UK Zigbee Lighting options - Dimmer modules?

🌎 Around the World 🇬🇧 UK
1

Hi,

I know this is 100th thread, but everything seems to me to be missing a key point! :slight_smile:

People seem, to rule out smart bulbs very quickly for usability concerns. This makes some sense to me, though this is the setup i have now, and works well if u use Scene selectors. This also seems like the "Simplest" from a DIY perspective... I've got my 2 way hall/landing setup using this, with 2 scene selectors and 2 smart bulbs, and you just remove all the "2 way" thing.

I'm trying to decide now if this "Works" or not... as i decorate the rooms, i'm putting in lots of lights, and lamps and all sorts... I'm starting to use scenes, and then actually using the scene selectors as exactly that! :slight_smile:

I'm thinking that using dimmer modules may be a better solution, as i can continue to use the dumb switches, along with scene selectors, and generally have a "Tools box" for anything i want...

So i guess my imaginary device would be a zigbee dimmer module, with a switch connector, and ideally, this would actually be a "Dimmer connector" so i could continue to use a wall dimmer (I get thats the "Strech objective" I'm also looking at cheap as possible kit...

I found the below, has anyone used one? is there any good alternatives...?

2

I use both. The advantage of the dimmer module is that it can be cheaper than ZigBee smart lamps and most importantly you have some local control with dumb retractable switches. Meaning that if your hub is off/ down it still works.

In my rooms I have 4 switchable white dimmable downlights (turn them off and on again quickly to cycle through the 3 different Kelvin temperatures) that is connected too Fibaro dimmer 2 modules. The 1st input controls the downlights and the second creates a button event that I use to control the ZigBee RGBW lamp in the room. This way I get best of both worlds as I use the colours and temperature of the ZigBee lamp more than the downlights. It also means I have local dumb switches of my choice, obviously if the hub goes down I would lose control of the ZigBee lamp.

My house is old so I didn't want smart looking switches, but if it was newer I would have looked at the ZigBee scene controller. Ensuring everything is ZigBee 3.0 and used touch link to ensure everything worked with or without the hub.

The problem with the above is A. Fibaro is z-wave (it's just crap when it gets issues, which seems to be a lot). B. The buttons events are not in the native driver.

What I want in a ideal world is a ZigBee 3.0 input device with 4 inputs at least. This would be powered or battery powered, I would then use something like you link above for ZigBee dimmer for dimmable lights and this input device to control the ZigBee smart lamps though touch link and the hub.

3

Yeah, it is cheaper, and it offers more flexibility on the bulbs... I'm not an electrician at all, and i wonder how many bulbs a single dimmer can run? (I mean a part, i know that module i posed has 2 actual dimmers in it...) I'm doing some work in to knock through, and want to retain my celiling rose, so planning to go for "lots" of lights coming out of a single rose, and hanging round the room (So hipster i know!! :slight_smile: ) but i wonder if i can use say 2 (or more) actual bulbs on a single output from those dimmers or if i need to have just a single bulb on each one? Really assessing options here...

Hadn't thought of that, Not sure what circumstances lead to power on, and hub failing... but I like the thought! :slight_smile:

Is this a feature of the bulbs, or is there something your doing to capture this? I'd be interested to see if i can replicate this somewhere...

Snap! :slight_smile:

I have lots of idea kit, so I understand the principals here, but honestly doing this is WAY over my head at this point... I've got loads of scene selectors, I assume i need some more "Proper" kit to make that work... Tho the dimmer modules with dumb switches kinda has the same affect...
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000460643839.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.7fe763810ZAAY7&algo_pvid=77b8b59c-e599-42a4-9ce2-f8a7ceec4086&algo_expid=77b8b59c-e599-42a4-9ce2-f8a7ceec4086-17&btsid=0b0a050116094135550532951ed1ab&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_,searchweb201603_

"I'll Automate my home" i thought a year or so ago!! Simples... found HE, Thats geeky and should do anything i want to... But man, the options for doing things, Ultimately, i'm just talking about the lights, and my mind gets blown fairly quickly considering the options! :slight_smile:

If anyone else has thoughts, my mind is blown already, so thoughts are welcome! :slight_smile:

I guess the one other thing i am trying to work out is if i can somehow get a normal switch to become an input switch... (Also need a doorbell at somepoint... but thats a whole different thread...)

Thanks All! :slight_smile:

4

I'm am :+1:. It usually has to be more than one. There is always a minimum load on the dimmers and you have to match the dimmable lamp to the correct dimmer (trailing or leading edge). Some dimmers (the better ones) sense the load and set the correct dimming type and range.

So basically you need to find out what dimmable lamps your using and then add up the load to ensure it will work with the relevant dimmer.

Yeah, some lamps are switchable white, others are selectable white (micro switch). Then smart lamps can be tunable white (large range of possible temperatures).

Yeah that's the thing that is missing in the industry. The Fibaro dimmer 2 does it in part but it's not exactly designed that way.

5

I have a nest hello and that creates a button event on HE but it's obviously cloud.

The link you put above is for a battery powered ZigBee 1.2 switch input panel. So it does the input but it's not ZigBee 3.0 and you can't connect a dumb switch to it.

6

I don't have any lamps at this point. Why is everything so confusing!!! So the dimmer I had above, I can't see anything in the description about the load that it works with... And once I have a number (range) what value of a lamp am I comparing this to to ensure it all works!?

Thanks

7

Oh, when I talked about a doorbell, I was an old doorbell for my old house. But I just wanted a way to link that very analogue system into hubitat...

I've got some cameras I'll use too...

8

The one above is 100W max for the duel or 150 for the single, it said on the front.
It says TRIAC so leading edge by the looks of it.
It doesn't mention a minimum load but there will be one. As it requires a neutral, the minimum load will be low probably about 10W.

9

You could drive the bell and tap on a volt free relay too it. Then use the clean contact to drive a input like the Fibaro implant.

10

Oh, cool, I assumed based on price and source that it would be pants...

10w to 100w seems like a big range, and I was thinking of a load of edison style lamps, which seem to be 40 to 60w based on amazon and 30 seconds... So 1 or 2 should be fine but that's about it... I did see some normal bulbs that weew like 4w, so assume that's what you meant that it would likely be more that one lamp..?

If so that's cool, makes sense to me...

11

It's not that big and it's good to have a range. Meaning you just have to sit within it not hit it.

That will be 40 or 60W equivalent, it's a way to try and get people to understand the lux. It was never a good idea to use the watts as a way of knowing how bright. It's always luminance, it's just only in the last few years they are trying to teach people again.

Yes, that's a more standard load of a lamp. They tend to range from that to 10W for LED lamps.

12

OK, so Watts is the measurement, but make sure it's actual Watts not Watts as a proxy for lux...

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Measurement of power yes. What you not looking for is the words equivalent to X watt lamp. Near that will be a much lower actual watt value. The lamps MUST be dimmable aswell, not every LED lamp is, it depends on its power supply.

14

Those ones I was looking at (and bought not really thinking too much, we actually incandescent, so I think the wattage was actually 40w, but I won't be buying them any further, will get some proper led ones... I thought they had banned incandescent ones years ago...

15

They have, but you can still get some online, can't see why anyone would want them. I met people who bulk brought them before they were band :man_facepalming:t3::man_facepalming:t3:. Halogens were not band though they were not classed as completely inefficient! Can't see how you can get any less efficient than a halogen though.

16

Just spotted this thread. I've put a couple of these dimmer modules into my home and they seem to do the job. One 1-gang, and one 2-gang. Both with neutral connections.

I've written a driver for them that you can get via Hubitat Package Manager, or directly from here