Best Solution Suggestions/Independent Bulb Control Plus Single Wall Switch?

Still relatively new to the smart product world, so I would welcome any hive mind input on the best solution for my kitchen lighting:

Our kitchen has 7 total recessed light fixtures, all on the same single Lutron dimmer switch. 5 of those fixtures contain regular Commercial Electric dimmable LED modules; the other two over the island have been converted to pendant lights with a simple screw in conversion “kit”. Those pendant lights have regular LED bulbs in them.

I have always wanted independent control of the pendant lights from the recessed lighting modules, but didn’t want to go through the trouble of an electrician having to split them out, and the likely required wall/ceiling repairs if line fishing isn’t possible.

I realize this could be done virtually and most simply by replacing at least the recessed LED lights with smart ones (Commercial now makes retrofit Zigbee LED recessed modules too) which would allow me to turn those off via the SmartThings app, leaving the pendants on, but of course I want more granular control. :wink:

If I also replace the pendant bulbs with smart ones, that then expands my control options. However, I also want to keep the dimmer wall switch for control from there, but I have read that some smart dimmable bulbs don’t always work well with regular dimmers.

Can smart bulbs be used in conjunction with a smart wall switch/dimmer, or will that create the same potential conflicts (buzzing, inconsistent behavior, etc)?

Or, am I overthinking things here, and a smart wall switch in conjunction with smart bulbs is overkill and redundant?

Key goals here are to have the ability to turn on (and dim) either the recessed lights and pendants together, or those two types independently, but to also maintain wall switch control and dimming for whatever bulbs are on at the time. Which leads me to the next question…

I realize that the wall switch when set to off renders the individual smart bulb control useless, but does any smart bulb line revert to their last state (on or off) in Smartthings when power is restored by flipping the wall switch? Or, at least, does any line of bulbs automatically turn on when power is restored to them? Note that in this scenario, dimming state is not important to me. Full on is fine.

FYI, my home is newer (circa 2007) and has neutral wires, so smart switches that require such are not a problem.

Thank you…I’m confusing myself just writing this inquiry…:blush:

I’d hard wire that circuit, put all smart bulbs in and put a scene controller in the switch box. Then you can use the scene controller to turn on/off in any combination those lights.

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You should never use a dimmer that controls the current to smart bulbs, whether that dimmer is smart or dumb. The two devices will confuse each other and you may burn out the switch.

There are many alternatives, some of which have already been suggested, but you can take a look at the following FAQ and see if that gives you any additional ideas.

With regard to smart bulbs coming back on at full Power after current is restored, that is the default behavior for most smart bulbs. That said, you want to really try to avoid having power cut if possible. The inrush current when the power restores can shorten the life of the radio in the smart bulb. These bulbs are really intended to always be on power (see the user manual) even when they look like they are off. So the only time the power should be cut to them is in an emergency situation when you’ve lost power to the circuit all together. Not from a switch.

But you can definitely have a smart switch which does not control the actual current flow to the bulbs, but rather sends an instruction (normally via the hub) for the bulb to turn itself off. That will work fine. And you can set it to come back on pretty much however you want to when the next on instruction is sent. Which could be because the switch was pressed.

( oh, and I have moved your thread to projects so that you can get individual responses regarding your set up. :sunglasses: )