Zwave switch that always supplies power for devices like Hue lights?

Are there switches that always supply power but still issue on/off/dim commands? I saw another post about Physical Control of a Hue light, but it did not mention a solution.

Basically, if I were to take our four recessed lights and replace them with Hue lights, we still need control from a switch (like the other post mentioned that this is a “no go” with the family without it).

So, are there options that keep the circuit on all the time but will issue the commands so that ST can control the Hues? It wouldn’t be something like the Linear WT00Z, would it? It says that doesn’t work without a load switch…but would the Hues be the “load switches”?

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While testing a switch coming on the to the market, I accidentally found out a way to lock the switch in the on position and still get on/off events.

I left it as is, but I should revisit it for this application.

Yep, that’s exactly what we need. That solves the “problem” with Hues and the need for local control!

I was wondering if one of the Leviton 4 button scene switches could do this as well. link That would allow double duty to also control colors as well and you wouldn’t need to place another switch in the box. The places I’m thinking about doing this already have three switches. A fourth might push it and it would look a bit dumb.

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I would assume such a switch would also work with TCP. I would like this also because I rewired a circuit to always on with a TCP bulb and use a Z-Wave switch to virtualize the on/off logic. There is a lag, though acceptable, I would like to eliminate. This switch sounds like it would do the trick.

Isn’t this what the aeon micro controllers already do? power is always on but makes the physical switch an extra on/off? for me it works like a 3 way switch. If I turn on at the switch, it shows on for the app. turn off at the app, physical switch is still “on”. then I can turn the physical switch to “off” and then the light comes on. virtual in app switch always shows true state.

I know about these, but there is no local dimmer capabilities…although I can definitely see uses around the house for them. Integrating zwave dimmer capabilities into an always on switch for Hues (or TCPs or others) would really be key to enjoying the entire experience and not having to reach for the phone to do something.

I believe the light turns on at it’s previous dimmed state from the physical switch with the aeon’s. I uninstalled mine since I switched to TCP.

Regarding TCP I’m pretty sure twack said not to use dimmer switches with them at risk of damaging the bulb. No idea about hues.

In this case, the dimming is zwave commands to the hue, not actual dimming via the electric current. This right here is the entire point of the thread. The need to have a physical control for something that is no longer directly controlled by the switch (local within the Hues themselves).

So, you would have a wave switch that always supplies power, but can issue commands to ST which, in turn, would command all the options Hues (and others) present - dimming, scene settings, etc.

@urman Did you figure out which switch can do this?

@brianlees The one I was thinking about made by Centralite isn’t on the market yet :frowning:

Darn. I’ll have to wait then since the family approval factor will be near zero if the switch does not control the lights. :frowning:

@brianlees I think the Philips Hue Tap should be coming out pretty soon! I read 2nd half of the year.

Yep, but that adds another switch to the wall and will not pass the family approval factor. Need to use the space available. Plan on replacing switches with zwave ones, but that still controls the load. Need constant load on the recessed cans and a zwave switch to control the hues themselves via a hub.

Would it be possible to connect a non-load switch (like a multi-button one) in an outlet and also wire the load to always be on to the recessed lights? I assume I could, right now, pull my dumb dimmer and connect the wires straight so that the lights always had power? If so, could I also connect the zwave switch to that same series (or maybe parallel in this case)?

@urman - I think I solved this one. No special switch is needed. Just pass the “line” through to the “load” wire similar to how I wired the three way switches. See this post:

Will this method work with a Jasco 45609 Z-Wave Wireless Lighting Control On/Off Switch (http://www.amazon.com/Jasco-Z-Wave-Wireless-Lighting-Control/dp/B0035YRCR2), or does it need to be a 3 way switch?

It also looks like the Hue Switch was just released today and is already available in some Apple stores.

I agree with Brian that the Hue Tap totally misses the point by not following the right form factor. I do not need a Hue switch to sit on a table - that’s where my phone or iPad is already at, I need it in the wall. I did have this hard-wired approach working with my Hue lights by just bypassing the switch for the load and thus always powering them. I used a Jasco dimmer through to ST which then had a SmartApp set to turn the Hue bulbs on and off as well as change the dimmer settings. It “worked” but the delay in on/off and dimmer change was too high in my environment to get to a reasonable WAF so I ripped it out. I also had lots of problems with general reliability with the hue bulbs and ST, which is a real problem in this case since which the switch out of the loop you can no longer just “turn them off”. A direct to Hue wall switch is what is really needed here IMHO.
Here is the other thread on this:

I agree with you that another alternative for directly changing Hue lights is needed, but for myself, I don’t think the Hue Tap “totally misses the point.” I think it just needs to be one of many options.

For instance, I have a ‘great room’ type area in my house - which happens to be where most of my Hue bulbs are. In-wall switches have been a problem for me in this area, mostly because there are more bulbs than there are switches and I don’t always want to be turning them ALL on or off. (Still waiting for my Leviton in-wall scene controllers to be useable, ST!)

But also because the walls are not always nearby to where the lights are. It’s annoying (especially in a “smart house”) to have to get up and walk across a large room to turn on or off the lights near where you are sitting. So in-wall switches only solved part of the problem for me. SAF rules out using the app to turn these lights on and off.

Enter the Hue Tap. Not tied to a wall or power source, and simple enough that it got immediate approval yesterday. (Which, frankly, is the first time for any of my improvements!) It doesn’t solve ALL the problems, it’s true. But it is definitely a help, and step in the right direction.

Did you ever determine if this was OK? I have a number of the same units and a few GE and Evolve units as well. I’d like to know:

a) Is it safe to connect the line directly to the load.
b) Will the switch still send a signal (and still be a Z-Wave repeater).
c) Will the ST hub get the ‘dimmer setting’ from the Evolve?

Thanks.