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    Mysterious? LED flickering

    First of all, I'm a total noob to this stuff.
    I just received my Zee S2 and HS-WD100 switches last week and have never used z-wave or home automation before. So if there are some basic settings I should be aware of, don't assume I am.

    Here are the pertinent? facts:

    Equipment:
    Zee S2
    HS-WD100+ dimmer switches

    Lighting loads:
    Kitchen table lighting - 3-bulb chandelier
    Kitchen island lighting - two 1-bulb pendants

    All fixtures are using the same brand and size of dimmable LED bulb (not sure which brand - bought at Home Depot).

    The problem is that the island lights flicker randomly. It can be several minutes between a flickering and the flickering may be a single flicker or a series of flickers and generally short pulses.
    The table lights do not flicker at all.

    Both pendants flicker in unison. So I assumed it was the switch. So I swapped switches between the island and table lighting. The flickering remained with the pendants (i.e. the flickering did not follow the switch).

    I've also disabled the S2 z-wave plugin and the flickering still occurred. So presumably it's not the controller telling the light to do something.

    The load line from the switch to the pendants is a single wire so there is a split somewhere between the switch and the pendants to feed both of them.
    So, I'm wondering if this could be the root cause of the flickering. Maybe too much loss or something? And I'm wondering if there are some Z-wave tweaks that can mitigate the problem? Or really interested in any other suggestions.

    Thanks,


    Mitch

    #2
    I think my Jasco switches flicker when they get polled.
    https://forums.homeseer.com/forum/de...plifier-plugin

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      #3
      Dimmers like resistive loads. LED bulbs do not have enough draw and can mess with electronic dimming switches. Put in one normal bulb and see if the issues goes away. Over my island I run 1 standard bulb and two LEDs. With all LEDs the lights will not even shut off.


      ~Bill

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        #4
        Adding to Bill's advice, sometimes it is just the brand of LED. I have swapped out bulbs and occasionally had success that way. Also, I know some of my LED's wont hit either the highs or lows, but setting the parameters in my coopers stops at the top or bottom range that does not flicker as well.

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          #5
          I guess the thing that's confusing me is why the same bulbs don't flicker in the kitchen table fixture. I will try some other bulbs regardless, but it's still mysterious to me.

          And @519zwave, what does "setting the parameters in my coopers stops at the top or bottom range" mean?

          Thanks for the input so far,


          Mitch

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            #6
            Originally posted by Mitch G View Post
            I guess the thing that's confusing me is why the same bulbs don't flicker in the kitchen table fixture. I will try some other bulbs regardless, but it's still mysterious to me.

            And @519zwave, what does "setting the parameters in my coopers stops at the top or bottom range" mean?

            Thanks for the input so far,
            Mitch
            Different loads, in your case two bulbs versus thee bulbs, have different impacts on the dimmer switches. Hence what works with two, might stop working with 3, yet work with 4 bulbs.

            You should also look at whether the dimmers can be switched between trailing edge and leading edge mode as the two modes work differently and your LED bulbs might prefer one over the other.
            Nicolai L

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by Mitch G View Post

              And @519zwave, what does "setting the parameters in my coopers stops at the top or bottom range"


              Mitch
              All dimmers will dim through a preset range. I can preset my dimmers to pre-configured minimum or maximum. For instance, lights that may flicker at 10% dim, can be overridden in programming to never dim less than say 12%, thus avoiding the flicker.

              Comment


                #8
                Thanks for the info and insight.
                I tried some other bulbs in the island pendants and they appear - so far - to be much happier. N'ary a flicker.
                I was just surprised by the different behavior across fixtures - although the point about different loads fits what I was seeing.

                Thanks


                Mitch

                Comment


                  #9
                  I've had the identical problem for years and it got terribly aggravating. They are right on the money. My Jasco "smart switches" often fail to recognize any load under 40-50 literal watts, not "replacement wattage". These dimmers act funny with LEDs of some brands and not others. I have a chandelier with 27 25 watt replacements that even fails to recognize sometimes. I've found that when it does it, if you turn it on high via z-wave or manually ramp it up with the paddle, then turn it off and back on, it will correct the problem, at least temporarily...basically whatever you can do to maximize current draw whether the switch believes there's a load or not. I've switched many to Aeon switches and returned some to incandescent as a result of that problem. I finally made a good sized shunt for the chandelier to literally waste enough electricity to trick the switch, completely defeating the smart-home idea, but the light stopped flickering and turning off.

                  Best of luck.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    I have the same exact problem with my HS-WD100's, I'm convinced the source of the problem is with the switch, and has nothing to do with the circuit load.

                    I have 3 of these switches, and the LED lighting on all three circuits seem to flicker when there is ANY applied load to the phase the circuit is on. On 2 of these switches there is over 80 watts in lighting, so it's not a load issue. I've even purchased one of those LED load resistors, it made no difference. They seems to be excessively susceptible to electrical noise.

                    It makes no difference if the switches are at 100% or 30%. I've tried different bulbs, along with one of the HS recommended bulbs, same.

                    I've put up with it because:

                    1) I'm tired of diagnosing and problem solving them.
                    2) I don't think the problem has been solved yet.
                    3) Don't really want to have to pull switches, send them back, install temp. replacements, then turn around and replace with the replacement, which will most likely do the same thing.
                    4) I really like the double and triple tap functionality.
                    RJ_Make On YouTube

                    Comment


                      #11
                      You might find this thread interesting:
                      http://board.homeseer.com/showthread.php?t=181644
                      💁‍♂️ Support & Customer Service 🙋‍♂️ Sales Questions 🛒 Shop HomeSeer Products

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                        #12
                        Originally posted by macromark View Post
                        You might find this thread interesting:
                        http://board.homeseer.com/showthread.php?t=181644
                        They don't work for the flickering.
                        RJ_Make On YouTube

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by ServiceXp View Post
                          They don't work for the flickering.
                          They did for me! I think it's probably bulb-specific.
                          💁‍♂️ Support & Customer Service 🙋‍♂️ Sales Questions 🛒 Shop HomeSeer Products

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