I have been playing around with lights for a while. I currently have a couple of Hue bulbs set up, however, I don’t like the fact that I have a light switch and a hue controller. No matter how many times I tell friends and family to use to hue one, they generally turn off the lights at the switch; rendering the hue useless… and sometimes after a power-off like this they don’t come back online and I have to pair them again.
I also have a couple of chandeliers with 14 bulbs in each, and swapping each of these out for a smart bulb will cost a small fortune.
So, my current plan is to move to a Zwave in-wall dimmer module and use regular LED bulbs in them.
However, I’m a bit confused as to how you install these… I have read a couple of guides which make vague reference to needing a relay? Is this the case, or will the dimmers work by themselves (what would a relay be for?)
Also… I have a couple of 3 way switches (stairs etc). Do I simply need to connect two of these to match the current wiring?
This is basically a relay like the Fibaro ones.
They are too big to fit behind your light swich itself and I also believe they need 3 wires live, neutral & the load which your switch may not have.
So a lot of people will follow the cable to the loft and fit it there , unless you have access to the wires behind the wall (new build)
So essentially cutting the cables and placing this in between.
Don’t quote me on any of this as I’m not a electrician just what I’ve seen.
@Kensi the main problem we have in the UK is that most houses do not have the correct wiring behind the switches
The device you linked to (which is in fact a relay in its own right) normally needs a neutral wire to operate
Looking at the reviews it seems this one does require a neutral.
So the best place to put this with the correct wiring would be in the ceiling rather than at the lightswitch. (where you will find a neutral wire)
For three way switching I just use Fibaro relays which are just on/off but you can connect multiple switches to them to switch from different locations
If you want to just stop people switching lights off, then I bought a bunch of switch covers from ebay which I use
Any chance you could give me a link to the Fibaro switches you use for 3 way? how have you actually wired it up? I did wonder if I could avoid any complications with a 3 way by putting the zwave in the ceiling before the light so that its only taking a single input.
Kensi, I am currently developing a device for the UK market which you may be interested in.
It currently operates using the EnOcean protocol but I am working on a Zigbee version to enable integration with SmartThings.
The device utilises wireless and battery less switch transmitters so will mean you don’t have to mess about with complex 3-way switching, just pair wireless switch transmitter and away you go.
Check out my website for more information www.rhoob.com.
Would something like this be what you are looking for?
This looks awesome, if you could get a zwave version working then I would jump at that! Im less fond of zigbee as a specification… but the idea looks great. I would make retrofits so much easier. When are you launching on kickstarter?
Tricky one… I guess the only time I would want one is when fitting out a new house. Most houses have between 15/25 light switches, so I wouldn’t want to pay too much. The other offerings seem to be about £45/55… I guess I’d be happy to pay up to the top end of that for the added simplicity? maybe £55-60 for something that was being fit on a permanent basis.
Sounds a bit tight, but I have tended to avoid spending more than £50 on my things. I tend to wait for them to come on offer.
Sorry, you lost me on that one… do you mean move the blue wire on the top of the two switches? What takes its place on COM? and do you need to move the black wire that is currently on COM or do they both get connected?