Zigbee or Z-Wave dimmer controlled by ST + Amazon Echo - does the dimmer work with Dumb bulbs via voice?

Devices & Integrations
1

I apologize, I am new to smart things - I am finishing a complete remodel of my home and am about to install new outlets, switches, etc. I have a Denon Heos Drive, Smart things, and a few Echos for music and decided “Why not get some switches to control the lights since I purchased the smart things hub?”

If I put regular dimmable LEDs or halogens in my lighting cans, switched with a Zigbee or Z-Wave dimmer (say GE or another popular brand for argument’s sake) Will I be able to program ST and or Alexa to dim the bulbs on a schedule or ask Alexa to dim the lights to 20/30/50% etc?

Or is dimming limited to manually dimming the lights by toggling the dimmer on the switch? I don’t want a separate lighting app, and I don’t care for the expense of the Hue product (which, would negate using Smart Things for lighting anyway, yes?)

I have some familiarity with Control4 but that’s on a different level, and I really only used it for turning the lights off at a certain time, and for AV stuff.

EDIT: I did search for this - but searching for information on dimmers brings up so much unrelated information that I got tired of reading/ sifting through the posts and articles. I of course could by a few different dimmers and setup a circuit via an outlet to play with, but I thought I would try my luck asking first, thanks!

2

Yes you can use normal LED bulbs with a z-wave or zigbee switch and with the Alexa SmartThings skill you can then control the lights on/off/dim level.

2 Likes
3

And I can vocally ask alexa to dim to a specific level vs using the SmartThings app?

I notice on the GE switch reviews that using the app only gave a few dimming positions/ it wasn’t smooth whereas using a different hub or manually dimming the user had a much better experience, any suggestions or inputs there?

4

Well I can’t give exact intricate details, because I really don’t pay that much attention anymore. I say Alex dim this light or that light and it dims, or I say dim the light X % and it dims or I say set the light to X % brightness and it works. The ST app isn’t the prettiest or nicest controller for dimming.