Lamp control?

Devices & Integrations
1

I want my lamps to be controlled via Z-wave, but I also want to be able to walk up to the lamp and turn it on/off at the lamp the old fashion way. I found this product, but I don’t think it’s being made anymore:
https://www.ebay.com/i/121556008274?chn=ps&mkevt=1&mkcid=28

I’m not finding any other devices out there. I can only assume that there is another way to achieve what I described above…or is everyone only controlling lamps with a plug-in z-wave switch via the app or a remote switch?

2

Of course right after I posted this, I found the companies site:
http://www.everspring.com/portfolio-item/an145-dimmer-plug/

…and found it on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Everspring-Z-Wave-Screw-Socket-Module/dp/B00G3OEW9C/ref=sr_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=AN145&qid=1598586332&sr=8-8

I’m not crazy about the design (kinda tall) and it appears to be the only product like this out there. Also, as far as I can tell it doesn’t support Z-Wave Plus.

So, I’m curious as to why there aren’t more options for this out there. It seems like being able control the lamp physically at the bulb and via SmartThings would be something people would want.

3
  1. The Sengled Element Touch is a smart LED bulb about the size of a dumb Bulb (A little bigger) which has a button on the bulb itself you can use to turn it on and off. This is a Zigbee device which works well with smartthings but note that unlike most Smart bulbs it is not a zigbee repeater. If the lamp has a regular turn knob you may want to remove that so that people will look for the button on the bulb.

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IDevices makes a Wi-Fi socket very similar to the everspring you found, but a little bit smaller. Integration would be through Alexa routines.

  1. A lot of people just use an extra small battery operated button next to the lamp, like the smartthings button or the IKEA button, which is also a dimmer. These are both Zigbee. Both are pretty inexpensive. You can put them on the lamp itself or next to it.

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  1. There are also some plug-in pocket sockets which have a “loadsensing“ feature which are designed to allow you to turn the lamp on and off well it is plugged into the pocket socket. The problem is these can be pretty confusing because you may have to turn the lamp knob a couple of times before the light comes on. Also, they don’t tend to work well with LEDs, you probably need either incandescents or halogens. And a load of at least 25W. So this does exist and if you’re interested I’ll give you a couple of model numbers, but most people end up not liking them.
4

Thanks @JDRoberts. That’s really helpful info. I was only searching for z-wave products so I didn’t come across these options.

All of my devices are z-wave and I’ve been reluctant to purchase zig-bee devices. I guess my concern is that if I had to ditch SmartThings at some point (or they went away), then I’d at least still have devices that all use the same protocol. Not sure if that’s and irrational concern or not. :slight_smile:

I may start by buying one of the Everspring lamp holders and see how it goes.

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5

There are other platforms which support both Zigbee and Z wave. :sunglasses: Hubitat, Abode, vera, Zipato, Toshiba Symbio, etc. each has pluses and minuses, but there are definitely some options.

There’s no problem with sticking with just one protocol if you want to, but you shouldn’t have to.

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