Associating a Aeotec MultiSensor 6 detector with a Aeotec Nano Dimmer

[ØysteinHJ]

Hello.

This is my first posting in this forum, as I started with HomeSeer only yesterday. So please let me know if I'm posting in the incorrect group.

I have a HS3 trial installation running on a Windows computer with an Aeotec Z-Stick on the 2nd floor. And in my basement I have a battery-powered Aeotec MultiSensor 6 in a bathroom along with an Aeotec Nano Dimmer controlling spotlights in the bathroom ceiling. I also have three Telldus wall plugs, making out my entire Z-Wave network.

Now, what I want is for the MS6 to turn on the dimmer in the basement bathroom, and turn it off again after some time without additional activity. I can of course use HomeSeer for this, by creating an event that triggers on motion detection and turns on the light. But is association a good way to achieve the same behavior without the use of HomeSeer events? How can I configure the MS6 and dimmer to be associated with each other?

Cheers.

[BlairG]

Welcome to the Homeseer forum.Look on the Zwave tab of your multi sensor and click the association tab. Here is where you include an association with your nano dimmer.
if it can be associated you'd have a binary switch controlling a variable dimmer. So if it was compatible the dimmer may act in an on-off fashion.

I use association on a 3-way light circuit. The remote controls the dimmer I'm not sure that Homeseer is aware, or manages this association. As the remote has an association with HS, but also associated with the dimmer.

[ØysteinHJ]

Welcome to the Homeseer forum.

Thanks!

Look on the Zwave tab of your multi sensor and click the association tab. Here is where you include an association with your nano dimmer.
if it can be associated you'd have a binary switch controlling a variable dimmer. So if it was compatible the dimmer may act in an on-off fashion.

How do you know which group to associate to what? It looks like my motion detector only has one group available to associate, and it's currently associated to HomeSeer. And as far as I understand it, all the node's devices are sending data to this group. Can I associate the same group to the dimmer? And if so, how do I make the dimmer only trigger on motion detection messages?

[BlairG]

Yes, the motion sensor Group 1 should be set for Homeseer, but add an association to the Nano dimmer.

Look at the Root of the sensor under its Zwave tab, check Settings.
These would be the parameters... like what to do if sensor data changes, like humidity, temp, lux, or Motion

[ØysteinHJ]

Yes, the motion sensor Group 1 should be set for Homeseer, but add an association to the Nano dimmer.

Look at the Root of the sensor under its Zwave tab, check Settings.
These would be the parameters... like what to do if sensor data changes, like humidity, temp, lux, or Motion

OK, it works. I set the dimmer as an additional associated node for association group 1 on the sensor, and it now turns on the lights when motion detected and off again when no motion is detected for 240 seconds. Great!

But what's going on in the background here? I read the documentation for the sensor:


So obviously the Basic Set (0xFF) command is turning the dimmer on and Basic Set (0x00) is turning the dimmer off. But why is this? It this behavior something I can control, e.g. if I want the lights to go on at 50% if motion is detected in the middle of the night?

[BlairG]

The (switch), sensor is 0 or 1, on or off, there is no inbetween

Your nano is 0=off... to 99 or 100=full on

So as it stands with a direct association, it's working, best it should.
With this method, if you stand still too long you'll be in the dark.

Best practice would fall back to some event logic, and the desired dimmer level could be used.

[ØysteinHJ]

I suppose I could manage an analog way of getting 50% light with association, by only moving half the time and standing still the rest... *ba-dum-tish*

But OK, I get it then. Thanks a lot for your help!

[BlairG]

My garage uses the same Aeotec sensor, and a set of 3 events. When you're first seen you get the lights on for five minutes. In fact every time it sees you it bumps a timer back to 5 minutes. And then it will time out and shut down the lighting.

[BobSpen]

I suppose I could manage an analog way of getting 50% light with association, by only moving half the time and standing still the rest... *ba-dum-tish*

But OK, I get it then. Thanks a lot for your help!

Just a thought: I do not have a nano-dimmer but if it has a programmable ramp-down rate it can be useful to have it set to a slow ramp-down rate. That way when you get caught sometime being still too long and the Multisensor sends the "off" you have plenty of time to react and wave your arms to re-trigger and your not left in the dark.

[ØysteinHJ]

My garage uses the same Aeotec sensor, and a set of 3 events. When you're first seen you get the lights on for five minutes. In fact every time it sees you it bumps a timer back to 5 minutes. And then it will time out and shut down the lighting.

I've changed to using events instead of association myself, also. If HomeSeer is down, the light switch connected to the dimmer will still do its job.

I'm having trouble with the motion detect sensitivity, though. I can only get it to detect closer than 2 meters or so, and not even remotely at 5 meters as they indicate in the specifications. Supposedly, parameter 4 is used to set motion detect sensitivity. But when trying to do so using the Z-Wave interface in HomeSeer, it doesn't respond as I would expect it to.

According to the spec (https://aeotec.freshdesk.com/helpdesk/attachments/6058085298) I can use parameter 4 to set sensitivity. It claims that the default value is 5. But when reading back the value to begin with (by clearing out the value field and pressing Set), I got back the value 1. At this point I have Motion Sensor setting set to Enabled. And then if I set parameter 4 to value 5 (which according to the spec should indicate max sensitivity), the Motion Sensor setting is set to Disabled. I can read back the value 5 on parameter 4, so I know the value has been set. But if I then set Motion Sensor to Enabled again, parameter 4 is set back to value 1.

I don't understand what's going on here. The Parameter Number pull-down menu in HomeSeer *should* correlate to the parameter list in the MultiSensor6 specification, shouldn't it? Or am I missing something here?

EDIT:
I believe I found the problem. It seems that there is a bug in how the Motion Sensor setting is set in the MultiSensor. By setting it to Enabled, sensitivity (parameter 4) is set to 1, which is the lowest value. Setting the sensitivity to 5 (which was in fact the default value, when I hadn't touched the Motion Sensor setting first), *does* make the Motion Sensor be shown as Disabled, but it isn't. It *is* enabled and sensitivity is at maximum. I was able to trigger the sensor at the far end of the bathroom.

[ØysteinHJ]

Just a thought: I do not have a nano-dimmer but if it has a programmable ramp-down rate it can be useful to have it set to a slow ramp-down rate. That way when you get caught sometime being still too long and the Multisensor sends the "off" you have plenty of time to react and wave your arms to re-trigger and your not left in the dark.

Good point. Thanks.