Speaking of crazy scenarios, is there a mode that allows you to completely divorce a specific 2-1 switch from its connected load (like smart bulb mode but where you could still independently control the load from your automation hub)?
I have a switch near my back door that controls the light on the back porch. I don’t really need this light to be controllable with a physical switch if I can set it up to work with time conditions (I currently achieve this with a Kasa switch). What I’d like to do is replace this with an Inovelli Blue 2-1 and do the following:
Program the physical switch to control something unrelated to the load (I’m thinking open/close garage door).
Retain the ability to configure the load (light) via Home Assistant, so I can set it to turn on and off at specific times (maybe also control on/off via the app but not the Inovelli switch or perhaps linking it to an Inovelli switch elsewhere in my house).
Would this be possible with the current implementation of smart bulb mode? Or could this feature be requested (default smart bulb mode could always power on the load but there could be a configuration to have more granular control)?
Not sure I’m explaining that well but it is a use case I’ve wanted to implement so figured you might want to know about it.
I think I’m following - I’m assuming the load is a smart bulb?
Edit: Or are you saying you’d want the switch to turn on/off via a time setting (so smart switch but dumb load) and at the same time, use your smart switch to control something other than the load it’s attached to?
I think I’m following you. There are two protection modes (i.e. the ability to disable something from working), local and remote. If I disable local protection, the switch paddle will no longer control the load physically wired to it. But you can still control the physically wired load via the hub, using your app, a rule, etc.
The paddle can still be used to send button presses for scenes.
I know this is a little late in the game. But, what is the technical reason you weren’t able to do an LED bar on the AUX switch? Did you have your engineering team look into how Leviton is able to do it with their companion switch? Maybe a V2 down the road?
The latter, dumb bulb in fixture, controlled via whatever hub/app you use (which would enable setting time conditions, or manual on/off or whatever else one could automate), then use the wall switch to trigger something unrelated.
This sounds like exactly what I’m looking for! Remote control of the load maintained separately from whatever you choose to use the switch paddle to control.
With all the options, calling the Red Series a “switch” is a misnomer, it’s much more of a control center. I can setup rules to have the taps(s) of the switch do almost anything, from disarm the security sirens(secret unknown # taps), open/close the garage door, dim the porch lights on the other side of the house. I can also know if the basement fan is on or off by the color of the LED bar or if I left a door/window open.
Inovelli is really shaking up the market.
Just wanted to understand this better, does this mean the shipments of the Blue switches in July will not have the MG24 and won’t be able to receive OTA updates to Zigbee to Matter? Will they be upgradeable to Matter using some other method?
I think “near instant” is the accurate way to describe what we’re seeing in the videos once the 500ms delay is removed. Its also probably the fastest any of us will ever get for a smart bulb switch. Instant would be how fast a dumb switch turns on a dumb bulb. I believe I can see a delay, albeit very small, between the Blue switch turning on the smart bulb vs a dumb switch turning on a dumb bulb.
“Near instant” is not a critique of the Blue Switch performance, I am very happy with what has been demonstrated and intend to buy a 10 pack.
Yeah great question – it’s buried in this thread a bit, but here’s the gist of it:
MG21 (current design and what is initially shipping) will have OTA capabilities, but only Zigbee to Zigbee firmware (ie: Zigbee FW Version 1.0 can OTA to Zigbee FW Version 2.0). If you want to go from Zigbee to Matter (or Thread), you will have to use a serial port method (more on that below).
MG24 (what we’re hoping to get in our next batch or at least sometime this year when the chip is ready) will be able to do Zigbee to Zigbee or Zigbee to Matter. No serial port required.
We’re still working through the logistics of the serial port method for customers, but how it’s done is that there is a cable that has a USB-A on one end (to plug into your computer) and a 5-pin header that plugs into the switch and you would update the firmware that way:
NOTE: The above is a prototype but the pin location is the same in production.
I would like to have the same control I had from Insteon. Not sure if it is possible yet or if maybe I just need to look deeper into advanced settings or programs. I miss turning on lights after a set time and they turn on to the preset level of 15-20% when switch is pressed normally but then during daytime hours the same push on the switch turns them on to 75%. The other thing I’m looking forward to is more reliability in regards to quick feedback on if a device is on or off from apps. Insteon was very reliable but maybe it was my setup and it wouldn’t always update quickly to show if something was off or on. I also since I had little z-wave had a hard time getting locks to show accurate and quickly.
I really look forward to having the light bar show status of other devices. I did also purchase 4 RGBW bulbs from here and am trying to figure out where to put them currently. I like the ability to have Alexa turn them on and change the color but I don’t want to always have to ask Alexa to do this which another reason I’m excited for the blue series I purchased. Recessed light bulbs I’d be all over and would have bought more but standard I don’t have many areas in use.
If I want to use one of these in the garage to control high wattage “shop” LED lights, are there limits I should be aware of? I want to get the highest lumens I possible. TIA.
Good news… you can absolutely do this with the Blue Series (and even with the Red Series).
There’s a parameter in the switch that is called, “Default Level” (or something like that) in which you can set the default level that the switch comes on. From there, you can schedule a timeframe for that default level. For example, I have a Red Series in my bathroom that between the hours of 2-6am, if I turn on the light, it will come on to only 5% as to not blind myself if I have late night bladder issues lol. Then during other times, it will just go to 100%.
Looking forward to hearing how you like them once you get everything setup!
Great question – I haven’t released official specs yet as the product is going through UL, but what we submitted was the following, which we feel confident we’ll achieve.
I was a bit shocked we had to lower the wattage given there’s no heat sink tabs on the switch, but apparently they’re concerned of overall heat in the box if there are two or three switches.
