Need to: Control CFL’s (that are dimmable)
Please share your thoughts…I ended up getting the Philips Ambient LED lights (way more expensive than a CFL but works “perfectly”) because the Dimmer I was using didn’t like it! The Philips Ambient LED lights are very impressive though…
I have a GE Dimmer but haven’t tried it yet.
None of my in wall dimmers like LED or CFL bulbs. One stays on constant and the other doesn’t work at all. There has to be a dimmer that works with the newer bulbs.
I have a few lamps with various brand LED bulbs and a few others with CFLs. They all work well (dim and brighten) with Evolve outlets and modules. They’re a little pricey, but the units also repeat encrypted codes for my door locks, so they’re worth it for me. Available here: http://www.automatedoutlet.com/Home/Evolve-Z-Wave
The problem with CFL bulbs is there is no standard for manufacturing - at this point no manufacturer that I am aware of supports the use of CFL’s with Z-Wave Dimmers. Some bulbs might work other don’t no consistency at all. Any manufacturer that I have talked to says if you want to utilize CFL bulbs you should used Relay Switches
Hi Lonestar.
Do your LEDs flicker at all? I am looking into buying the Evolve Dimmer as well.
Please let me know.
Thanks,
Flo
I’m so NOT a goverment regulation lover- but i wish the feds would step in and make standards for CFL’s, LED’s, whatever, and dimmers so they all play nice. It’s annoying as (pick your favorite word) that you have to go to the home center and spend 20 minutes reading bulb boxes to get the Bulb you want- then find it doesn’t work anyway and need to spend an hour on the net researching.
anyway- seems the evolve is the way to go- just looking for confirmation.
also- does anyone know if they do “instant” status updates to vera?
According to this (possible outdated/inaccurate) dimming switch matrix, no, they do not do instant status.
http://store.homeseer.com/store/HomeSeer-Z-Wave-Dimming-Wall-Switch-Matrix-W16.aspx
Also, here is the relay (on/off) switch matrix (where Evolve isn’t even listed)
http://store.homeseer.com/store/HomeSeer-Z-Wave-OnOff-Wall-Switch-Matrix-W7.aspx
However, it says GEs do not, yet mine do, so take it with a grain of salt!
[quote=“michaelk, post:6, topic:169349”]I’m so NOT a goverment regulation lover- but i wish the feds would step in and make standards for CFL’s, LED’s, whatever, and dimmers so they all play nice. It’s annoying as (pick your favorite word) that you have to go to the home center and spend 20 minutes reading bulb boxes to get the Bulb you want- then find it doesn’t work anyway and need to spend an hour on the net researching.
anyway- seems the evolve is the way to go- just looking for confirmation.
also- does anyone know if they do “instant” status updates to vera?[/quote]
Hi Michaelk,
I just bought a the evolve dimmer. Also I bought a bunch of different LEDs (PAR38). Basically I got all the different types available at Lowes and Home Depot.
What can I say, the Evolve dimmer switch is EXCELLENT!!! I am able to dim all of the different LEDs I have bought. Even if I only dim one LED, it still works great! The dimmer does not have instant status, but Vera is polling the device frequently so the status gets updated every 1-2 minutes in the dashboard.
Only Leviton and Cooper switches support instant update and they are 2 - 3x the cost of the Evolve.
Great fact about the Evolve: they support secure communication, so if you have door locks, they will act as a repeater for this secured communication. I have two locks and this was the reason why I actually got the Evolve dimmer.
I definitely recommend the Evolve Dimmer!
Hope this helps,
Flo
Since your evolve has a neutral wire, flickering and applying a dummy load will not be a big issue for you.
I have not seen any flickering using that dimmer…
[quote=“frichter09, post:8, topic:169349”][quote=“michaelk, post:6, topic:169349”]I’m so NOT a goverment regulation lover- but i wish the feds would step in and make standards for CFL’s, LED’s, whatever, and dimmers so they all play nice. It’s annoying as (pick your favorite word) that you have to go to the home center and spend 20 minutes reading bulb boxes to get the Bulb you want- then find it doesn’t work anyway and need to spend an hour on the net researching.
anyway- seems the evolve is the way to go- just looking for confirmation.
also- does anyone know if they do “instant” status updates to vera?[/quote]
Hi Michaelk,
I just bought a the evolve dimmer. Also I bought a bunch of different LEDs (PAR38). Basically I got all the different types available at Lowes and Home Depot.
What can I say, the Evolve dimmer switch is EXCELLENT!!! I am able to dim all of the different LEDs I have bought. Even if I only dim one LED, it still works great! The dimmer does not have instant status, but Vera is polling the device frequently so the status gets updated every 1-2 minutes in the dashboard.
Only Leviton and Cooper switches support instant update and they are 2 - 3x the cost of the Evolve.
Great fact about the Evolve: they support secure communication, so if you have door locks, they will act as a repeater for this secured communication. I have two locks and this was the reason why I actually got the Evolve dimmer.
I definitely recommend the Evolve Dimmer!
Hope this helps,
Flo[/quote]
thanks for the feedback. The “instant” status is an odd bird with vera. Leviton and Cooper have whatever patented flavor there is- earlier the first few versions of ACT had it too (apparently they stopped due to legal activity?).
Yet sometimes vera can figure out instantly with others what is going on (and other times not). I have ACT’s from original installs and love the instant status (can use one switch to instantly turn on many lights). But I also have some other brands. In my bedroom I have a GE switch that runs one light and a wallwart on another light. I use the GE switch to also turn on/off the wallwart. Sometimes it’s an instant match- to the point that i tweaked the ramp rates to match and they are seamless. Other times I turn the GE on or off and it’s like .5 to 2 minutes before vera figures it out and changes the walwart’s status.
(I dont poll crazy often so as not to make a mess on the network- tried that- not good- lol. So seems that sometimes the GE is giving instant status and other times it needs to wait till the next poll to give it’s status.)
It isn’t needed everywhere but it’s just nice to have that feature in all my stuff. But I’m not planning to spend hundreds per switch (along with other reasons). So looks like maybe the next batch of things I move to z-wave will use evolve.
The instant status legal issues are due to lutron. They have a patent on it and went after the other companies who used it.
[quote=“garrettwp, post:12, topic:169349”]The instant status legal issues are due to lutron. They have a patent on it and went after the other companies who used it.
That damn patent should never had been issued. There is plenty of prior art on this as there nothing novel or unique about a device or program transmitting changes in it’s change in status. It’s done all the time on computer networks and Z-Wave is no different as it’s a just a small computer network no matter how you look at it. If this was not the case the entire Internet would grind to a halt without this ability.
It’s just going to take some balls on the part of some company to force the issue. The first step in this is to file an action to reexamine with the patent department. If a company does it’s homework right they should be able to get this stupid patent revoked.
I also blame the Z-Wave council even more than the money grabbing Lutron. They should have nipped this in the bud when they put the Z-Wave specification together. They must have had some junior engineer designing this spec to have missed putting in a change state packet that would be sent any time the state of a device changes. How totally stupid!!
BTW, I no longer buy any Lutron products just because of this fraudulent patent!
I will rejoice when you can no longer get Software Patents and all of them get voided.
IMHO
[quote=“Timon, post:13, topic:169349”][quote=“garrettwp, post:12, topic:169349”]The instant status legal issues are due to lutron. They have a patent on it and went after the other companies who used it.
That damn patent should never had been issued. There is plenty of prior art on this as there nothing novel or unique about a device or program transmitting changes in it’s change in status. It’s done all the time on computer networks and Z-Wave is no different as it’s a just a small computer network no matter how you look at it. If this was not the case the entire Internet would grind to a halt without this ability.
It’s just going to take some balls on the part of some company to force the issue. The first step in this is to file an action to reexamine with the patent department. If a company does it’s homework right they should be able to get this stupid patent revoked.
I also blame the Z-Wave council even more than the money grabbing Lutron. They should have nipped this in the bud when they put the Z-Wave specification together. They must have had some junior engineer designing this spec to have missed putting in a change state packet that would be sent any time the state of a device changes. How totally stupid!!
BTW, I no longer buy any Lutron products just because of this fraudulent patent!
I will rejoice when you can no longer get Software Patents and all of them get voided.
IMHO[/quote]
+1
I was just going to ask the same question and found this thread by searching.
I also think the instant status thing is crappy. Any way to hack it into other hardware?? Wishful thinking.
Can’t believe the over $100 each cooper/leviton switches don’t support beaming!
I have been looking at the evolve stuff since it seems to be pretty robust (commercial installs in vegas hotels) and supports beaming.
Anyway has anyone got anything to add since last summer?
Why dont they make any of these Evolve dimmers UK spec ? It is nearly impossible to get anything decent here, and with most UK light switches without neutral it is very hard to convert them to zwave.
+1 for the patent rant ! ridiculous people that want to protect their own-made-up shit , while we are talking about the invention of the wheel…
its like apple patenting the “wipe move” … ppl cant even go to the toilet without braking some idiot patent. and we are talking here about a thing that one learns as a little kid and everyone knows it exist.
not to mention patent trolls…
but on topic…
the Fibaro dimmer/switch can be operated without neutral. they work fine if u attach them parallel over the original switch or in place of the original switch.
Yes i like the Fibaros, only problem is i have to make every box deeper which is a lot of aggro… All the nice and easy retro fit options need neutral. There is a lot of good choice for the continent, where they have neutral in the lighting circuits
Beaming depends on the Z-Wave firmware version. The Leviton’s (and I assume Cooper’s) have been around for a long time; well before the beaming feature showed up. Apparently they have elected to not (yet?) update the firmware in the switches / dimmers manufactured today. But I believe some of the other Leviton gear (plug-in modules, scene/zone controllers, serial controller) have been updated.
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