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    Cannot get device (lights) to switch on to 50% brightness

    I'm an X10 user who is trying to convert to Insteon. Compared to X10, the Insteon software is very limited. A very talented Smarthome rep. has helped me develop several workarounds to the devices in my home, but she has recently left the company (ugh). The solution to my current problem seems to be pretty basic but does not work for me.

    I have a curio cabinet that I want to come on and stay on at 50% brightness, and then switch off at bedtime. The device has been placed in the appropriate scene, and yes readers, I have set the device's On Level to 50%. However, at the desired On time, the lights will only come on and stay on at 100% brightness. Also (not sure this matters), when I manually switch the lights on from my phone, they also come on at 100%. Can anyone help me figure out why something so simple does not work? TIA.

    #2
    Sorry, TF, but that doesn't work. I want all my devices (lights) to come on at sunset (the whole purpose of *home automation*). Unfortunately, the poor Insteon software will not allow more than one scene to come on at the same time--sunset (really?). As a result, I must place every device in my home under one scene. So far, I have only set full on/off settings for all my devices and varied their off times by a minute or so (again, can't have the same off times for multiple devices or scenes). I have no choice but to place my curio cabinets in my one grand scene. Why does this limited software offer me the option to set different devices to come on at different brightness levels if that setting doesn't work? No offense, but you seem to be giving me the same advice as the latest Smarthome rookie. I very much look forward to your advice or anyone else's because, after I find a workaround (you don't want to know my history of workarounds), the devices work much more reliably than the X10 software I'm trying to move away from.

    Comment


      #3
      The hub is an entry level controller (hence it's low price) designed for home control rather than home automation. This is a major reason why it's so limited.

      Tfitzpatri8 and the Insteon rookies are/were absolutely correct in the advice they gave. Generally speaking, hub users are new to Insteon and home automation in general. They lack the knowledge of insteon to properly set up their homes for best results and experience. In essence they are trying to save you from yourself. Due to all the commands and acknowledgements from individual devices, youll end up bogging down your network. Commands and responses will be missed causing devices to not turn on or unnecessary retries which could cause delays of other devices should you try to issue a command during this time. While you may want it simple and use less steps, your way will cause much more headaches than how insteon was designed.

      If you were to go into more advanced controller forums such as the isy and homeseer, you would receive the same advice. Those controllers do not limit you the way the hub does as it's assumed you know what you're doing if you are using them.

      When you control your device, are you controlling the scene or the device itself? If the scene is set to 50% then you must control the scene itself .if you always want the lights to turn on at 50% just go into the device settings and set the device to 50%
      Last edited by lilyoyo1; 09-08-2019, 12:07 PM.

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        #4
        TF, thanks for your detailed response--and humor :) Let me try to explain the pains I have gone through to get to this point. We'll take baby steps, and you can correct me as you see fit--my skin is pretty thick.:) First off, I have discovered that lilyoyo's comments that this is an entry-level controller are an understatement. I've looked at ISY and HomeSeer technologies and spoken with several of these companys' reps. Best I can tell, although they offer outstanding (and complicated) software, I can't get a rep from either company to confirm that they use dual-mesh technology, which seems to WORK in my home (yay!). The three devices (lights) that come on at full brightness work flawlessly. This is why I keep pursuing help with Insteon. As I previously mentioned, my favorite (and talented) rep, Norah, has recently left the Smarthome company, so it's back to working with true rookies at Smarthome. This is why I am hoping someone in this forum can provide seasoned tech support.

        So my first baby step to discuss is setting all my lights to come on at sunset. (Why would I set specific on times when days get shorter or longer?) So I (incorrectly) assumed that this could be handled by setting different scenes. How wrong! No two scenes can be set to the same on time (sunset). This is incredibly limiting. Norah and her senior support staff suggested the following workaround (which works!). Group all my devices under one scene. Set the scene on time to sunset and leave the scene off time blank. Then, for each device in that scene, leave the on time blank and set a specific off time. (Again, no two off times can be the same--who wrote this software?). So, for my first three devices, I set the off time a few minutes different from each other, and this WORKS fine. Before continuing with my Insteon workarounds, let me know whether you think I could have accomplished my on/off times in a different manner. More to follow . . . :)

        Comment


          #5
          [QUOTE=John25;n108795]TF, thanks for your detailed response--and humor :) Let me try to explain the pains I have gone through to get to this point. We'll take baby steps, and you can correct me as you see fit--my skin is pretty thick.:) First off, I have discovered that lilyoyo's comments that this is an entry-level controller are an understatement. I've looked at ISY and HomeSeer technologies and spoken with several of these companys' reps. Best I can tell, although they offer outstanding (and complicated) software, I can't get a rep from either company to confirm that they use dual-mesh technology, which seems to WORK in my home (yay!). The three devices (lights) that come on at full brightness work flawlessly. This is why I keep pursuing help with Insteon. As I previously mentioned, my favorite (and talented) rep, Norah, has recently left the Smarthome company, so it's back to working with true rookies at Smarthome. This is why I am hoping someone in this forum can provide seasoned tech support.

          So my first baby step to discuss is setting all my lights to come on at sunset. (Why would I set specific on times when days get shorter or longer?) So I (incorrectly) assumed that this could be handled by setting different scenes. How wrong! No two scenes can be set to the same on time (sunset). This is incredibly limiting. Norah and her senior support staff suggested the following workaround (which works!). Group all my devices under one scene. Set the scene on time to sunset and leave the scene off time blank. Then, for each device in that scene, leave the on time blank and set a specific off time. (Again, no two off times can be the same--who wrote this software?). So, for my first three devices, I set the off time a few minutes different from each other, and this WORKS fine. Before continuing with my Insteon workarounds, let me know whether you think I could have accomplished my on/off times in a different manner. More to follow . . . :)[/QUOTE]

          Insteon's dual band technology is based off the insteon protocol itself and not the controller telling devices what to do. Both ISY and Homeseer requires the insteon plm (which is dual band) to send out the insteon signal so by default.

          I understand the frustrations of trying to accomplish things the way that you would like. Having dealt with Insteon for going on 10 years, I can definitely say I am happy they limit the hub the way they do. They are truly saving those who don't know from themselves. Over the years on different forums (especially the isy) ive seen firsthand the issues that setting a singular time for multiple devices cause.

          The instructions you were given are correct. In fact, it's the same way I set any isy I install up. Because I have more capabilities with the isy, there are additional variables that I am able to take into account but the premise is still the same as their instructions. With that said, is there any particular reason you separate the off times by a few minutes?

          Comment


            #6
            TF, sorry for my late reply. Believe me, I GET the supposed purpose of using different scenes. However, still taking baby steps, I have indicated that I want ALL my devices (lights) in all my rooms to come on at sunset. Please tell me how to do this other than grouping all devices under one scene. Why would I create a George scene? We will then move on to other questions that I have. BTW, I don't consider this single-scene setup a workaround; it's simply the only way I know to have all my lights come on at sunset.

            Comment


              #7
              The single scene is not a work around. It's how it's done to accomplish what you are trying to do regardless of choice of controller (at least if you want it to work properly.

              It's been explained to you how to accomplish what you are trying to do. We cant make it better just because you don't like how it needs to be done. There is no other method.

              Comment


                #8
                [QUOTE=It's been explained to you how to accomplish what you are trying to do. We cant make it better just because you don't like how it needs to be done. There is no other method.] Sorry guys, but this is getting frustrating to me (and probably to you). I don't know what you mean by "We cant make it better just because you don't like how it needs to be done."

                [QUOTE=If you GET it, why the reluctance to DO it? Remove any existing schedules for at or near dusk. Add a scene called DUSK, and add all your lights and settings as RESPONDER only (not Controller, not Both) with their ramp rates and dim levels to that scene. Schedule only the DUSK scene to turn on at Sunset. Done!] That's exactly what I've done!--added a single scene called DUSK, etc.

                As I've said before, all the lights that come on at full brightness work GREAT in this single scene. Can you both please understand that?

                So let's move on to the real topic of this thread. Again, I want my curio cabinets, currently under DUSK, to come on at 50% brightness, but I am beginning to understand why this doesn't work. It's likely because the scene on level brightness is set to 100% and this overrides my desired 50% on level for the cabinets. So let's assume I set up another scene called CABS, set the On level to 50%, and move the cabinet device to CABS. I don't believe the Insteon software will allow me to also have CABS come on at sunset. Furthermore, it's foolish to set a specific on time for this scene because that takes all the "automation" out of home automation. Where do I go from here if I want my cabinets to come on at sunset and at 50% brightness?

                Comment


                  #9
                  Everything you add to the scene MUST be configured for that scene in the scene itself. You set the device level for local control. It now needs to be set in the scene itself.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    John, I hope you found your answer by now. If not, I had the exact same problem, which led me to this forum thread. What I finally found was that when setting up or editing a scene, you select the device in that scene and that brings up 2 buttons. A blue one on the left that is set to “Responder” and a green one on the right that shows the ramp time and level or ON for 100%, which appears to be the default level when first setting it up. You have to select the green button that opens up the page to actually set the brightness level for that device in the scene. It is not entirely intuitive that this is where the brightness setting would be. Once I did that, my lights now turn on at 50% at sunset.

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