I have a Ceiling fan/light combo in a master bedroom controlled by a Bond Hub linked to my Smartthings hub. The light/ceiling fan unit is controlled by a 3 way circuit, but the switched power needs to be ON 24/7 because the fan is one of the newer DC types where you are supposed to control it completely by a remote. If you turn off power to the fan with a wall switch, the remote (or Bond hub/smartthings) cannot turn the light or fan on or off.
My goal was to add the red series on/off to work with the dumb auxiliary 3 way switch, so that there would be local switched control for at least the light. This way the cleaning ladies can turn on the bedroom lights (I have had the wall switch removed from the wall for awhile, I just use voice assistant/motion sensors to control the light.) I had read that there is a relay disable feature for smart bulbs on the red series, which I had hoped would allow me to feed power to the fan 24/7, and setting up a smart lighting app to associate the wall switch with the Bond/smartthings hub to handle the actual fan/light power switching for the ceiling fan light.
Right now I have the red series switch installed with the dumb 3 way. It appears to be controlling the load properly as well as the dumb 3 way. I installed the device handler successfully in ST as I see the advanced options in the switch settings in the ST app. I believe I have the switch configured correctly for a dumb 3 way circuit, but TBH that process was somewhat frustrating and Iâm not sure I got the correct flashing lights during the programming. I have disabled the internal relay by following the programming instructions and received the correct blinking light confirmation.
Iâm hung up on two things:
Even with the internal relay disabled, the dumb 3 way cuts power to the light/fan unit if switched the wrong way. I had hoped the dumb switch would simply trigger an on/off command by the red series. Is this even possible with a red switch/dumb switch combo?
Iâm struggling to figure out how to associate the red series switch with my existing âvirtualâ ST/Bond switch. Using the smart lighting app, when I set up the smart lighting app to do this, I can get the red series switch to control the ST/Bond switch for the fan light using the app, but not physically from the wall.
Ok, update: I figured out that it appears I need an auxiliary smart switch to accomplish what Iâd like to do. But now Iâm hung up on losing notification capability, If I disable remote control for the red series on/off in the settings. I have to disable remote control so that a user does not inadvertently kill power to the fan/light via the app. Its unfortunate one cannot disable on/off remote control for the red series independently of the placeholder child devices you need to set up for notifications I imagine a work around could be to wire the load directly to line, independent of the red series?
Yes, this is possible. In one of my circuits I have 3x LZW-31SN and 1x dumb three way. Toggling the dumb three way is detected by the âparimaryâ LZW-31SN, which then sends commands to the two remaining LZW-31SN via the Group 3/4 associations.
That said, you shouldnât have a fan connected to an LZW-31(SN) dimmer at all, even when using the smart bulb mode. In practice the âsmart bulbâ mode doesnât do anything that canât be accomplished with wiring changes in the boxes. If you want the load to be âalways onâ simply connect it directly to load in the box rather than load output of the LZW-31SN.
If possible, could you post clear photos of the wiring in each box?
Thank you sir for the reply . To clarify, I have a LZW30SN (not a dimmer model) and a dumb switch in a simple 3 way circuit. I understand that the switch was not engineered for fan units, however, since the DC fan load is controlled entirely by a separate remote control box in the fan unit, and Iâm not exceeding the wattage rating of the LZW30SN, I should not have any issues.
I have learned quite a bit about the advanced settings for the switch since I initially posted (and even figured out notifications ). I was able to enable remote control which allows notifications to work, and simply hide the switch in the Smartthings UI app which accomplishes what I needed.
Maybe I should refine my question:
Can the dumb switch trigger a corresponding button 1 push/button 1 held on the LZW30 recognized by Smartthings, if the LZW30 is not controlling the load (the line/load are simply wired together in the box to provide âalways onâ to the fixture OR the LZW30SN smartbulb feature is activated to provide constant power)?
I have created a smart lighting app/function in ST that sends a command to the DC light/fan remote unit to turn ON when button 1 is pushed, and OFF when button 1 is held. If the answer to my italicized question is YES, I need to figure out what I wired incorrectly. If the answer is NO, and this is simply not possible, than I need to remove the dumb 3 way switch and rewire the LZW30 as a single pole switch. I realize that I COULD add a 2nd LZW30 in the circuit, but as the dumb switch location is very, very, rarely used (if ever), its simply not worth the cost of a 2nd LZW30.
If I understand correctly, you want to use the dumb switch to initiate button presses as if they originated from the Inovelli. The answer is no, you canât. AFAIK, even the Aux switches canât replicate the button presses.
Is there any way to expose if the traveler or physical switch is toggled? Assuming you have an aux switch you could set a timer when the aux is pressed and count for up to 700ms of whatever. @EricM_Inovelli is this something that would have to be in firmware or in the DH?
@Bry, yes, that is what I was looking to accomplish or wondering if at all possible. Thank you for clarifying this for me. I really appreciate it. Iâm still happy with the switch and its capabilities. Would it be nice for the dumb switch (or an aux) to be able to simulate at least a #1 button push/hold, sure, but its all good! thanks so much for the prompt support team inovelli!
I imagine a work around could be to wire the load directly to line, independent of the red series?
). I was able to enable remote control which allows notifications to work, and simply hide the switch in the Smartthings UI app which accomplishes what I needed.