Hey guys – sorry for the MIA – been playing catch up on a lot.
Ok, so here is the email chain back and forth – but what it boils down to is that the on/off switch has some issues with dimmable bulbs, so if on/off bulbs can be used in this scenario, that would be best.
Also, thanks to @exo, who has been copied on these emails.
Email Correspondence:
Note: There is some things that are redacted for NDA purposes. I’ve also cleaned up some of the English so that we all can better understand.
Eric to Manufacturer
Hey –Redacted,
I’m reaching out in regards to the PM sent in Microsoft Teams around an issue that we’ve found with our On/Off Switches installed with a dumb switch in a 3-Way setting.
If you recall, we chatted about this a while ago on WeChat, but we could never replicate the issue.
Good news is we’ve been able to successfully reproduce the issue due to help from @exo who purchased an Inovelli switch.
Basically, what seems to be happening is the smart switch has an issue where, if the dumb switch is in a certain position, sometimes the smart switch does not turn on (even though you can hear the relay turn on as well as the LED bar light).
I’ve sent the videos in Teams and we’ll also send out the materials we’ve purchased so you can set it up on your end, but I also think your engineers may be able to replicate this issue using a light fixture such as the one shown in the video if you have any. When we tested prior, we (and your engineers) were using standard A19 bulbs which don’t seem to have a problem.
–Redacted
Let me know if you have any questions and have a great day!
Thanks,
Eric
Founder / CEO | Inovelli
Sent from my Android
Manufacturer to Eric
Hi Eric & @exo ,
The first thing, please double confirm the wiring for dumb switch is correct or not .
If the diagram is correct, our engineer –Redacted will follow up for more details to figure out what happened for this issue .
Hello –Redacted,
Please follow up and come over and I will show you the video from Eric which is too big to upload on mail or Wechat.
Also, please note the spec from light fixture connected with switch which doesn’t work properly .
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Sea-Gull-Lighting-Traverse-II-6-in-White-Integrated-LED-Recessed-Kit-14701SC-15/303060377?cm_mmc=ecc--STH_DELIVERY_COMPLETE--20191120_STH_DELIVERY_COMPLETE-_-Product_URL__W845567186withTHD
Eric to Manufacturer
Hey –Redacted,
I’ve confirmed the wiring is correct in this scenario. Thanks for checking!
Thanks,
Eric
Founder / CEO | Inovelli
Sent from my Android
Manufacturer to Eric
Hello Eric and @exo ,
As per confirmed with our engineers, the schematic for dimmable driver is the key reason that leads to the issue as mentioned below .
It’s feasible to connect with PWM dimmable bulbs such as some standard A19 bulbs however the leading edge or trailing edge dimmable bulb may have some issues. As you can see from pic from below, the detection signal in KEY1 which helps identify whether the switch is connected to a dumb switch or an aux switch is charged between N port and Load which means if the load is leading edge or trailing edge dimmable bulb will affect the waveform for KEY1 the left side as below pic.
The conclusion is that it is better to connect on-off bulbs instead of dimmable bulbs with the on/off switch if you are not sure the dimmable type bulb you will connect .
Hope above explanation could help you figure out and let us know if you have other questions freely.
NOTE: I’ve redacted a few things from the picture because I didn’t know what it said as it was in Chinese and I didn’t know if it was sensitive or not.
EDIT: Forgot to include the follow up questions I had for them:
Eric to Manufacturer
–Redacted,
Can this be fixed via a firmware update or is this a hardware issue?
Thanks,
Eric
Founder / CEO | Inovelli
Sent from my Android
Manufacturer to Eric
Hello Eric ,
It would be tough to fix it on both firmware and hardware .
The current design for on-off switch needs identify the dumb and aux switch in 3 way setting which means there is a detection circuit inside .
If it also needs to detect the leading edge or trailing edge dimmable bulb as well which means the detective signal from KEY1 may have some overlap and conflict risk to identify above dumb and aux switch .
Generally speaking, if on-off switch must be compatible with edge dimmable bulb, there is only one way to figure out as dimmer switch to have parameter 21 and parameter 22 to set a value on APP to make sure the switch would connect with dumb or Aux switch in advance that means the firmware and manual should be revised and make switch more complicated.
So, we propose to make switch easy to understand and use and tell end-users connect with on-off bulb only for switch and dimmable bulb for dimmer switch if end-users are not sure the dimmable type bulb they will connect.
Curious what you guys think as I’m no engineer by any means, but it sounds like this could be fixed the same way the dimmer switch works if you want to use a dimmer bulb with the on/off switch (ie: program the switch to detect the aux vs dumb switch).