Any 0-10V dimmers supported?

So I’ve discovered today that the LED lights we’ve put in our home during a remodel require “0-10V” dimmers. I had never even heard of these dimmers, but guess what, now that’s my problem to deal with.

So, here’s the question: are there any 0-10V z-wave dimmers out there? I can’t seem to find anything: I found a Lutron dimmer that might be Caseta-compatible, but that doesn’t help me when everything else I’m planning (including shades being installed tomorrow…) are z-wave (unless there’s some magic ST-to-Caseta bridge).

I’m going to have to buy my way out of this problem - thoughts and recommendations would be very, very appreciated!

(Also, I have ~25 Linear switches that are going to need a new home! That will probably be its own topic, though.)

There’s no ST / Caseta bridge at the present time, unfortunately.

There are bridge devices that will step down the current from an “any load” conventional dimmer switch to the ballast, typically used for fluorescents but can be used with low voltage LEDs. The bridge device is usually called a “ballast dimmer” or a “ten volt dimmer interface” or a “ten volt ballast interface” or something like that. Any electrician should know how to do those. Then you can use any of several zwave any load switches. I know there’s one in the Cooper Aspire line.

This is expensive though, could be $250-$350 per fixture for install NOT counting the switch cost.

Lutron makes one that is popular for office buildings because it’s a zone bridge and can handle several fixtures.

So once you have the bridge installed and you’ve stepped down the current you can put in any regular “any load” dimmer switch you like, including zwave ones.

I do not recommend this as a DIY project, you need to have a licensed electrician to make sure everything is to code and won’t start any fires.

Thanks! That opens up (at least) one other option besides “give up for now.”

I will talk to our electrician tomorrow, but if you can help a bit - are these bridges at the fixture level, or the switch level, or some combination? (i.e. if I have two switches as a three-way for five fixtures, how many bridges do I need?) I’m definitely not pretending to be an expert in this - but I’m not sure I have anyone on the team who is.

Looks like theLeviton VRMX is a low voltage zwave dimmer that might work, but the 3 way doesn’t seem to work with SmartThings, so I’d ask if anyone’s using it. And do not mix low voltage dimmers and regular dimmers on the same circuit.

http://www.leviton.com/OA_HTML/ProductDetail.jsp?partnumber=VRMX1-1LZ&section=44140

Varies by device. The Lutron I linked to is designed for “zone” use–one device to step down the current to multiple ballasts, typically one switch per ballast. Office set ups with fluorescent lights, usually. But again, any electrician who does fluorescent lighting should be familiar with both the issue and the device class, even if they don’t know zwave.

The Leviton is a switch. If necessary, have your electrician talk to their support line.

Oh, I see about the ballast: that makes sense. Thanks, I appreciate it. BTW, did you find the Leviton VRMX just by looking at “low voltage”? There was nothing on that page that said “0-10V” and so I wasn’t sure how you got there from here.

Thanks! Hope to soon be a producer and not just a consumer of information - once I have the blinds, locks, and garage door working, at least.

Yes, “low voltage dimmer.”

BTW, the cheaper Leviton DZMX is the same switch except without instant update.

Looks like @bravenel has them working with SmartThings, maybe he can add more.

But also check with Leviton to make sure their “universal dimmers” can handle a 0 10 fixture.

@ooorrr, I have both DZMX1 and VRMX1 dimmers in use, in both single, three-way, and four-way installations. Both work well with ST, although the VRMX1 is instant reporting and the DZMX1 is not. There is no problem at all with the 3-way and 4-way installs working with SmartThings. You use the VP00R for the extra switches in a 3-way or 4-way. When used with the VRMX1 the entire set of switches becomes instant reporting.

I did put a couple of LED spots in one room on a DZMX1, while the rest of the room (on three other DZMX1s) was incandescent. The LEDs did dim, but were brighter at all levels than the incandescents. I had to dim the LEDs to 1% to get close to a 15% dim level on the incandescents. I don’t know if that’s the way all LEDs are.

That in turn lead to a fun escapade of figuring out how to get ST to have two different dim levels for some of the main built-in apps, which lead to writing a bunch of code, and ultimately chucking most of it and the LED bulbs.

That’s the limit of my knowledge and experience with LED bulbs. But I really like the Leviton dimmers, and they work very well with ST.

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Thanks, @bravenel, I appreciate it. Did you use those dimmers with any low-voltage LED lights, or just more standard ones?

I’m going to follow up with Leviton on the VRMX1/DZMX1 compatibility with 0-10V requirements, and I’ll let the thread know whatever I find out.

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Like I said, “I Know Nothing”, and I’m sticking to it. I think they were standard ones.

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Silly question but 0 to 10 volt AC or DC? Not too many AC low voltage dimmable LED bulb out there.

I was assuming 0 to 10 DC, but Leviton does make non networked 120 AC dimmer switches to control 0 to 10 DC LEDs. For example:

http://www.leviton.com/OA_HTML/SectionDisplay.jsp?section=47855&minisite=10251

I just don’t know if the zwave “universal dimmer” does the same.

I think DC. It’s actually an LED module, the Bridgelux Vero.

Maybe the Fibaro RGBW controller is what you are looking for:


http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41nPvcXvYSL.AA160.jpg

I spoke with Leviton this morning. They confirmed that the VRMX1/DZMX1 absolutely do not work with 0-10V fixtures. (Updated: it doesn’t work with ELV fixtures either.) “I don’t think there’s anything out there that does,” says Manny, probably the most helpful person I’ve spoken with at any sort of customer service team in a while.

He did suggest another solution, their LevNet product, which combines a ballast (WSD20-9D0) with a wireless switch (WSS0S-S9W), but it’s not z-wave compatible, or really even possible to find in the market.

So I’m back to seeing if there’s a ballast solution, or - I guess - having Lutron Caseta next to ST, and running the whole house through IFTTT.

I don’t really understand the Fibaro’s place in the ecosystem, @beckwith. Thanks, I’ll see if I can figure it out.

Obviously some universes are smaller than others. Sorry for the tangent on the VRMX, but still, good to know.

So, yes, back to research.

I think it unlikely that you’ll want to rely on IFTTT for this, though. There’s a polling delay of up to 15 minutes. That’s fine for many use cases, like turning everything off when you leave the house, but usually unworkable for “turn the lights on now.” But it all depends on the details. I use IFTTT a lot and SmartThings having an IFTTT channel is a big plus for me, but there are real limitations, too.

Some people hate not having everything under a single control app. I don’t. So if I have a particular use case being solved by an independent system, as long as everything works, I’m ok. But then I’m more about home “control” than home “automation.” We have a lot of people in and out and highly variable schedules.

“All home automation is local.” Hopefully you can find a solution you like.

This would replace your ballast. What peaked my interest is the Fibaro has 0-10V INPUT for sensors or dimmers. I use it for LED strips and have been looking out for a compatible hardware dimmer panel.

You can find more here:

Too bad the Fibaro output is 12-24V otherwise that would be the best solution. You can even use your old a switch as an input. Ask your electrician to build a voltage divider for you. It will probably be 2 resistors and a diode. Not much concern with code or fire since it’s a low voltage system. Unless your local has weird code.

I know this is an old thread but in case others are looking for this like I just was, it looks like the unit below is ELV and Z-Wave:

Leviton VRE06-1LZ Vizia RF + 600W Electronic Low Voltage Scene Capable Dimmer, White/Ivory/Light Almond

I just ordered one so hopefully it will work!

I talked to Ge and Lutron and there are NO zwave 0-10v dimmers.
Shame since all the commercial lights have solidified on this standard.
I can’t even get a LED 2x panel (think commercial kitchen) with Zwave and 0-10v.
I don’t want much. Have zwave switch with 0-10v dimming.
Detect motion after close and all lights turn on.
Best burglar system around.
Have switches so can just up and down.
Cheap enough to replace if need a new one.
Ah, well. Will get cheapie 0-10v dimming switch with manual sets till it arrives.