I made a mistake of getting a couple of $30 Zigbee dimming outlets instead of regular on/off outlets.
Unfortunately, I do not have any lamps in the house to use them with; and I cannot return them.
Are there any other uses for these dimming outlets - can I plug in anythign else into them (phone chargers, USB charging hubs)?
Dimmable outlet is just like a dimmable switch. You have the ability to dim whether you need it or not. It can still be used as a standard on/off outlet and if that was your intended purpose, don’t sweat it. Never know when you will need the dimming function.
However, lamps would be the #1 use for dimmable outlets.
I doubt you’ll find anything other than lights that will work with the dimming function.
@anon36505037 I have not tried switching the device handler, its a good idea.
If I can plug in anything without causing a fire, then I can check and report back.
@rontalley @destructure00 I do not want to use the dimming function, I will be happy if I can use it after setting the “brightness” to 100%.
Brand and model? If it has a hardware determined ramp rate, which most of the zigbee dimmers do, then it should only be used with dimmable lights. If it has a parameter you can change to shift it to on/off, that’s a different story.
@Navat604 or one of the other electrical experts might be able to say more.
@JDRoberts @Navat604 I believe its a generic Zigbee dimming outlet very similar to the Centralite outlet.
That particular device has a fixed ramp rate and has current-sensing, and for both reasons, it’s only rated for use with lights. And I wouldn’t try to use it with anything else, the current sensing is going to really throw stuff off.
That doesn’t mean that the model that you have has exactly the same feature set up, though. Is there an FCC license on the back of it? We could look up the model that way.
When in doubt. Don’t use it for non dimming circuit. Wouldn’t want it to Dim down to a low level and damage the plug or whatever plugging in. I now have my dimming plugs just for repeaters.
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OK, that’s just for the zigbee chip itself, it doesn’t tell us what the features are of that particular pocket socket.
There’s no manufacturer/model number on the plug?
Manufacturer is CentraLite, model number is 4257050-ZHAC - there are a bunch of other numbers, please do let me know what you need and I can respond back. Many thanks in advance.
OK, that model has load sensing and does not have a parameter switch to on/off as opposed to dimming, so you should only use it with dimmable lights.