I've got Hue bulbs throughout my house and I love using the circadian daylight app to control the temperature of the light throughout the day so I'm always looking for ways to keep them included. It's my single favorite feature of my smart home. I've used Brilliant switches in many of the rooms because I like the video popup when the doorbell rings and the sonos visual etc. You can also disable the internal relay and control the dimmer sliders with software leaving the circuit hot. On the remaining switches, I've been using the Innovelli switches because they're just about the only switch I could find that allowed for disabling the internal relay so the hue bulbs just receive the command from the switch but the circuit stays hot. I have qualms about these switches, the way they feel, some reliability issues, etc. So I'm always investigating alternatives.
The new-ish Caseta Diva and Claro look fairly compelling, but since you can't disable the internal relay, you'd have to wire it with a jumper to prevent the switch from controlling the circuit when operated. Then you'd use the Lutron bridge to control the bulbs from the commands it sends via the Hubitat. Wiring a switch as always hot that requires me to pull the thing apart to shut the circuit off is not super comfortable for me. With the innoveli switch the only feature I do really like is I can click the program button 8 times and return it to a normal switch in case something isn't working. As an alternative that would allow me to use other switches, I was considering adding a relay in the same gang box as the lutron switch that could be turned on to make it always hot and turned off to make the switch able to interrupt the circuit again. I'm envisioning the relays all being on one single button somewhere and I can disable all of them (returning the control to the lutron switch relays with the flick of a button if, say, something wasn't working).
So my question is, has anyone done this before? intelligently integrated smart bulbs with switches that have internal relays that can't be disabled but added the ability to enable and disable the relay using something like a qubino or zooz relay? If so, do you have a wiring diagram for how that would look? I would think it wouldn't work as illustrated in the normal use diagram since I'd think you'd need the relay to not take input from the switch but actually go around it.
I'm relatively cost insensitive and I value the same things most people talk about when they face this issue: I want switches so guests don't panic when they're here. I don't want duct tape and band aids over my switches because I want the installation to look nice and approachable for someone who doesn't have a smart home. And last, I want my lights that are soft warm at night and bright white in the morning/afternoon and do that seamless transition nobody notices. I don't mind forking over an extra $30 per switch and even an extra $130 for a dedicated hub to make this bulletproof with a redundant backup plan in case something isn't working and I don't have time to play with it.
Not an expert here and can't really comment on your questions. But I wonder if you've considered a different solution. I know you said you didn't want a "bandaid" and I get that. But I use these Lutron Aurora Dimmers in several rooms that have Hue bulbs that could be controlled by a switch. They come for use in either toggle-style or paddle-style — the link is to the toggle-style. I'm not sure if they would work paired with the HE hub. I have them paired directly to the Hue bridge and they work great. Push on/off, and twist to dim. Then I use RM rules to change my bulb temperature and level over time. Also, here's a picture of what one looks like on a three-gang box with two smart switches that operate dumb bulbs. They look "normal" and are very guest friendly.
Thanks Jabecker, I did indeed consider them and I actually have a couple we'll say are "in testing" that I'm using for some light strips that don't have a switch, they're just plugged in as accent lights for furniture. I mounted the aurora directly to the piece of furniture. This is definitely a happy medium and doesn't look like duct tape and band aids, a nice elegant solution.
I'm being picky but I'd prefer it didn't even look like a smart home device. I want it to look like a dumb switch and keep the visual evidence of smarts to a minimum. In fact, that's why I haven't explored it before now because the lutron caseta switches don't look and operate like dumb switches. I've also considered the companion Brilliant switches that allow you to enable/disable the relay and haven't pulled that trigger for the same reason - they don't look like a normal switch. So it's a good suggestion and would probably be my second choice. I'm just holding out hope for my first choice I guess.
I'm probably showing my age, here, but the first dimmer switches I ever remember seeing were the rotating type. The aurora's look enough like those that to my eyes they don't scream "smart home" so they work OK for me. But I certainly understand that they are not to everyone's taste.
I look for the same. I have normal looking but retractive switches, these go to a input which controls the RGBW lamp. I then have a Key switch high level in the room which isolates the feed to the room lights. This way its easy to work on and safe but anyone can come in and use the switches as I they were normal. Press and hold or double tap them and they will do "extra" stuff.
That's exactly how I use the innovellis. A novice won't balk at hitting the switch to turn on/off. Advanced user can hold to dim/brighten or double tap etc to do advanced features. In a situation where the smart home hardware or software fails, would your retractive switches be able to control the lights? It seems like they'd rely on the "input" and the hub still. I'm hoping for an easy fallback when something isn't working that gets me through to when I have time to fix it. Plan for the worst, hope for the best type of thing.
I have a fee Zooz switches in what they call Smartbulb mode. Basically the relay though present in the switch is left on, then the switch reports on/off or button presses so you can trigger automations.
I do this with a Zen30 double switch, a Zen73 toggle switch, and a zen 32 scene controller.
The Zen73 in this example controlls a wiz bulb in a lamp. Looks very natrual and works well.
Yes and no, my input device is a dimmer so that also controls the main room down lights so no mater what you can have light.
At my in-laws they have a more modern house, so in that setup i have ZigBee scene plates, these are directly connected to the hub AND to the lamp in the room. So even if the hub failed the control would still be there and local.
