Paddle Remote | Project BFF

So Hot Right Now Projects & Roadmaps
#37

So, the idea of a battery operated remote offers some innovative use cases.

However, a slightly spiffed up “even dumber” switch would be preferable to me.

Namely, I have way too many battery operated devices already. Plus, I’ve got “wired” boxes all over the place–having converted my house over to Z-Wave in 2010, I went through the pain of getting hot/neutral/load/ground/traveler wires all in one box–and traveler/neutral (usually neutral) in the 3-way aux box.

I would LOVE the ability to add a “dumb” Inovelli aux-switch that had a full-functioning LED that parrotted the LED function from the primary switch. AND that wasn’t battery powered at all.

Possibly some sort of low-frequency signal passed along the traveler wire to tell the LED what to do? Then, an extremely low power circuit that only drove the LED–so it could actually draw all the power it needed from the “traveler” wire, supplied by the primary switch.

This could be swapped in in place of a GE aux switch and, when paired with an Inovelli Dimmer/Switch, you’d have that super sweet LED at ALL locations.

Also, note: the primary switch should detect and handle all “aux switch” presses identically to those on it’s own paddle/toggle. Thus, double up-tapping the aux switch should result in the same events/behavior as a “double up-tap” on the primary switch itself (e.g., events sent to the hub, z-wave association behavior, etc.).

I just replaced all my old GE/Jasco Z-wave (non-plus) switches with GE/Jasco S2 Enbrighten ones. THEN I found out about your cool stuff.

I’m not planning (currently) to replace all my new switches before the credit card bills from that have even arrived :slight_smile: – but I am wanting to do a bit of shuffling to add 5-6 of these in key locations. I got a Red Series “switch” yesterday and put it in place. Pretty sweet–I’m stoked about being able to use the colors to distinguish between the various situations I want to know about (e.g., armed away, armed at home, doors open, all doors locked, etc.). Two more dimmers are supposed to arrive tomorrow.

#38

I’ve been looking into doing this with two Red switches for another thread. It works out of box with the HomeSeer 200 series switches, but Inovelli’s currently get into an update loop and flood the network with useless traffic. @EricM_Inovelli suggested a fix using Parameter 12 but I have yet to try it.
While having two Red switches isn’t the cheapest option, it would give you everything you want…

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#39

I do some work in rentals that are turned into smarthomes for a period of a couple years. If I could avoid running wires, I would be a very happy man. Its way easier to patch a couple screw holes, than a bunch of outlet sized holes.

#40

Will this compete directly with GE/Jasco’s Enbrighten z wave remote? It’s very similar to the Caseta Pico remote that it fits in a decora wall plate but is also removable. No wiring required. Just set up associations through your hub.

#41

I hope it doesn’t compete — the GE/Jasco is only usable through Association. It doesn’t send reports for button presses to the hub, which I hope Inovelli’s will, which would make it far more usable for people who do have hubs and what the extra power this opens up.

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#42

Yeah, considering the three years that elapsed since the announcement, those GE remotes are pretty disappointing. They are, technically, secondary controllers (and, so, don’t actually use associations, but control switches directly) - not very useful to folks who want to use their hub as a central point of control.

If the “hub remotes” that were also announced in 2017 make it to market, those would use central scene commands sent back to the hub. It looks like the 2-button version recently made its way through z-wave certification.

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#43

Recently… certified in 2018. I dunno what’s going on over at GE/Jasco and why it’s taking 3 years to get to market, but they are missing the boat. Product looks promising though- single/double/triple tap and hold/release. I’d buy one (would much prefer a BFF though :smiley: )

#44

Any news or ETA for this product? I’ve been having issues with consistency using an aux with red dimmer switch and this seems like it would solve my problems.

#45

No update yet – at this point, it seems like the only way this will come to fruition soon is to pay off our outstanding debt to the manufacturer and that will come via an investment. It’s close and we’re negotiating on both fronts (ie: working with the manufacturer to allow us to innovate and working with potential investors to give us a decent deal lol).

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#46

You are awesome, thank you for posting an update to the community. I would bet someone in the community has some kick ass video editing skills and would be willing to make you an investor pitch video :stuck_out_tongue:
I will hold out for these BFFs. They sound AMAZING.

#47

Hey Eric, I have some experience with fundraising etc. Happy to get on DMs or emails to see if I can help. (not trying to sell my services; just happy to help).

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#48

Have you thought about crowdfunding? Kickstarter/Indigogo are perfect for these types of projects and would allow you to avoid taking on debt. It also functions as free advertising for the company. win/win

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#49

I know I’m coming in late to this thread, but I just got my first Inovellis a few weeks ago (Feb. 2021) and just discovered this. I would vote for a full length LED like the Red Dimmer with Scene control, LZW31-SN, except the would only come on when the up/down or config button was pushed and then only stay on for a configurable amount of time or if programmed to accept notifications.

Also, I’m sure you’ve seen that the Pico has a wall mount and a stand mount so it can look just like a regular switch or sit on a table, night stand etc., and be a handy remote. Those would be particularly great in a bedroom where you don’t want to talk out loud to Alexa/Google or get out of bed to push a physical button to turn off the lights or adjust the fan speed (assuming one has your light and/or fan+light switch).

Stuart

#50

Any new updates on this?

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#51

No. I will let you know when the time comes, I promise.

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#52

Looking forward to this, especially with inductive charge idea.

Currently went with the zooz version to control a light that I can’t easily rewire.

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#53

awesome idea, good luck with investments, and hope it comes to fruition! I second the idea that crowdfunding would be perfect for Inovelli—already a great community so success seems likely. (although admittedly I know nothing).

this suggestion might be superfluous, given the mockup being compared to the Pico remote, but I really like the flexibility of mounting options, in particular the pedestal has come in handy.

look forward to updates, and keep up the awesome work guys!

2021-2022 Roadmap
#54

Three years and on it looks like Lutron beat you to market. Hopefully this project is still completed in the future.

#55

I think the Zooz ZEN34 already did that, and it entered the market almost three years ago in late 2020. :smiley:

It would still be nice to see one from Inovelli that’s a better match for their existing style or that came in Zigbee instead to match some of their newer products, but IMHO this is isn’t as gaping of a hole in the market as it once was (and as some things remain, cough cough fan module cough).

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#56

I’m hoping we combine this project with project Walt!