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Firmware Feature requests for HS Switches/Dimmers

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    #16
    Another request: some of us are using these as scene-controller only, with no local load connected. For example, I have a dimmer in my living room, which has no built in fixtures, that controls three lamps with Hue bulbs. Due to the nature of the dimmer always needing to be in an "on" or "off" state, I run into plenty of conflicts where the switch gets out of sync with the lamps when the bulbs are changed via Alexa or another automation. If the switch is on, but the bulbs are off, I can no longer turn them on with a single "on" tap. And vice versa.

    The point is, it would be amazing if there could be a way to change the switch/dimmer to "scene controller only mode" where a single press up or down just acts as another button instead of being tied to a on/off state.

    This would radically increase value and versatility.

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      #17
      I assume you are using HomeSeer with an event trigger to detect the paddle press? Use the "set on" trigger. This will trigger when you press the top of the paddle, even if the switch is already on.

      Originally posted by hoffsta View Post
      Another request: some of us are using these as scene-controller only, with no local load connected. For example, I have a dimmer in my living room, which has no built in fixtures, that controls three lamps with Hue bulbs. Due to the nature of the dimmer always needing to be in an "on" or "off" state, I run into plenty of conflicts where the switch gets out of sync with the lamps when the bulbs are changed via Alexa or another automation. If the switch is on, but the bulbs are off, I can no longer turn them on with a single "on" tap. And vice versa.

      The point is, it would be amazing if there could be a way to change the switch/dimmer to "scene controller only mode" where a single press up or down just acts as another button instead of being tied to a on/off state.

      This would radically increase value and versatility.
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        #18
        Originally posted by rjh View Post
        I assume you are using HomeSeer with an event trigger to detect the paddle press? Use the "set on" trigger. This will trigger when you press the top of the paddle, even if the switch is already on.
        Cool, however, I can still see a use in decoupling the buttons from controlling the relay. If I'm using a switch as a scene controller only, it would be nice to not have to hear the relay clicking or the have LED changing state when it's not associated with my scene. Cheers!

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          #19
          Originally posted by hoffsta View Post
          Cool, however, I can still see a use in decoupling the buttons from controlling the relay. If I'm using a switch as a scene controller only, it would be nice to not have to hear the relay clicking or the have LED changing state when it's not associated with my scene. Cheers!
          I can also see the benefit in decoupling the relay functionality from the dimmer buttons.

          To go even further, being able to control the relay using a double or triple tap could be beneficial as well. A lot of new smart bulbs like the Philips Hue or LIFX bulbs require power to be always on so that they respond to change color/fade/voice commands delivered via their network connection. Occasionally, however, they need power to be turned off completely (e.g., they errantly disconnected from the network or need a firmware update). Allowing for power to be turned off completely *only* when a special combination of taps occurs would be best. That way, the switch could be used as usual to brighten/dim via scene changes without actually affecting the power being delivered to the bulb (which needs to be constant). I believe this set-up would satisfy both users who want to use the HS switches for scene changes only and for those who run smart bulbs connected as a load.

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            #20
            Option on dimmer LEDs - night light style

            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%.

            Comment


              #21
              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%.
              I have been waiting for this one too
              Cheers,
              Bob
              Web site | Help Desk | Feature Requests | Message Board

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                #22
                A run of black devices would also be appreciated. I would change out every z-wave device in my house with these if I could get them in black. (40+). [emoji4]

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                  #23
                  I'm fairly new to HS so if this has been covered somewhere please forgive me.It would be great if you could update the firmware in HS switches on some sort of a schedule. I assume it would take too much bandwidth to update them in in bulk so maybe this would be a plausible alternative. A schedule could instruct HS to begin upgrading firmware at a specific time (i.e.,midnight) and indicate which switches to update and the order in which to update them. Updating firmware one switch at a time is a bit of a drag, although I love that they can be updated.

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                    #24
                    Duplicate

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                      #25
                      Ok, I thought about it a little more. Here's my suggestion regarding using the HS-WS100+ as Scene Controllers only. I suggest a second, alternative firmware that runs on the same hardware but behaves completely differently, in that it has no internal 'on/off' state. It is simply a scene command sender. The LED could be set in the prefs to be a night light only or something.

                      The benefit to Homeseer is that you can market a third product, "Decora Scene Controller", which nobody else has. Hell, go crazy and offer additional 'double press+hold', 'triple press+hold'. Now you've got a 12 scene, Decora scene controller, the crowds will go nuts.

                      For me personally, this is a great product because I don't like having gaudy multi-button monstrosities cluttering my walls. I want my home automation stuff to as stealth as possible.

                      You get a third product to market and you don't even have to order/stock a different product from your vendor. Make the firmware available to existing owners so we can convert our switches to whichever one we want. Or maybe down the road, you find it's cheaper to order some without the relay and outbound AC parts and can get a slightly higher per unit margin than you do now.

                      What do you think?

                      Comment


                        #26
                        +1 for this idea. This is what computers are made for! I just had to upgrade a dozen dimmers. Easy enough to do, but took a lot of time.

                        +1 more if you make this feature generic to any upgradable z-wave device.

                        Comment


                          #27
                          Excellent idea!

                          Originally posted by hoffsta View Post
                          Ok, I thought about it a little more. Here's my suggestion regarding using the HS-WS100+ as Scene Controllers only. I suggest a second, alternative firmware that runs on the same hardware but behaves completely differently, in that it has no internal 'on/off' state. It is simply a scene command sender. The LED could be set in the prefs to be a night light only or something.

                          The benefit to Homeseer is that you can market a third product, "Decora Scene Controller", which nobody else has. Hell, go crazy and offer additional 'double press+hold', 'triple press+hold'. Now you've got a 12 scene, Decora scene controller, the crowds will go nuts.

                          For me personally, this is a great product because I don't like having gaudy multi-button monstrosities cluttering my walls. I want my home automation stuff to as stealth as possible.

                          You get a third product to market and you don't even have to order/stock a different product from your vendor. Make the firmware available to existing owners so we can convert our switches to whichever one we want. Or maybe down the road, you find it's cheaper to order some without the relay and outbound AC parts and can get a slightly higher per unit margin than you do now.

                          What do you think?

                          Comment


                            #28
                            Regarding the LEDs - I really like two aspects of the Lutron Maestro dimmers:

                            1) only one LED is illuminated to represent the dimming level. E.g., if the dimming level is 4, only the 4th LED from the bottom is lit; LEDs 1-3 are off.

                            2) The last dimming level remains on when the light is turned off, but dimmer. This feature would also serve as the frequently requested night light.

                            Would either of these be possible in a firmware update?

                            Comment


                              #29
                              Another nice feature would be an ability to limit the number of expected taps per switch. I have a bunch of HomeSeer switches and dimmers, but in most location I'm currently not using the 2 and 3 tap. Setting the switch to expect only one tap should reduce the delay between pressing the button and the light turning on/off.

                              Specifying separate settings for up and down would allow programming a double tap full brightness (so, allow 2 up presses) while only expecting a single down tap for off.

                              Comment


                                #30
                                Originally posted by hoffsta View Post
                                Ok, I thought about it a little more. Here's my suggestion regarding using the HS-WS100+ as Scene Controllers only. I suggest a second, alternative firmware that runs on the same hardware but behaves completely differently, in that it has no internal 'on/off' state. It is simply a scene command sender. The LED could be set in the prefs to be a night light only or something.

                                I'd go for something like this as well. Our home has seen a couple additions/reconfigurations over the years before we purchased it. There are switches in locations that when originally built made perfect sense, but now that entrances and doors have been moved the locations are entirely confusing. For whatever reason the homeowners didn't have the wiring and switch locations updated when the additions took place.

                                For example I have a switch for flood lights on the front of the house in the middle of a random hallway nowhere near a an existing entry door. When originally built that area was the mudroom next to a door. There are a few examples like that scattered through the home. Another type are switches next to ceiling lights that don't control them, they control some other light elsewhere. Everyone hits the switch nearest the ceiling light thinking they operate the light above them. Nope.


                                I could spend a ton of time re-wiring things and extending lines with junction boxes in the attic or basement to make it all sensible again. I'd rather save hours of work having a device that looks/feels like a switch, but the paddle doesn't operate the local load. It turns into a remote controllable relay to keep operating the local load as I still need the ability to switch that load, but the paddle is independent so I can assign the most logically placed paddles to operate the nearest light.

                                Maybe there's some electrical code that prohibits this type of operation, I don't know and it wouldn't surprise me as it could provide a false sense of safety to someone who doesn't know how the home operates before working on a nearby fixture.

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