If you have any in wall switches that give you doubletap, hold/release feedback, etc you could always double dip on the switch. I've been expanding my house controls with that philosophy. I have a couple rooms where the builder had switches for receptacles in locations that didn't make sense so I now have a smart switch with smart receptacles that hold will turn on 1 light, double tap is another light, etc. You could use that philosophy for your blinds. Hold = open blinds to xx%, double tap = open blinds to yy%; something like that. It'd take a little more code to make it more fancy but there are lot of options when you use the smart switch's other feedback.
Just a thought to keep the wife happy and still be able to play with the automation .
Yup - that's an approach I always follow (two ways to do stuff) and I already have a Pico set up for her in the office, and have a double-tap set up on a switch next to the kitchen blinds to open/close.
In the office she can use the Pico to choose open/close and several gradients in between to manage light/glare on her screen and control backlighting during Zoom meetings. I've also set up some automations to proactively adjust the blinds based on time of day.
The problem is if Z-Wave has decided to take a holiday or the blinds do something odd and she can't adjust the blinds when she needs to for a zoom meeting w/the VPs and president of her company. Not fair for my HA habit to affect her work-day. So I really want a belt, suspenders, and anti-gravity system so I have Plan A (timed automations), Plan B (Buttons to open/close adjust), and Plan C (manual). Right now I have A and B, but want to add C.
Has any heard/used e-wand ? Supposedly they will have zigbee version soon. I’ve tried SOMA but they are not that good for Venetian. And Iblinds won’t fit in a few smaller windows.
Sunsa's wand looks like it could solve some problems but only cloud control, with a new small company that could be here and gone in a year or two. Their rep here has said they are going to look into providing local control, but of course you never know until you see the API/access made available.
I've been really happy w/the iBlinds, they've been just about perfect for weeks now, just wish there was some optional attachment to their motor that hung down and could be pressed to active the manual open/close button on the motor.
Three iBlinds kits for sale, wife just cannot stand not being able to control them directly using cords. They have been perfect for me, all on 3.03 FW. I have the original boxes and all HW. I'll make a deal if someone takes all three so I can clear them out. PM if interested so we don't clutter up this thread. Thanks, and let's keep our fingers crossed that she doesn't start complaining about the two in the family room...
Why not just put a button next to each blind and set up a rule to activate the blind from the button press? Click the button to switch the blind open or closed.
She has a Pico remote w/on and off fuction already. She wants micro-control, as in "close the center blind just a little...no a little more, ah, there, that's it."
I may have found a way to make her happy...trying two different options in ABC button controller w/the Pico:
Cycling through scenes: Set up scenes w/varying levels of close for each blind...our "open" is 40%, so added 30/20/15/10 scenes for each blind that she can cycle through to choose her desired open/close level.
Adjusting the dim level of the blinds up/down a % via Push/Hold option using the Increase/Decrease level by ABC option:
The Increase/Decrease level option may turn out to be the best, as it seems to be more reliable. The cycle through scenes option remembers which scene you last used, so it will be confusing for my wife if she ended on scene 2 of 4 that I have set up, and started the next day on scene 3.
I really like the ZEN34! You don't need any of the other mounting plate that comes with it. It works just fine naked. I've been using it for a couple of weeks and the battery still reports 100%.
If only my wife was satisfied with only open/close control...she is a (lovable) control freak in most every area and this is no exception. So she now has a Pico with:
Button 1: Adjust all office blinds
Press: Office blinds close to 30%
Hold: Office blinds close to 15%
Buttons 2-4 Individual incremental change, open/close each blind in 8% increments
Button 2:
-- Press: Office blinds left close -8%
-- Hold: Office blinds left open +8%
Button 3:
-- Press: Office blinds center close -8%
-- Hold: Office blinds center open +8%
Button 4:
-- Press: Office blinds right close -8%
-- Hold: Office blinds right open +8%
Button 5: Open/Close all
Press: Office blinds open (all to 40%)
Hold: Office blinds close
Aside from above, the blinds auto-open each AM and close each PM. Center blind also auto-adjusts at some minutes before sunset due to the sun getting lower and glare increasing later in the day mostly from that window.
In her defense, she sits at two different desks in the office (work computer/stuff, home computer/stuff) that are opposite each other and lighting/glare from the windows is different in each location. She also has to adjust/close the blinds during the day for work Zoom calls (too much backlighting if they are open).
Bottom line is she'll never need/use all the control I've given her, but showing her she could do pretty much anything she wants seems to have calmed the control beast within. I'm happy because keeping the iBlinds' daily auto-open and auto-close means I don't have to walk around opening and in particular closing blinds every day - she and my son just don't seem to care if the blinds are wide open in the evening and our lights are on.
I do love how the ABC app and a Pico allow such a great level of customization. Hopefully this is the last time I have to discuss blinds control with her...
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