbs with RGBW ones, though if these are better at whites than the color bulbs I might consider them for lesser-used locations...