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    #61
    Originally posted by rjh View Post
    This is probably obvious, but just for those following the thread.



    You could install a HS-WS200+ switch then use a single tap for the light and a double tap for the fan. HS would handle sending the proper commands to the micro switches.


    You could, but this is a sharp detour into the land of nobody but yourself knowing how to operate the home. I do my best to keep the home intuitive so anyone can walk in an not feel overwhelmed.


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      #62
      I agree, just offering some possible solutions since the best solution does not exist.

      Of all the fans I have seen, in my home, and in other homes I visit in FL, all the fans have pull strings for the fan and the light. I have yet to see one that runs the individual wires to the switch so you can have 2 switches. I think this might be a rare install. Also, many new fans now use remotes for control.

      So that being said, a dual switch where you could associate different Z-Wave devices to each switch might be the better product. Then you could install a dual micro switch in the fan and control them via Z-Wave.

      Originally posted by scorp508 View Post
      You could, but this is a sharp detour into the land of nobody but yourself knowing how to operate the home. I do my best to keep the home intuitive so anyone can walk in an not feel overwhelmed.


      Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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        #63
        Originally posted by rjh View Post
        Of all the fans I have seen, in my home, and in other homes I visit in FL, all the fans have pull strings for the fan and the light. I have yet to see one that runs the individual wires to the switch so you can have 2 switches. I think this might be a rare install. Also, many new fans now use remotes for control.

        Interesting, I wonder if it is a regional thing.


        It is kind of normal around here in my narrow scope of view to have two switches and some 14/3 going to the fixture. For example ours is in a family room with a cathedral ceiling. There is no reaching the pull chains without a step ladder unless you like the look of 4' of dangling chain. [emoji846] The chains themselves are always in an "on" position, so the switches are essentially a secondary interrupt.




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          #64
          I definitely understand the challenges with this problem. I ended up getting the electrician to put in a dual gang with the dedicated power to the fan portion. I then installed a GE fan control switch on the wall with the HS-D100+ for the light control.

          In the living room, that wasn't an option, so above the fan and light is a microswitch for the light and a GE fan control switch for the fan (posted a picture on another thread). I then used a minimote on the wall, left two buttons control the light (up=on, down=off) and the right two control the fan (up=onn, down=off, double up/down adjusts the speed). It was the best I could come up with without adding non-zwave tech.

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            #65
            Originally posted by CraigF View Post
            Would be nice to be able to light at least one LED on the dimmer as an option while the switch is off to make them easier to find at night. (Funny...my wife really hated it when I put in non-zwave switches with this years back. Now she complains she can't find the dimmers.)

            I saw the video on doing an event to change them to 1% when off. Tried it, but my ceiling fan bulbs where the dimmers are still look about 20% lit when at 1%.
            Me too. Really would like a firmware update to allow this. Kind of annoying when I have a house full of them and the regular WS have it.

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              #66
              Originally posted by rjh View Post
              I agree, just offering some possible solutions since the best solution does not exist.

              Of all the fans I have seen, in my home, and in other homes I visit in FL, all the fans have pull strings for the fan and the light. I have yet to see one that runs the individual wires to the switch so you can have 2 switches. I think this might be a rare install. Also, many new fans now use remotes for control.

              So that being said, a dual switch where you could associate different Z-Wave devices to each switch might be the better product. Then you could install a dual micro switch in the fan and control them via Z-Wave.
              I think it has a lot more to do with age or price point of the house. In the house I built most recently, every room was wired for both fan and fan light, and in the house we purchased last year when we moved to Raleigh, every room had a switch for fan, light, and a switched half outlet (which is super annoying in 2018 with an automated house, so I've mostly hardwired/blanked over those).

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                #67
                On dimmers add a parameter so that the single tap that does "last on" and "off" does it immediately (no stepping). The hold would still use the local ramp rate.

                In my opinion this would be the best of both worlds and it's a feature that would be a competitive advantage. Unless there are dimmers out there that do this. If there are, I want them!!!

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                  #68
                  On dimmers I would add a parameter so that the dim % only controls the status on the device. 1-99 would actually be full on, 0 would be off. This would be interesting because I could use the dimmer as a switch and the status to do other interesting stuff. Such as an event that does something more if the dim is set between 1 and 30. Or tell Alexa to set it to exactly 39 and have it turn on and do something specific to dim level 39.

                  I don't think this would be as useful as one tap immediate on\off but it would be interesting

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                    #69
                    Originally posted by ryanoly View Post
                    On dimmers add a parameter so that the single tap that does "last on" and "off" does it immediately (no stepping). The hold would still use the local ramp rate.
                    I would absolutely prefer this on the dimmers. The ramps are nice when you want them, but most times I just want to walk into a room, tap the switch, and have immediate light.

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                      #70
                      Note that the dimmers have separate ramp rates for local and remote control. So you can set them so that when you hit the switch it goes to the level immediately but when you control it from HS it will use a different ramp rate.

                      It sounds like this solves the concern. Just making sure everyone is aware of this feature.

                      Originally posted by scorp508 View Post
                      I would absolutely prefer this on the dimmers. The ramps are nice when you want them, but most times I just want to walk into a room, tap the switch, and have immediate light.
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                        #71
                        Originally posted by rjh View Post
                        Note that the dimmers have separate ramp rates for local and remote control. So you can set them so that when you hit the switch it goes to the level immediately but when you control it from HS it will use a different ramp rate.

                        It sounds like this solves the concern. Just making sure everyone is aware of this feature.

                        Yes, that's there however it doesn't seem to solve the concern as it removes the "when you want it" from being possible locally. You also lose local granular control and may find yourself unable to get the light just where you want it. Am I'm overlooking something else that would retain that capability locally?

                        My ideal would be..

                        Local tap up & hold == use local ramp settings
                        Local tap up == instant on to last known setting
                        Local tap down & hold == use local ramp settings
                        Local tap down == instant off

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                          #72
                          When do you want local control to ramp up the light slowly? Under what conditions?

                          Originally posted by scorp508 View Post
                          Yes, that's there however it doesn't seem to solve the concern as it removes the "when you want it" from being possible locally. You also lose local granular control and may find yourself unable to get the light just where you want it. Am I'm overlooking something else that would retain that capability locally?

                          My ideal would be..

                          Local tap up & hold == use local ramp settings
                          Local tap up == instant on to last known setting
                          Local tap down & hold == use local ramp settings
                          Local tap down == instant off
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                            #73
                            Originally posted by rjh View Post
                            When do you want local control to ramp up the light slowly? Under what conditions?
                            Any condition other than local single-tap of the top or bottom paddle is when I'd want local control to use the defined local ramp rate. I could see it as a binary option in the firmware;

                            Single tap behavior: Instant or Local Ramp Rate

                            Describing it further kind of gets into comparing one person's opinion from another's.

                            For example if the local ramp was set such that single-tap up to the last known state was "near instant", then you'd lose the ability to have finer control of the lighting levels unless you have reflexes like the Black Panther or The Flash. I can envision someone flying past the level they wanted, trying to correct and miss again, and again... getting frustrated in the process.

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                              #74
                              Scorp gets it.

                              Basically when you install dimmers the first thing your wife says is she hates the slow ramp or the "delay" for the lights to go on. So you fiddle with the local ramp rate trying to balance how fast it gets to full brightness and the ability to actually control the ramp via hold down. Too fast and you can't really adjust the brightness, too slow and the wife complains about how long they take to turn on.

                              If you are like me you fiddle with the remote ramp rate and try to create an event that basically overrides the local ramp rate when you single tap. Then you learn that works horribly and just find a balance. For me it's step=4, timer=3.

                              But what you really want is when you single tap for it to instantly go on\off and when you hold down to adjust the brightness you want it slow enough to control it precisely (use the local ramp rate).

                              It's a big complaint of users the first time they install a dimmer. Eventually you just get used to it and you learn to only install a dimmer if you really need it.

                              In my opinion adding the parameter that Scorp or I suggested would instantly make that the best dimmer on the market.

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                                #75
                                Originally posted by ryanoly View Post
                                Scorp gets it.

                                Basically when you install dimmers the first thing your wife says is she hates the slow ramp or the "delay" for the lights to go on. So you fiddle with the local ramp rate trying to balance how fast it gets to full brightness and the ability to actually control the ramp via hold down. Too fast and you can't really adjust the brightness, too slow and the wife complains about how long they take to turn on.

                                If you are like me you fiddle with the remote ramp rate and try to create an event that basically overrides the local ramp rate when you single tap. Then you learn that works horribly and just find a balance. For me it's step=4, timer=3.

                                But what you really want is when you single tap for it to instantly go on\off and when you hold down to adjust the brightness you want it slow enough to control it precisely (use the local ramp rate).

                                It's a big complaint of users the first time they install a dimmer. Eventually you just get used to it and you learn to only install a dimmer if you really need it.

                                In my opinion adding the parameter that Scorp or I suggested would instantly make that the best dimmer on the market.
                                +1
                                This is how I would want my dimmers to work as well.

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