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    Table Lamp Setup

    My wife likes to turn on a couple of table lamps with 3 way LEDs on high in the Family room when she gets up in the morning and never seems to turn them off. I'm a road warrior and no matter when I get home, they're on. She works in a home office on another floor so I know the room is empty all day. I would have liked to just automate the bulbs but finding a Z-Wave or Zigbee controlled 150 Watt LED lamp seems impossible. I've decided on a couple of 2457D2 lamp modules, a motion sensor and a remote.

    I will absolutely need a remote on the end table so trying to decide on the 4 scene mini-remote or the tabletop keypad with enclosure. Will the 4 scene remote allow me to continuously dim the lamp modules or will I need fixed scenes? I would like 1 remote to handle both lamps and possibly my overhead flood lights that are on an insteon dimmer already. Ideas appreciated. - Thanks

    #2
    Do you already have a Zigbee server running? There are a multitude of compatible devices : https://phoscon.de/en/raspbee/compatible
    • It would be also advisable to create a daylight based event automated by HomeSeer and the remote used for over-ride in case the room is dark. You could also add a motion sensor in the mix.
    • Below is an example event to turn off a lamp connected to a LightwaveRF plug socket:
    Click image for larger version

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    Eman.
    TinkerLand : Life's Choices,"No One Size Fits All"

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      #3
      Originally posted by JRose View Post
      My wife likes to turn on a couple of table lamps with 3 way LEDs on high in the Family room when she gets up in the morning and never seems to turn them off. I'm a road warrior and no matter when I get home, they're on. She works in a home office on another floor so I know the room is empty all day. I would have liked to just automate the bulbs but finding a Z-Wave or Zigbee controlled 150 Watt LED lamp seems impossible. I've decided on a couple of 2457D2 lamp modules, a motion sensor and a remote.

      I will absolutely need a remote on the end table so trying to decide on the 4 scene mini-remote or the tabletop keypad with enclosure. Will the 4 scene remote allow me to continuously dim the lamp modules or will I need fixed scenes? I would like 1 remote to handle both lamps and possibly my overhead flood lights that are on an insteon dimmer already. Ideas appreciated. - Thanks
      if the power cable isn't an issue, i would go with the tabletop keypad. using the tabletop enclosure with a 6 btn or 8 btn kpl inside should get you plenty of options for scenes.
      Mark

      HS3 Pro 4.2.19.5
      Hardware: Insteon Serial PLM | AD2USB for Vista Alarm | HAI Omnistat2 | 1-Wire HA7E | RFXrec433 | Dahua Cameras | LiftMaster Internet Gateway | Tuya Smart Plugs
      Plugins: Insteon (mine) | Vista Alarm (mine) | Omnistat 3 | Ultra1Wire3 | RFXCOM | HS MyQ | BLRadar | BLDenon | Tuya | Jon00 Charting | Jon00 Links
      Platform: Windows Server 2022 Standard, i5-12600K/3.7GHz/10 core, 16GB RAM, 500GB SSD

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        #4
        Your plan to use Insteon will work very well. I have similar setups in several rooms. Motion sensor is the best because the lights happen all on their own, with no need to touch a switch at all. Motion sensors work best in hallways, bathrooms and kitchens where there is lots of movement. Not as well in rooms where a person tends to sit motionless for long periods. But, you can overcome that by having longer timeouts. The light may not turn off until 15 minutes after the room is empty, but its still better than being on all day.

        Caution: Once you have a motion sensor light in the house, you will want them everywhere!

        I have a motion sensor in my kitchen. Normally it works just fine because there is lots of movement to keep it retriggered and not timeout while people are in the room. On occasion, my wife will be doing something without moving for a long time. So I added a feature where she can double-click the wall switch to tell HS to change to a long timeout of 20 minutes instead of the normal 4 minutes. Once it times out, it automatically reverts to the short timeout. Works very well.

        Regarding Mini-Remote vs Table-top keypad: Both have benefits. The mini is wireless so can be moved anywhere, whereas the keypad is connected to the wall by a cord. The mini is smaller and less obtrusive. The mini remote has to be recharged every couple months, whereas the keypad does not. Both are very reliable in my experience.

        My suggestion for your family room is to start with a motion sensor, set with a longer timeout, maybe 15 minutes, and see how that goes. You might not need the remote at all. But if you want to add a long timeout feature, get a mini-remote.

        Comment


          #5
          Thanks, guys. I'm going to give it a try with motion sensors as I can always add a remote later. Might swap the insteon dimmer that connects the overhead lights with a 6 button keypad and add the table lamps to a scene there too.
          I wish Insteon made a switch with a built in motion detector like some of the new GE/Jasco Z-Wave switches.

          Comment


            #6
            I tried some of the switches with motion built in. Most of them didn't work well because the location of the switch was not at the optimum location for detecting motion. I switched them all out for separate motion sensors so I could locate them at the best sensing location.

            Remember that the field of vision horizontally is an arc about 120 degrees wide and is more sensitive in the middle of the arc. Works best in a corner so it only has to look at 90 degrees instead of 180 (no dead spots).You need to place the motion sensor so it is not looking out the room door, and not looking at a window if possible (otherwise sun and clouds can give false activations). Vertically the field of view is a triangle, so anything below the sensor and close to it is not detected. The triangle slants down as it moves away from the detector. Therefore placement height is important too. Seems to work best at about eye height, although a bit lower might work better in a room where people are sitting down more. Motion sensors detect movement of heat across their face, so they don't work as well detecting movement toward them as they do movement across their path. You can't place it behind the door of course. Above the door doesn't work because the door can block its view and it is too high to see motion up close to it.

            So taking all that into account, usually the best location is in the corner of the room that joins the door and the window. If the door and window are on opposite walls, place it on the door wall, at the opposite end from the door. It may have a few false alarms from the sun, but will not go on every time someone walks past the room.

            I install my motion sensors with two 3M Command strips so they are easily removable without damaging the wall. That way they are easy to relocate for fine tuning. Be sure to clean the wall an sensor surface first, alcohol wipe is best. If you do that they will never fall down.

            Comment


              #7
              Another solution is to install a Nano switch in the base of the lamps (if there is room). Wiring the existing lamp switch to the control input on the Nano switch allows the lamp to operate as normal while still providing automated functionality. In other words, if HS turns the lamps off they can be turned back on using the switch and vice versa (high WAF). This also enable you to add a wall controller (or whatever) and associate it with the lamps. I use this method with ceiling fan lights as well. The in-wall controller and the pull-chain switch effectively have 3-way functionality. Just make sure you know what your doing if you rewire the lamps. Safety first!

              Comment


                #8
                You guys keep talking about a tabletop enclosure....I have several of them, but one of my switches went belly up, and the replacement didn't fit the enclosure, no matter how much I poked and prodded the wires. I went to Smarthome to see if they had updated the enclosure, but it looks to me like they have discontinued that product???


                Jim Speiser
                38-year veteran of Home Automation
                Still don't know squat

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by JimSpy View Post
                  You guys keep talking about a tabletop enclosure....I have several of them, but one of my switches went belly up, and the replacement didn't fit the enclosure, no matter how much I poked and prodded the wires. I went to Smarthome to see if they had updated the enclosure, but it looks to me like they have discontinued that product???
                  I also have some of these. When I last asked Smarthome, they said they no longer carried the enclosure. I found what appears to be the same thing here:

                  https://www.homecontrols.com/Simply-...cessory-SAZTP2

                  If the cables are in the way, cut them shorter, get smaller wire nuts, or something. I can't say for sure the newer ones aren't deeper, but I would doubt it. I snagged a black enclosure for my parents from Smarthome before they stopped selling them 2-3 years ago, and they have a relatively recent keypadlinc. It fit just fine, definitely snug, but it fit.
                  HS4, Insteon, Z-wave, USB-UIRT, Harmony Hubs, Google Hub/Chromecasts/Speakers, Foscam & Amcrest cameras, EZVIZ DB1 doorbell
                  Plugins: BLLAN, BLOccupied, BLUSBUIRT, Chromecast, Harmony Hub, Insteon, Jon00 Homeseer/Echo Skill Helper, Harmony Hub, Jon00 DB Charting, MediaController, NetCAM, PHLocation2, Pushover 3P, weatherXML, Z-wave

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by mrceolla View Post

                    I also have some of these. When I last asked Smarthome, they said they no longer carried the enclosure. I found what appears to be the same thing here:

                    https://www.homecontrols.com/Simply-...cessory-SAZTP2

                    If the cables are in the way, cut them shorter, get smaller wire nuts, or something. I can't say for sure the newer ones aren't deeper, but I would doubt it. I snagged a black enclosure for my parents from Smarthome before they stopped selling them 2-3 years ago, and they have a relatively recent keypadlinc. It fit just fine, definitely snug, but it fit.
                    Well my experience was that the newer switches have the ground wire attached at the bottom of the metal plate, such that it created just enough of a block that I just couldn't get that sucker in there. Now I ain't no electrician, but I don't think I'm s'posed to cut that there ground wire.

                    Just very frustrating because I'm finding that SmartHome is cutting its product line just where I need those products the most. Don't get me started on switch colors, switchplate colors, and color-change kits!


                    Jim Speiser
                    38-year veteran of Home Automation
                    Still don't know squat

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Well, actually the ground wire is useless for the enclosure in question. Only a line and neutral are used if you go with the supplied wiring. So you could eliminate that ground wire entirely in this case. I still don't recall a problem installing my parents' keypad without needing to remove any wires.

                      I too am worried about the future of Insteon, but this enclosure is just a 3rd party product that they sold. I wish they would open up the protocol to other manufacturers. It's too great to die.

                      HS4, Insteon, Z-wave, USB-UIRT, Harmony Hubs, Google Hub/Chromecasts/Speakers, Foscam & Amcrest cameras, EZVIZ DB1 doorbell
                      Plugins: BLLAN, BLOccupied, BLUSBUIRT, Chromecast, Harmony Hub, Insteon, Jon00 Homeseer/Echo Skill Helper, Harmony Hub, Jon00 DB Charting, MediaController, NetCAM, PHLocation2, Pushover 3P, weatherXML, Z-wave

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