This will be an area where we’ll discuss improvement opportunities for our Dimmer Switch (Black Series) in terms of hardware and firmware.
Feel free to list anything from examples you’d like to see implemented (ie: I want to be able to change the dim level based on certain times of day), hardware features you’d like to see upgraded (ie: 700 Series Z-Wave) or firmware features you’d like to see added (ie: instant on for the switch).
Looking forward to improving the switch!
Suggestion #1 - Ability to Disable Config Button Credit: Ticket from Site
Allow there to be either a security setting to enter config mode or a way to disable it so that it cannot be edited in commercial (or personal) settings.
It would be neat to be able to trigger a slow ramp-up controlled by the switch itself, e.g. for a programmed morning wake-up routine, while still supporting a fast ramp for normal ON events at the switch or by command. Zigbee lights can do this, but trying to do a smooth ramp on Z-Wave switches from my controller (by incrementing the brightness 1/256th at a time) just congested the mesh network.
Hey @bwarden – Pretty cool idea – let me see if I’m understanding correctly!
Our switch that will be released shortly has the ability to control both the On/Off speed (ie: if you tap the switch once to turn the switch on to the last dim setting or off) as well as the ramp rate (ie: if you hold down the switch to dim up or down) via Z-Wave (remote) or manual (at the switch).
From the switch, one tap turns the light on 100% nearly instantaneously.
From Z-Wave, normal ON command turns the light on 100% nearly instantaneously.
From Z-Wave, an alternate, single command gradually dims the light from off to 100% over, say, 10 minutes.
The first two are easy to configure; I set start brightness to 99% and the ramp rate as fast as possible. For the third scenario, I currently run a script under home assistant that starts at 20% brightness, then every 30 seconds, sets brightness 5% higher. Unfortunately, that 5% is really abrupt. Sending any more frequently than that really congests the Z-Wave network. Increasing by, say, 2% means that we take 20 minutes vs. 8 minutes.
I’d just like for the switch itself to be able to do something like this (given a time value and a step size), so I’m only sending a single command.
I think a neat feature would be to also invert the dimmer bar when the switch is in inverted mode. Currently you can switch the on/off buttons, but if you installed the switch upside down the indicator bar would go from top to bottom as the dimmer dimmed.
