I am trying to set the minimum dim level for White Series Dimmer switch. This has to be done with the switch itself. Not using Home Assistant or other third party interface. I go into the Configuration settings and tell it I want to change config parameter 4. Once I tap the config button 4 times and it acknowledged that I’m working with parameter 4 I tap the up button 3 times and get it to flash pink 3 times which I interpret as setting the minimum dim level to 30%. I then hod down the config button on the switch until the LED turns Yellow and then I release it and get the Cyan indicating that it saved the parameters. It doesn’t appear to actually be respecting the new minimum dim level. I can turn the switch on and off and then dim it back down to below the set level and the lights turn off. I was thinking that once I set the minimum dim level that the switch would not allow me to dim below the level set. What am I doing wrong?
This is setting the minimum dim level to approximately 3%, not 30%. See White Series Dimmer Switch • Button Combinations, Quick Tap Sequences & Local Configuration Options | Inovelli Help Center as each tap is roughly 1%.
This is expected behavior. Think of it this way, if you leave everything to their defaults, the maximum Dim level would be 100% and the minimum 1%. If you sent a command via a smart home platform of setLevel to 0%, that is generally coded as also turning off the light. In other words, a level of 0 = Off. If you raise the minimum dim level to 30%, you can still “dim” below 30%. What has really changed is that levels 0-29 now equal Off.
This behavior is also not unique to the White Series nor Inovelli’s in general. Lutron’s smart devices work in a similar fashion as for many other smart dimmers. What this setting is actually doing is for non-smart lights than turn off on their own below a certain level. I’ve got some builder grade LEDs that turn off if their level is below 20. So, I set the minimum dim level to 20 and anything below that turns off the lights.
LOL…I just figured that one out… and have it working as desired. The older I get the dumber I get. The interesting thing though is that I set one of my dimmers so that the minimum dim level is 25 and when I use the switch to dim it all the way down to where it stops dimming the Apple Home app is saying my dim level is now like 1% or something. But that’s on Apple. I do like these switches though. I’ve had nothing but a good experience with Inovelli switches.
That’s also expected. The switch in software will always dim from 0-100%. When you are setting the minimum level and maximum level, you are telling it what the “new” 0 and 100 should be and it scales out the difference between them to set the dimming curve.
The best approach is to set the minimum dim level to where the the light remains illuminated. This way, when you hold the paddle down, the light won’t turn off.
This prevents confusion from thinking the switch is off, when it’s really not.
As you’re setting the minimum dim level, the switch will dim to the level you have selected which makes it really easy to dial in.
I thought I had seen in a video the light doing as you describe but it was not doing that for me when I was setting it. I’m curious as to any possibility of writing an iOS app using the HomeKit library if it’s possible to set any of the configuration parameters for the switches.