ZWave Module for Lamp Dimmer

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1

Hello Hubitat friends,

I've got a ton of ZWave smart switches but I'd like to go a bit further with one of those Zwave modules that can go either behind a light switch or in a lamp canopy - I've never installed one of those.

I have a nightstand lamp that uses a manual dimmer similar to this:

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Can I add a Zwave module to that and maintain local manual dimmer control and also automation with Hubitat? There's plenty of space inside the lamp base.

The bulb is LED.

If so, what module do you recommend?

Thank you!

2

Shelly has a dimmer module that might do the trick for automation, but I’m not sure if you can connect a dimmer to it… Note that it is using local Wifi, so might not meet your requirements if you really need Z-Wave…

3

Wouldn't it simply be easier using a button controller and a smart bulb? For my night stands I use pico's and lifx bulbs. 1 & 5 turn on and off the lamp, 2 & 4 brighten or dim, 3 shuts down the whole house and locks the doors. I think this would be easier than trying to wire modules in everywhere.

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4

Brilliant idea @rlithgow1!

5

Thanks for the suggestion. Another remote isn't really what I'm looking for though. It's going to turn into another thing that gets knocked behind the nightstand so I'd rather go with some kind of built-in solution even if it means I have to change out the switch in the lamp to an on/off but still get dimmer control with Z-wave module that I add inside of the lamp base. I just don't have any experience with the Z-wave modules so am hoping to get suggestions from someone who does. My ultimate goal is to be able to control the lamp with the built-in "dumb" switch (or dimmer) and also with Z-wave.

6

Thanks for this suggestion. I was looking at Shelly earlier today. I wish they had better documentation about other use cases. There's also a minimum of 10-watt load (I think that was the minimum off-hand) and I don't think I can satisfy that with a single LED. I think there was a workaround for it but I need to continue my research to understand it better.

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7

This is a timely thread for me!

I am another Insteon Refugee, so please forgive my poor language skill in speaking zigbee, zwave or other dialects, :crazy_face:

I have been enjoying my Insteon-based dimming table lamps which I made up, for some time now. With Insteon abandoning the cruise ship "SS Home automation", I'm left scrambling as to where to go next.

My current two designs included Insteon Micro Dimmer Modules, wired into the lamp cord under the body of the lamp base, and a switch to control those, mounted in easy reach on the side of the lamp base. Version one used a momentary SPST-NO pushbutton which flip-flopped between dimming and brightening, and of course enabled for double-press fast-on, as well as previous setting for single-press. Version two replaced the pushbutton with SPDT -Center off Momentary toggle switch, and utilized both control leads of the micro module. That made local control of the lamps perfect for even one who has no clue of HA tech (my wife)!

These lamps were included in scenes at different times of day, which would illuminate them at the appropriate dim levels, and all worked happily ever after... until Captain Insteon abandoned ship! :ship:

Also, the current install used Insteon Keypadlink with buttons assigned to these lamps for room-entry control. They functioned similar to the switches on the lamps for full dimming control, last-on level/off and double-press fast-on/off.

Now I am migrating to Hubitat, and am trying to decide how to duplicate this setup. Currently, I am looking at these choices:

Shelly dimmer (WiFi)
(apparently noobs cannot include links - Amazon)

Aeotec dimmer (a little bulky)
(Still no links allowed, available on Amaz)

Qubino dimmer (nice looking, but a little pricey)
(Don't know why the intro training showed me how to add links..., search on ebay for them)

I would like to retain the local control on the lamp itself for full dimming capability, as well as duplicating (to whatever extent) the wall-switch redundancy of that function.

This group is a wealth of knowledge and I know somebody out here has already solved this problem for me, so thank you in advance!!

KM

8

Hello. Checking back in on this to see if anyone has a new suggestion. The old dumb dimmer went bad so I just replaced it with another dumb dimmer (Westek 6077B https://a.co/d/02a0j5P) and it got me thinking about this again.

Is there a way to automate a lamp switch and maintain local control? I'm not interested in a plug-in module or smart bulb for this application.

Thank you!