Blue 2-1: Automation/Blueprint in HA to dim/brighten lights while paddle is held

Switches General Discussion
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I feel like this is a pretty big topic but I haven’t found a proper solution for my setup. I’ve searched, but if I missed it, please link me to the instructions :slight_smile:

Setup:
Switch: Blue 2-1
OS: Home Assistant
Lights: Hue Canless Downlights in a light group (NOT via zigbee)

Problem:
I can’t seem to get a proper dimming automation to work. I want the light group to dim/brighten while the paddle is being held, and stop dimming/brightening upon release. Right now I’m using either this blueprint or this HACS integration. I have seen in some of these older forum posts about people using a loop for this specific scenario, but I’m not well versed enough in HA to know how this works exactly. I’ve also read that it seems like there’s no way to make this work while seeing the dim/brightness in real time/near real time while holding the paddle, and that you only see the change upon release of the paddle. An evil I’m potentially OK living with as long as I can get the dang brightness/dim hold automation working.

Solution:
So, can anyone help a poor soul out here with the trick on loops or getting this particular need figured out? Thank you!

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As someone on that HA thread has pointed out, you can set the physical switch to Dimmer mode to physically dim the light that it’s wired to.

If you’re trying to dim via ZigBee commands to a separate light fixture, then yes, you’ll need to make an automation that basically runs a loop that constantly increases/decreases the brightness, starting the loop when the “hold” event is detected and stopping when the “release” event is detected. There will be some inevitable delay in starting/stopping due to both the ZigBee processing by HA and by the configured delay time on the switch.

I thought I had made a script very similar to this just the other day, but I can’t currently find it, so I might have to recreate it.

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ahhh, yeah I’m trying to control lights outside of Z2M, via HA. Any chance you could help me in/walk me through creating a looping script that my switch could call upon when holding the paddle?