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    Micro Dimmer on a load output?

    I have a problem in which I have 4 lights connected to a single dimmer, and I would like to control two of those lights independently from the full set of 4 when the wall dimmer is turned on.

    My idea is to install a micro dimmer on the LOAD after the first two lights. I assume this micro dimmer would be offline as long as the wall dimmer was turned off.

    I plan to reprogram the FastOn on the wall dimmer to turn on the micro dimmer.
    So essentially, when I turn on the wall dimmer switch, only the first two lights will come on (pre-micro dimmer).
    If I double tap up that same dimmer to turn on the micro dimmer, then the second set of lights will come on.

    My main question is, is there any problem with connecting a second dimmer to the load of another dimmer? (This is probably the key gotcha in my plan)
    Will the micro dimmer operate correctly if it is receiving only partial voltage when the wall dimmer switch is at less than 100%?

    If it does work, I assume the micro dimmer level will operate proportional to the wall dimmer.
    So say the wall dimmer is set to 50%, and the micro dimmer is also set to 50%, the theoretical output of the micro dimmer would actually only be 25%.

    #2
    Nope. A Micro dimmer (or any Insteon power line device) needs to receive full line voltage at all times. In fact, any electronic device requires full voltage to be operational. Note also, that double tapping a dimmer will cause the load to be full on, that's the first two lights. Use a Keypad and Micro Module for full control of both sets of lights.
    Message from Forum Admin: stusviews passed away in April 2018. Stu was a huge fan of Insteon and a huge presence on both the Smarthome and Insteon forums, helping thousands of us along the way (he had nearly 20,000 posts to his name). We thank him for his contributions, dedication, and passion for making the Smart Home a reality. He will truly be missed.
    Saving energy is not always free. Be a world saver.

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      #3
      Originally posted by stusviews View Post
      Nope. A Micro dimmer (or any Insteon power line device) needs to receive full line voltage at all times. In fact, any electronic device requires full voltage to be operational. Note also, that double tapping a dimmer will cause the load to be full on, that's the first two lights. Use a Keypad and Micro Module for full control of both sets of lights.
      The idea was the watch for the double tap with an ISY and trigger the action of the micro module to turn on.

      Can you explain how to wire the keypad and micro module to function similar to how I would like?
      Since the module can't be connected to LOAD, I'm unsure how to do this without running new wire.

      Only thing I can think of is running two Micro Modules and feed LINE up the old LOAD wire. Then just not connect anything to the load of the keypad.
      ON and OFF could toggle a scene including both micros, then I could use the other 4 buttons to control dimmer levels independently. Theoretically if this would work as I suspect.
      Last edited by tbrock47; 06-03-2016, 09:43 AM.

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        #4
        You are correct. If you have only two wires at the switch, then you'll need two Micro Modules. But you indicated that you're controlling the lights now with a dimmer. Is it not an Insteon dimmer?
        Message from Forum Admin: stusviews passed away in April 2018. Stu was a huge fan of Insteon and a huge presence on both the Smarthome and Insteon forums, helping thousands of us along the way (he had nearly 20,000 posts to his name). We thank him for his contributions, dedication, and passion for making the Smart Home a reality. He will truly be missed.
        Saving energy is not always free. Be a world saver.

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by stusviews View Post
          But you indicated that you're controlling the lights now with a dimmer. Is it not an Insteon dimmer?

          Yes, but I can move it somewhere else and get a 2334-232 keypad. I'll set up the main buttons to turn on and off a scene for the micros. Not sure yet if I want to set up the dimming for the micros on two or one of the buttons yet. The other two could be some Home and Away buttons I guess.

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            #6
            If you already have a dimmer controlling a load, then you need only one Micro Module, not two. Use a Keypad dimmer to control one load and a Micro Module to control the other, depending on the wiring.
            Message from Forum Admin: stusviews passed away in April 2018. Stu was a huge fan of Insteon and a huge presence on both the Smarthome and Insteon forums, helping thousands of us along the way (he had nearly 20,000 posts to his name). We thank him for his contributions, dedication, and passion for making the Smart Home a reality. He will truly be missed.
            Saving energy is not always free. Be a world saver.

            Comment

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