I (and others in the past) have searched for a way to have zigbee lights where you can adjust the brightness without turning the light on, so that (for example) you can set the lights to low brightness if they’re turned on at night.
I’m pleased to say I’ve found the kit that makes this happen - at least on the current firmware!
I wanted the following:
- LED strips
- Dimmable
- Zigbee
- Physical dumb light switch
- Ideally brightness adjustment without turning on
For a while this combination of the above seemed impossible. However, I figured I’d buy some kit that seemed to manage most of the above and see how it performed.
I bought the following:
MoesGo ZigBee Smart Alexa Dimmer … https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09Y1H53ZS?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
VARICART LED Driver 12V 12W… https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08172G3N5?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
YUNBO LED Strip Light Natural… https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07K15H4L3?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
I connected a retractive switch to the zigbee module and wired it all up. I added it to z2m and it seemed to work as expected.
I figured I’d try adjusting the brightness while off in z2m, assuming it would either turn on the LEDs or just ignore the setting. To my surprise it registered the change and the strip came on at the set brightness when I pressed the physical switch!
This means I can now set an automation to dim the lights at night and no matter how they’re triggered (motion, switch, HA etc) they will come on at the right brightness!