Best way forward (new U.K. user)

Hi All, just ordered the hub, but getting confused how to best achieve my goal,

Lighting first
I want to control 2 lighting circuits 1 with 12 GU10 spot lights and 1 with 9 GU10 spots, both circuits need to be switched on in 3 separate places, (normally i would do this with 2x2way switches and an intermediary switch for each circuit)
I have not installed these lights yet (or switches) so am flexible as to how i do it, downstairs I already have a similar setup in the lounge using 240v dimmable gu10s and a trailing edge dimmer, but the dimmer is rubbish, I did replace with a better quallity dimmer but its just as bad (poor dimming and flickering)
It was my intention to fit 12v GU10s and a separate driver/transformer, with the dimmer set after the driver/transformer,

my question is, how would you go about achieving this?

are you in the UK?

yes i am in the UK

Welcome! Sounds like an interesting project. :sunglasses:

Because device selection does vary by region, I have moved this to the UK section of the forum so that you can get UK ā€“ specific responses.

From the initial description, my guess is that youā€™re going to end up going with fibaro kit, which are in wall microcontrollers that work well with SmartThings and come in a number of different models with different features. These are very popular in the community, and readily available from the various online specialty retailers.

For example, @anon36505037 has done his entire house with Fibaro devices, and may have more specific advice for you.

Iā€™m also going to include a link to the UK lighting FAQ which covers a wide variety of options available with UK devices, but again from what you have described already, I am guessing the Fibaro micros or one of the other microcontroller brands like Aeotec or Qubino will be the best match. But you might take a glance at the FAQ just to get a sense of what some of the options are.

Also, before we go any further, do you know if you have a neutral wire at the switchbox in these locations? In the UK this would normally be called a ā€œthree wireā€ set up, or a blue wire. This also affects the potential device selection, although several Fibaro models can work both with or without a blue wire, one reason why they are so popular.

I can add a Neutral wire, or do whatever is needed electrical wise,

I like the idea of the switches as they will work if the smart part fails,

If i have this right I would install this as the main switch, then use a rocker/momentum switch to provide a pulse of power to terminal 3 for my second and third switch,

am i better to keep the dimmer separate from the switch and use a fabaro dimmer

the momentary switches seams the way forward,
all the switches go back to a central point, where i can install the dimmer unit, so no need to add a N wire as i have it where the dimmer will go,

the downstairs is all ledā€™s 240v, so i will try it on this first, I was going to install 12v ledā€™s on the upstairs install, but will wait to see how the 240v ledā€™s work first,

with the Fibaro dimmer 2, if the hub, wifi or internet fails will it still work with the physical switches? because as i understand its a fancy relay with a dimmer, yes the app wont work, but the lights should still turn on if there is power and the dimmer is working?

thx for the advice
ordered the Fibaro dimmer 2, the Fibaro rgbww, a monument switch, a rgbw strip light and driver/transformer

in my lounge i fitted 2 sets of 240v gu10 led,s on traditional dimmers, and 2 strip lights just on switches,
I am going to play with this first, fit the dimmer and switch to one set of the gu10s, and replace the strip lights with the Fibaro rgbww, and the rgbw strip light,

if the rgbw strip light preforms as well as i hope then i will use more of these in the bedroom

re:- your comment about using 12v gu10 ledā€™s

with the Fibaro rgbw the input voltage is 12/24v, if you have a single transformer supplying this you would then run directly to the led bulbs,
its the drivers and transformers in the gh10 led bulbs that are generally the problem, and the fact you are trying to dim the supply valtage of 240v before it goes to the bulb, I was of the thinking that dimming the 12v side will be much less problamatic

bookmarked thanks

Also in the UK and read with interest

@anon36505037 do you use an FGS 222?
If so do you recommend a DH?

Thanks

following this as i am in the process of rewiring the old part of the house.
need options
i have also bought the dimmer and RGBW controller to play with , iā€™m thinking twin and earth to fittings with a 3core + earth the the switches.
debating whether 1mm or 1.5mm
these momentary switches sound good

Iā€™m slowly moving my house to smart lighting (speed dictated by budget and Wife Approval Factor).

Currently Iā€™ve got Lifx bulbs where they make sense, and dimmable GU10s where they donā€™t. The plan is to put the GU10s on Fibaro dimmers.

I did look at dimming 12V for the bathroom (it was on 12V MR16s), but in the end decided it was easier to switch everything over to 240V, primarily because I couldnā€™t find dimmable MR16s I liked.

Iā€™ve also just rewired the lights in the upstairs of my house! I went for 1mm 3core+E because a) Iā€™m using low energy lamps everywhere, so theyā€™re not going to be drawing loads and b) the cableā€™s easier to pull if itā€™s thinner. Iā€™m friends with a sparky and he didnā€™t see any issue with it :grin:

My plan is for every switch to enable local control where possible, so the fibaros will be wired to proper switches, with zwave/zigbee switches sending commands to the Lifx bulbs. Thereā€™s a couple of wrinkles (difficult to get N to the living room and kitchen switches) but itā€™s going OK!

I will say, donā€™t overlook the convenience of motion sensors for e.g. hallways and stairs. I bought a couple to play with and theyā€™re working really well, especially to provide a bit of illumination at night.

1mm is fine until someone in the future changes the lamps to halogen,

ok the hub and dimmer arrived about 2 hours ago, and its all installed and working now,
relatively straightforward, the installation was easy, but then i have everything going back to a central point,
only part i stumbled on was that i needed to log into the CP to do the stuff with the device handlers,

need to familiarise myself with the app, as i dont know how to create a scene yet, but very impressed with how quick i had results,

the dimmer is much better than the wired switch, though it didnt turn off (just went really low) fitting the buypass resolved this,

and again thanks for the comments made it much easier for me

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According to this site even in the worst case scenario (covered with insulation, powering 100W of lights across 5 rooms) youā€™re talking about 2-4W max where 1mm cable would be expected to handle 8W (my house about as straightforward as it gets).

Also Iā€™ve got a 6W MCBO so I wonā€™t be setting my house on fire any time soon!

Great news! Are you using the dimmer with or without Neutral? My understanding is that if youā€™ve can wire a real N you shouldnā€™t need the bypass

Thank you very much Robin

I will install it now

the discussion of the mixed wire was from the IET forum. seems logical but strange.
so think ill stick with what i have always thought.
1.5mm 2core + earth to lights
1.5mm 3core + earth to switches

simples only about 15quid in it so sod it , do it once