Hi,
Is anyone using this dimmer, mines just arrived today so haven’t had a chance to play with it yet but I’ve noticed it isn’t actually on the supported list (yet the 211 is). I haven’t a clue how you go about adding something which isn’t supported so any advice/guides people can point me at would be fantastic. I’m fully prepared for an evening of swearing at inanimate objects.
Thanks,
Matt
This is what worked for me after learning to program from the Docs in one day. May not be the bestl solution, but it works. Just make sure you change the parameters in the configuration function to match your requirement. The parameters can be found in the fibaro manual
Steps:
Hope this helps.
Hi Rajiv,
Thanks a lot that’s really helpful, I’ll try and follow these steps later tonight when I get home. I hope that other users will find this useful too as I’d imagine this is a popular option for UK people as it works with both 2 and 3 wire lighting systems.
Thanks,
Matt
I have a Dimmer 2 and have so far been using the “Z-Wave Device Multichannel” type, which seems to work well for on/off/dim.
I’ve had a go with the custom device script, but it looks like it needs a bit of work. Electricity usage kind of works.
Dimming doesn’t seem to work at all, and turning the device on does not register electricity usage. To do this you have to hit ‘refresh’. The usage then shows. Unfortunately refreshing also seems to switch the lights off.
It looks like it could work though.
Thanks John, I’ll probably give it a go using your suggestion first (didn’t get a chance to fit it last night) then if that works try the script to see if I can get more functionality out of it. What strikes me as odd is that I have to fit the device and then press a button on it to pair which is going to require the power being back on and the device accessible, not sure I like the idea of attempting to jab at a small button amongst live wires but I guess that’s half the fun right…
Not at all, just set the ST app to start looking for new devices, hit the switch on your fully installed Fibaro Dimmer 2 (the light switch, not on the module) 3 or 4 times, and ST will find it and add as a “Z-Wave Device Multichannel”. It’s really very straightforward.
Have you gone for a retractive/momentary switch?
Ah right I didn’t know it was so easy, I plan to have momentary switches in the new house when I will buy more of these (or aeotec ones) but at the moment I’m testing with just a standard toggle switch, does the setup differ with these?
Thanks,
Matt
I’ve never done a toggle switch setup before so I’m not sure. The momentary setup is rather good though, and the Dimmer 2 has some nice advantages over the old X10 LW12 modules I was using (even as a standalone dimmer). For example, if you just want lights on as dim as possible, press and hold the switch. Holding for a longer period will increase the brightness. I can’t count the number of times I would have used this feature in the past to prevent rude awakenings! Also a double tap seems to give full brightness for a 10 second blast, then turn off. Handy if you need to find something quickly and then leave the room.
If you want a good finish, I can recommend these, although a little pricey:
They also do white insert/brushed/white surround, etc.
Hi John
Thanks for the information I think I might have to get a momentary switch although for now probably just a cheap MK one I’ve found for £5 as I’m still testing this stuff out. I wired the dimmer up earlier and it was behaving unexpectedly - on-off-on seemed to change the state of the bulb but not consistently sometimes just on-off would and other times just changing state did and there was a noticeable lag in it doing so. The biggest issue here was off was actually still glowing and not off, on however was 100%; I had read elsewhere that you needed at least 9.5w load otherwise it might flicker or glow so I was testing with a 10watt LED bulb (one which should work with a dimmer). I think this and or the AeoTec/AeonLabs dimmer would probably work better in a 3 wire setup and as the new place will be re-wired I can ask for this which I believe should stop this issue altogether (I’d really like to have LED bulbs throughout the house for energy saving purposes)
Do you use LED bulbs? Have you had to buy the additional bypass (is this just a fancy resistor?)
P.S. I also failed to pair it with ST, probably because flicking the switch on and off rapidly isn’t quite the same as pressing a momentary switch.
I’m sure you should be able to pair it like that without too much trouble. In your case you might need to flick the switch 8 times (as on/off would be equal to one press). I don’t have any LEDs attached to fibaros at the moment. I’ve come from X10 which absolutely didn’t support them, so have filament bulbs through the house. I think you’re right on the bypass, probably just a resistor.
I believe Fibaro requires a minimum of 25W in the circuit to prevent flickering. There is a formula used to select the right resistor in the micasa forums in one of the pages:
About the functionality, did you set the parameters properly in the code I gave you after referring to the manual? This is a very important step.
I agree on the LEDs, it sounds like you don’t have enough power draw. There will always be some current as the Dimmer 2 needs to remain powered. It sounds like this is enough to also make your lights flicker, so resistor it is (unless you plan to have multiple bulbs in your real setup, in which case you may be ok).
ETA: An appliance style module with on/off (no dimming) will always require 3 wires, but you will certainly avoid any flicker issues (and get an immediate on/off). Dimming modules usually (this one does) give a soft on/soft off. If you’re not drawing 25w then off will appear to be a delayed off rather than a ‘soft’ off. 3 or more of those lights together, and you should be fine.
Apologies @rmbhatia, I only saw your second post containing the link to your code, not your first with instructions! Which parameters specifically would we need to change? As far as I can see, all of the parameters in #13 of the manual are ok for me as default. Is there something else we need to change to get this to work?
Hi John,
Sorry for the late reply. My code changes the defaults to suit my settings. You can cross check the parameter defaults in the manual and modify/add parameters to update the dimmer configuration to suit your setup.
The wattage consumption does not refresh when you change the dimmer levels. I will look into that and revert back if i’m successful.
Apart from this, everything seems to be working ok for now.
I commented out the four config lines in configureAfterSecure, and all seems to work well, apart from (as you say) the consumption after changing the dimmer settings.
Thanks very much, I’ll use this from now on I think.
Thanks for the code! It helped me to set the dimmer to function to work as an on\off switch.
Is the configure button supposed to work(do anything)?
Jon
The configure gets called automatically the first time. You can create 2 configure buttons. One as an on/off switch, one as dimmer. This way u can use one device and configure 2 switches as required.
Let me know if you have trouble coding. I can modify the code accordingly.
Stupid questions probably, but if anyone knows:
-Can you still put your lights on and dim them using the switch even if your zwave network goes down?
-Will the custom code require internet connection or will it work “locally” on v2 hub?
-Can you group several dimmers into lighting groups that follow a set schedule (3 lights on at sunset and off at sunset for example)?
-Does using the physical switch in anyway mess with the state of the dimmer as seen by the ST hub? ie. if I turn the lights on with physical switch, will the ST hub see the state change?
-How reliably this works vs say Philips Hue lights… my scenario being that I just want to turn several lights on/off based on schedule?
-Will Smartthings and Fibaro dimmer talk to each other using local processing? Ie. if my system loses internet and thus connection to ST cloud, will my automations keep working or not?
If the hub is unavailable
The Fibaro, like all of the micro relays, will control current directly if it is directly attached to it. So it can work when the Internet is down, or when the hub is gone altogether, as a regular physical switch. Just like a non-network switch. But only for the circuit it is directly attached to. So as long as you have attached a physical button to that circuit, you can still toggle the lights on and off even if the hub is missing altogether. Dimming depends on the exact physical device it’s been attached.
If you use any of the other types of control features available through SmartThings, such as saying when I turn on the switch in the entry, I want those lights to come on and I want the kitchen lights to also come on (which are actually on a different circuit and being told to follow the switch by the smart things hub) and the hub is not available, then the entry lights would still come on, but the kitchen lights would not until you went over and hit their physical switch. Anything based on schedules would not operate if the hub was not available.
If the hub is available, but the internet is not
If a device type is approved for “local processing” (not local connection which is a different thing) then, if the hub is available but the smartthings cloud is not, the automations that you set up that were approved for local processing will still run. So in this example, if you turned on the entryway switch, the lights in the kitchen and the entryway both come on even if the Internet was not available. Schedules set up through the smartlights smartapp would also continue to run.
@aaron @slagle can you please confirm that the micro relays that are listed on the official "works with "SmartThings list for the UK will run locally with smart lights automations?
custom code never runs when the Internet is not available. That includes custom device types.
That said, no custom code or custom device type has the option to run locally at the present time. In fact, the only thing which does run locally are approved device types with the smart lighting automation.
The reason is that the only code that can run locally when the Internet is not available are those which are already loaded into the firmware for the hub and present for all customers. As soon as a single change is made, that code is no longer pushed out to all customers, and therefore it is not available in the firmware.
So only the Fibaro models that are on the official compatibility list are even eligible for local processing. the new fibaro is not on that list, and therefore it cannot run locally at the present time.
Getting a device approved to run when the Internet is down
So the process timeline typically looks like this: manufacturer introduces new device. Community members develop custom code for a device type for that new device, and share it with others through the forum.
When it seems fully ready for general use, the author submits it to SmartThings for official publication. Once it is officially published, it automatically appears in the SmartThings mobile app.
It then becomes eligible for review as a candidate for local processing.
Eventually, it may be selected for local processing, or for technical reasons, it may not.
(There is also a completely separate process through the SmartThings official testing labs, where the manufacturers submit their devices to SmartThings for certification, and the staff do all the device type development and testing. The community only hears about those when there is an official announcement that a new device type has been approved. Those are immediately available in the mobile app, but again may not necessarily be available for local processing.
Announcements of new compatible products are made on the official SmartThings blog, in the announcements section of this form, and of course are added to the compatibility list. )
Hi @rmbhatia
This looks really good.
I’m new to this; will this make the device type appear in my mobile app and let me set the parameters?
Basically, I have a set of Dimmer 2 modules I’m going to install later this week, hopefully, and some will be dimmers with 3-way momentary switches, so will just be on/off, and some will be 2-way. Where in the code would I need to change so that it prompts me for options on first adding to ST?
Many thanks in advance!
Giles.