All of the bedrooms in my house don’t have overhead lights, they just have a light connected to a fan. In each bedroom, one of the switches controls a plug. I’ve read from previous posts/documentation that the 2-1 dimmers aren’t designed to handle loads that may be generated from devices that are plugged in, but my question is, if the device that is plugged in is a standing lamp or nightstand lamp with a hue bulb or 2 connected, is that a problem?
Alternatively, let’s say it’s not a problem, but it’s still not a good practice. If I wait for the true Blue On/Off switches, will those switches still support dimming behavior if they’re bound to a Hue bulb? I know they’re not intended to be dimmers, but when they’re set to smart-bulb mode and bound to a Hue bulb, can I dim them just like the 2-1 dimmers I have?
The reason that you should not use a dimmer on an outlet is because the dimmer is not rated for the capacity of the branch circuit. That is a NEC code requirement (if you are in the US) and a similar code requirement in Canada. It is there for safety reasons.
I understand that you just want to plug a lamp into it and things are fine until someone else comes along (or you forget) and the vacuum cleaner gets plugged in. You probably won’t like the loud popping noise and the smoke.
The soon-to-be released on/off switch is rated for an outlet because it is a relay-based switch. It is capable of binding.
Edit: It appears the on-off is capable of dimming in the smart bulb mode.
You could also use the multitap function to send dim level commands to the bulbs.
Thank @Bry and @rohan for your responses. Really appreciate the options you’ve laid out. Will talk with my electrician about it and see what he thinks is best, but it’s nice to know that at least for the beta On/Off units, dimming works. (Apologies for the delay, I’ve been sick this last week.)