I have installed two Inovelli switches to control lights in our hallway. I followed the instructions for “Line/Load in Separate Boxes (Neutral Wire Setup)”. The ‘before’ image is the match for how my dumb switches where wired before my installation. The ‘after’ image matches how the two switches are wired now. (link to wiring diagram)
It’s almost working as expected. The smart switch controls on/off of the lights as expected. The aux switch turns off the lights but doesn’t turn them on. I’ve double checked my wiring multiple times and believe it’s correct. Any suggestions?
Thanks for looking at my problem. Both switches are Inovelli. The smart switch is a Smart 2-1 Red switch. The Aux is, well, it’s an Add-On (Aux) switch.
I don’t think the hub type is relevant to my problem as I have not connected the switch to my hub. I will connect it to my Home Assistant hub.
I set the switch type to 3-way with Aux according the instructions that came with the switch. Hold the up button and press the small button 5X. I saw it flash a white LED indicator.
The load is some florescent tubes inside a very high skylight and a couple of canister lights with halogen bulbs.
This is basically a communication issue where the aux cannot properly determine the on-off status of the switch.
I can’t say for certain what is causing that, but the thing that hits me is that you are using the dimmer on an unsupported load. The dimmer is not designed to work with ballasts, which your fluorescent tubes have. So it would not surprise me if that is causing the issue.
Can you possibly disconnect the fluorescent fixtures and see if the behavior changes with just the halogen lights? I know you said they are up high but maybe they are on a separate leg or downstream of the halogens where they can be easily disconnected?
I have decided to not use a smart switch for this location. I was able to get it to work with a dumb switch in place of the aux switch using this diagram.
Unfortunately the smart switch becomes warm to the tough when the lights are on. This is not a safe solution so I have removed the switch.
This is most likely because you are using an unsupported load (the ballasts on the fluorescent tubes). The dimming circuitry is not designed for that (and is not rated for safe operation with them).
If you can remove the fluorescent tubes, the switch should operate normally, but otherwise I would recommend using the switch elsewhere.
Thank you. I can’t easily remove the fluorescent tubes. I don’t want to use the switch as a dimmer, so I attempted to configure the mode as an on/off switch as described in the instructions. That doesn’t seem to work so I’ve removed the switch from this location. Disappointing as I very much want to automate this light.
Unfortunately, even in the on-off mode the dimmer is still a dimmer and the power is routed through the dimming circuitry. However, the true on-off switch which is presently in beta and should be available in the near future should work there. It is a true relay-based switch which should be able to handle the combined loads.
I look forward to that on-off switch. It’s what I need not just for this application but for a few others around the house where a dimmer is unnecessary.
