Blue series 2-in-1 series dimming inconsistencies

Switches General Discussion
1

I purchased a new Blue Series 2-in-1 switch and seven (ish) cannless LED wafer lights from various manufacturers. My particular focus was how dim the lights would go, how stable they were at the lowest dimming setting, and how fast they turned on when dimmed a lot. The clear winner was a particular Halo model and I proceeded to buy and install a lot of those lights. (https://www.homedepot.com/p/Halo-HLBPH-6-in-Adjustable-CCT-Canless-IC-Rated-Dimmable-Indoor-Outdoor-Integrated-LED-Recessed-Light-Kit-HLBPH6099FS1EMWR/318630546)

I also purchased 20 refurbished 2-in-1 switches (new are sold out) and started to install them. All have neutral wires and almost all are in a 3-way with dumb switch configuration. I’m using an Aeotech hub right now because it seemed easiest but also have a hubatat and HA that I could setup.

Anyway, the main problem I’m having is that most of the new circuits do not dim well. With the test light and switch, the light would minimize out around 5% and gradually increase as the dimming % increased in the app. The lowest dim setting was very little light, barely a glow.

With the new lights and switches, the lights are very bright comparatively. At 1% dim setting, they are about as dim as 30 on the lights that are dimming well. The new circuits do have more lights than the test circuit did (5 vs 9ish).

I can’t swear all the settings on all the switches are exactly the same. But I’ve looked through many of them to compare and they were similar.

Is there any setting or known issues that would result in such a drastic difference in dimming performance?

2

Take a look at parameter 9, Minimum Level. This sets the illumination leval to the lowest level. Set it to 1, then start adjusting the dim level 1% at a time until the bulbs light, then leave it there. When it’s set in this way, it will prevent you from dimming down below the level at which the bulbs will illuminate. It will also show you the dimmest they can go.

This will then create a pseduo-range for the dimming percentages so that you can dim down to 1% and the lights will still be illuminated.

1 Like
3

How were you running the original tests, installed in the house or on a test bench? Can you put the refurbished 2-1 switches you bought in that same test environment? Do they have the same firmware as the switch you did the original tests with?