I just installed three Sengled ZigBee RGB smart bulbs in my ceiling can lights. I added them to my HA system (with some difficulty) but they now show up in my Device list as well as the ZigBee network map.
All three lights are switched on/off together with a “dumb” wall switch. I want to be able to adjust the brightness and color of the bulbs independently, then use the wall switch to turn them on/off while retaining those settings. I found a “mintransitionlight” dashboard card that looked like the best fit and added one card for each of the bulbs to my dashboard.
The problem is none of the dashboard card controls seem to do anything to any of the lights. Any ideas out there what I could be doing wrong? Thanks for any help.
Karl
Dell 3050 micro dedicated HA server
SONOFF ZigBee 3.0 coordinator w/ ZHA integration
Sengled smart bulbs Amazon.com
You are going to have a difficult time. Smart bulbs are not designed to have the power cut in that way. When you cut the power at the load they simply cannot be controlled. Turning them back on is reinitializing the microcontroller on board the bulb to default.
You’re going to have to find a different solution.
I guess I don’t quite understand your comment. All smart bulbs will be turned off at some point … no one leaves a bulb turned on indefinitely. And then they get turned on again. What is the situation that I have created that is problematic?
I can live with re-adjusting brightness and color upon turn on. The problem is none of the control functions are working now … not even on/off.
Yes. They are designed to do just that. They should stay on power 100% and then soft controls power on / off dim and color control you have just run smack into argument number one on the smart bulb v. Smart switch debate. I’ll stay out of that but your fundamental misunderstanding about smart bulbs of pretty much any technology… You need to keep them on power 100% of the time.
This article might explain some options for you, and also stresses that smart bulbs should be constantly powered, as nathancu pointed out.
The constant connection and disconnection from power can definitely cause them to fall off your zigbee network and make them uncontrolable. I had this issue with a zigbee fan, and I ditched the dumb switch. I use an inovelli switch, which has a smartbulb mode to keep constant power, but they’ve been on backorder forever.
Looks like my first venture into smart bulbs has led to an education. Sounds like if I’d like to use my smart bulbs in my configuration, I’d need to replace my dumb wall switch with some type of smart switch. The reading also mentions not all these switches and bulbs play well together. I don’t mind making the switch (no pun intended) of my dumb switch, but I’d like to pick one that is known to work with the Sengled bulbs.
I haven’t used it but the lutron aurora looks like a good option. It’s made for Hue but should work with other zigbee bulbs. It fits right over the existing dumb switch.
Looks like I need to rethink my light set-up. I’ll continue to look for a switch that will provide constant power to my Sengled bulbs. I doesn’t need dimming or even wifi/ZigBee communication. It just needs to provide power to those lights even in the off state.
Regarding the original post, I would still like to get those bulbs to respond to my dashboard inputs. I can re-pair everything and leave the existing dumb switch in the on position as suggested in mwave (Tim’s) reply. I can control things from HA until I get a new switch. Am I using a correct dashboard “mintransitionlight” card to do this?
Can you control the light with a normal light card on a standard dashboard?
Or doing a call service to control it in the developer tools?
If not it likely needs to be excluded the reincluded. Range could be an issue and you might need some mains powered zigbee devices to act as repeaters (smartbulbs act poorly as zigbee repeaters)
If still not working, give the things mentioned in the ZHA troubleshooting section a try
I’m all up and running with my dumb switch taped in the “on” position. All bulb control is through the dashboard cards and things are stable. I looked at the basic Light dashboard card you suggested, but it doesn’t seem to have the RGB control.
I’m looking for a smart switch now to deliver always on power to the bulbs. I would like it to have a traditional on/off control, being delivered via a ZigBee (hopefully) or wi-fi signal. Ideally the switch would have repeater/router functionality to strengthen my mesh. If I can’t locate a good switch, I’ll probably hard wire the bulbs on and go with a ZigBee button switch.
If you want rgb control on the dashboard, you’ll need a custom card, like this one. I would install HACS if you haven’t already and then it’s easy enough to add one like this
As far as hardware recommendations, I’d answer Nathan’s question and go with his advice. I’ve bought several products based on his recommendations that have worked out great.
My installation does NOT have a fan. Just a few of these Sengled ZigBee RGB bulbs controlled by a single switch. I’ll look at Tim’s suggestion for a card. Still looking for a smart switch that plays well with my bulbs. Thanks.
