[Blue 2-1] Two switches, one way binding + custom scene

Switches General Discussion
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#1

I have two Blue switches in one room that I’m trying to control in a somewhat interesting way. The setup is two switches each controlling their own dumb light. Normal controls (on/off/dimming) are all working as expected without any bindings, etc. I’m currently trying to use Z2M and home assistant to control the scene.

What I would like to do is have one switch as a local main control for both lights. This would fake having one switch to control both lights if I want them in the same state (on/off/brightness).

The other switch I want to use as a scene controller for the room. The current scene I’d like to setup turns off one light, and dims the other light to a low brightness (specifically the main switch off, and the scene switch at 15 brightness).

However, when I setup the binding from the main control switch this causes all commands (remote or local) to propagate to the other switch. This means when the scene is activated, it will likely turn off both lights instead of only the main switch. Activating the scene in HA twice likely results in what I want, but that is not ideal. Furthermore, turning on the main switch will often have the brightness values misaligned if the other switch is still in the dim mode.

Does anyone have any ideas how I could accomplish both behaviours (bind the switches + have a scene with different switch states)?

I did try manually syncing the brightness levels in HA using an automation, but that was not nearly as nice (the brightness values from the main switch are only reported after you stop changing the brightness at the switch). This seems to be a limitation of either the switch or Z2M, as Z2M is not reporting all the stepped values to the MQTT broker.

#2

It sounds like the best way to accomplish what you’re looking to do is to just use scenes rather than direct binding. If you add local protection to the switch you’d like to control the scenes you could then add an automation and control just about anything you desire. Local protection will stop the switch from powering the connected light directly when you press the paddles, however you could still turn them both on through another automation on your second switch.

I do something similar in my office as I don’t like the overhead light when I’m working at the computer. The main light switch simply runs scenes which control monitor backlighting and ambiance through some hue products. I then use the second switch to turn on and off the main light bulb as needed, even though it’s not directly connected to that light.

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