Scene switching + tuning on/off + dimming with one button

silkoo · January 17, 2021, 11:30am

Hi all,

I have recently migrated from Philips Hue to Home assistant. I am quite a noob in HA automations but it seems that it has quite a freedom to do what I want.
There is one feature I really liked in Philips Hue with a Hue Smart Button. With this button I was able to turn the lights on/off (when pressing it), switch scenes (when pressing it with short delay between button presses) and dim up/down (long press of the button). I kind of see how could I achieve the on/off and dimming behavior but do not know how to arrange switching between scenes. Could you please help me with the ideas on how to do that?

Burningstone · January 17, 2021, 11:36am

I’d create an input_select with the names of the different scenes, then on each button press select the next element in the input_select and execute the corresponsing scene.

silkoo · January 17, 2021, 11:41am

But I won’t be able to turn the lights on/off with just a single press, it will switch the scenes then.

Burningstone · January 17, 2021, 11:51am

Does the button provide a different event when the button is pressed once or multiple times?

If not, your only option is probably Controller X.

silkoo · January 17, 2021, 4:59pm

Sounds very advanced. I will look into it. Is there a way to just setup toggling between scenes? Or does it also require some programming?

xaviml · January 18, 2021, 7:44am

Hi @silkoo,

If you want to setup toggling for scenes, you will need to create an input_select first and then the rest can be done with a ControllerX config.

The first thing we would need to do is get the mapping for the Hue Smart Button. Which integration are you currently using? And could you provide the events that the controller fire when pressing, double pressing (if any), hold, release.

Regards,
Xavi M.

silkoo · January 18, 2021, 9:22am

Hi @xaviml,

Thanks for your reply. I implemented the scene switching with input_select and I was already looking at ControllerX documentation to see how could I achieve the behavior I am looking for.
I am currently using deconz for switch but could also change to Hue integration if it will be needed. I am quite a noob in the home assistant automation and do not know how could I check for events. I would be happy to help you if needed. Currently in HA, I have these triggers available:

“Turn on” button pressed
“Turn on” button released
“Turn on” button continuously pressed
“Turn on” button released after long press

I have also found this discussion about the Hue Smart Button deCONZ integration (https://github.com/dresden-elektronik/deconz-rest-plugin/issues/2077). These events are outlined there:

"events": [
	{
		"buttonevent": 1000,
		"eventtype": "initial_press"
	},
	{
		"buttonevent": 1001,
		"eventtype": "repeat"
	},
	{
		"buttonevent": 1002,
		"eventtype": "short_release"
	},
	{
		"buttonevent": 1003,
		"eventtype": "long_release"
	}
]

Not sure if it will help. Please let me know if I could help you somehow with defining events.

xaviml · January 20, 2021, 9:03pm

Hi @silkoo,

Thank you for your reply. Since ControllerX does not yet support this controller, we need to define the full mapping for each controller config. Imagine you have the following input_select:

input_select:
  scenes:
    options:
      - scene1
      - scene2
      - scene3

Then, you will need the following ControllerX config in the apps.yaml:

# Generic config to change option of the input_select when double clicking the button
example_app:
  module: controllerx
  class: LightController
  controller: <controller name in deCONZ>
  integration: deCONZ
  light: light.my_light
  mapping:
    1002: toggle
    1002$2:
      service: input_select.select_next
      data:
        entity_id: input_select.light_state
    1001: hold_brightness_toggle
    1003: release

# Config for scene1
example_app_scene_1:
  module: controllerx
  class: Controller
  controller: <controller name in deCONZ>
  integration: deCONZ
  mapping:
    1002$2:
      scene: scene.scene1
  constrain_input_select: input_select.scenes,scene1

# Config for scene2
example_app_scene_2:
  module: controllerx
  class: Controller
  controller: <controller name in deCONZ>
  integration: deCONZ
  mapping:
    1002$2:
      scene: scene.scene2
  constrain_input_select: input_select.scenes,scene2

# Config for scene3
example_app_scene_3:
  module: controllerx
  class: Controller
  controller: <controller name in deCONZ>
  integration: deCONZ
  mapping:
    1002$2:
      scene: scene.scene3
  constrain_input_select: input_select.scenes,scene3

This assumes that you use the same light when changing scenes. Once I add support for this controller, you will be able to reduce a bit this config, but you will still need one config for each scene.

Regards,
Xavi M.

silkoo · January 24, 2021, 2:28pm

Hi Xavi,

Took me a bit too long to start up app daemon addon. I have tried your config but there is something wrong in the behavior of the button. Also I changed ‘deCONZ’ to ‘deconz’ as appdaemon was not able to load it otherwise. I am able to toggle it on/off and dim but scene switching did not work. input_selector value changed but not the scene. I will try to fix it myself but not sure if I will manage.

I also checked how the button behaves when I pressed it:

one press: 1000 and 1002 event
two/three short presses with short interval(which I would like to use for scene switching) : 2/3x 1000 and 1002 events
long press: 1000 at start, couple of 1001 events which appear with constant interval when the button is pressed and 1003 at finish

Regards,
silkoo

toixdm · February 1, 2021, 9:57am

Hi @silkoo,

For a Hue Dimmer switch (Philips) I couldn’t get the double_click action config to work either in order to cycle through a list of scenes.
For a while tried to read out current state of “input_select.scene_selector” to get the target value for next action “scene:” but failed.
Eventually managed the intended scene cycling to work upon <single click ‘I’> events.
Now the effective action on single <Click ‘I’> event (1002) is dependent on the state of the ‘my_light’ by adding another input_boolean.my_light helper plus a corresponding example_app_<on|off> yaml block.
Config below preserves all predefined ControllerX.action mappings.
The required repetition of code for each scenery-action-yaml smells DRY though. Not sure if its feasible for more than a dozen scenes for round robin.
Nevertheless, does work to go through my half a dozen scenes.
Thanks @xaviml for making ControllerX and for the use case config here.

# Generic config to change option of the input_select when double clicking the button
#
# current light.my_light.state == off
example_app_off:
  module: controllerx
  class: LightController
  controller: <controller name in deCONZ>
  integration: deconz
  light: light.my_light
  mapping:
    1002:
      - action: 'on'                                                                                                                    
#      - scene: scene.scene1    # optional: set a fixed scene at 'on'                                                                                                        
      - service: input_boolean.turn_on                                                                                                                       
        data:                                                                                                                                                
          entity_id: input_boolean.my_light
  constrain_input_boolean: input_boolean.light_my_light,off

# current light.my_light.state == on
example_app_on:
  module: controllerx
  class: LightController
  controller: <controller name in deCONZ>
  integration: deconz
  light: light.my_light
  mapping:
    1002:
      - service: input_select.select_next                                                                                                                    
        data:                                                                                                                                                
          entity_id: input_select.scene_selector                                                                                                             
    4002:              # Hue Dimmer switch (Philips)                                                                                                                                       
      - action: 'off'                                                                                                                                        
      - service: input_boolean.turn_off                                                                                                                      
        data:                                                                                                                                                
          entity_id: input_boolean.my_light   
    1001: hold_brightness_toggle
    1003: release
    # depending on the controller add all states relevant for state context 'on' here
  constrain_input_boolean: input_boolean.light_my_light,on

# Config for scene1
example_app_scene_1:
  module: controllerx
  class: Controller
  controller: <controller name in deCONZ>
  integration: deconz
  mapping:
    1002:
      scene: scene.scene1
  constrain_input_select: input_select.scenes,scene1

# Config for scene2
example_app_scene_2:
  module: controllerx
  class: Controller
  controller: <controller name in deCONZ>
  integration: deconz
  mapping:
    1002:
      scene: scene.scene2
  constrain_input_select: input_select.scenes,scene2

# Config for scene3
example_app_scene_3:
  module: controllerx
  class: Controller
  controller: <controller name in deCONZ>
  integration: deconz
  mapping:
    1002:
      scene: scene.scene3
  constrain_input_select: input_select.scenes,scene3

silkoo · February 3, 2021, 6:55pm

There is definitely something wrong in how I configure apps.yaml. The switching of scenes does not work. It only switches the input_select but not scenes. Here is my apps.yaml:

example_app_off:

  module: controllerx

  class: LightController

  controller: bedroom_hue_switch

  integration: deconz

  light: light.bedroom

  mapping:

    1002:

      action: 'on'                                                                                                     

#      - scene: scene.scene1    # optional: set a fixed scene at 'on'                                                                                                        

      service: input_boolean.turn_on                                                                                                                       

      data:                                                                                                                                                

        entity_id: input_boolean.bedroom

  constrain_input_boolean: input_boolean.bedroom, off

# current light.bedroom.state == on

example_app_on:

  module: controllerx

  class: LightController

  controller: bedroom_hue_switch

  integration: deconz

  light: light.bedroom

  mapping:

    1002:

      service: input_select.select_next                                                                                                                    

      data:                                                                                                                                                

        entity_id: input_select.bedroom_scenes                                                                                                             

    4002:              # Hue Dimmer switch (Philips)                                                                                                                                       

      action: 'off'                                                                                                                                        

      service: input_boolean.turn_off                                                                                                                      

      data:                                                                                                                                                

        entity_id: input_boolean.bedroom   

    1001: hold_brightness_toggle

    1003: release

    # depending on the controller add all states relevant for state context 'on' here

  constrain_input_boolean: input_boolean.bedroom,on

# Config for scene1

app_bedroom_scene_max:

  module: controllerx

  class: Controller

  controller: bedroom_hue_switch

  integration: deconz

  mapping:

    1002$2:

      scene: scene.bedroom_max

  constrain_input_select: input_select.bedroom_scenes, bedroom_max

# Config for scene2

app_bedroom_scene_dimmed:

  module: controllerx

  class: Controller

  controller: bedroom_hue_switch

  integration: deconz

  mapping:

    1002$2:

      scene: scene.bedroom_dimmed

  constrain_input_select: input_select.bedroom_scenes, bedroom_dimmed

# Config for scene3

app_bedroom_scene_off:

  module: controllerx

  class: Controller

  controller: bedroom_hue_switch

  integration: deconz

  mapping:

    1002$2:

      scene: scene.bedroom_off

  constrain_input_select: input_select.bedroom_scenes, bedroom_off

I also noticed that I could only adjust the light brightness by a little if I press the button continuously.

toixdm · February 3, 2021, 8:59pm

If I am not mistaken the syntax for constrain_xxx does not allow any whitespace after the comma, i.e. remove the whitespace

i.e. correct syntax:

possibly not working because of the whitespace after comma

This could be the reason why the input_select is rolling but the scenes don’t

and this won’t work either

   1002$2:

just plain “1002:”

basically if constrain_xxx matches, e.g. the current state of input_select.bedroom_scenes == 'bedroom_dimmed' the app code block ‘scene2’ will be executed

kruton · February 8, 2021, 1:54pm

I am not sure if i understand correctly what you found out with double-clicking the Philips Hue Dimmer Switch.
What I want to achieve:

Single click at on-button: Light turns on (this is working)
Double click at on-button: activates scene (this is not working)

I have following configuration in ControllerX:

bedroom_controllerx:
    module: controllerx
    class: HueDimmerController
    controller: hue_schlafzimmer_dimmschalter
    integration: deconz
    light: light.schlafzimmer
    multiple_click_delay: 500
    actions:
        - 1000
        - 1001
        - 4000
        - 4001
    mapping: 
        1000: "on"
        1001: hold_brightness_up
        4000: "off"
        4001: hold_brightness_down

I am failing to achieve getting a scene called by double-clicking the on-button.
With the following mapping, the scene gets activated with a single click, so its not a general problem.

        1000:
            scene: scene.schlafzimmer_lesemodus

What you are saying is, that there is no “easy” way to get double-click to work on Hue DImmer Switch?

toixdm · February 8, 2021, 3:15pm

As it is with the Hue Smart Button (pls s post #9 @silkoo) Hue dimmer switch RWL21 sends for ea click on Button <I> a sequence of two deconz events: <1000><1002>, i.e. not a single <1002> only, i.e. makes single indistinguishable from a double click.
For a work around my config uses single click only. After the first click on <I>, i.e. PowerOn, any subsequent single click on <\I> will activate the next scene in round robin.

kruton · February 8, 2021, 5:18pm

Perfect, thanks! Working now with the input.boolean!

silkoo · February 14, 2021, 1:10pm

Hi toixdm, Thanks for noticing the errors. Unfortunately the config still does not work:

When I switch on the light the boolean value does not change from on to off. So I could not switch the lights off (only if I change the boolean switch to ‘on’ manually it works fine)
The scene switching still does not work
Here is my config:

  module: controllerx
  class: LightController
  controller: bedroom_hue_switch
  integration: deconz
  light: light.bedroom
  mapping:
    1002:
      scene: scene.bedroom_max    # optional: set a fixed scene at 'on'                                                                                                        
      service: input_boolean.turn_on
      data:                                                                                             
        entity_id: input_boolean.bedroom
  constrain_input_boolean: input_boolean.bedroom,off

# current light.bedroom.state == on
example_app_on:
  module: controllerx
  class: LightController
  controller: bedroom_hue_switch
  integration: deconz
  light: light.bedroom
  mapping:
    1002:
      service: input_select.select_next                                                                                                                    
      data:                                                                                                                                                
        entity_id: input_select.bedroom_scenes                                                                                                             
    1002$2:              # Hue Dimmer switch (Philips)                                                                                                                                       
      action: 'off'                                                                                                                                    
      service: input_boolean.turn_off                                                                                                                
      data:
        entity_id: input_boolean.bedroom
    1001: hold_brightness_toggle
    1003: release
    # depending on the controller add all states relevant for state context 'on' here
  constrain_input_boolean: input_boolean.bedroom,on

# Config for scene1
app_bedroom_scene_max:
  module: controllerx
  class: Controller
  controller: bedroom_hue_switch
  integration: deconz
  mapping:
    1002:
      scene: scene.bedroom_max
  constrain_input_select: input_select.bedroom_scenes,bedroom_max

# Config for scene2
app_bedroom_scene_dimmed:
  module: controllerx
  class: Controller
  controller: bedroom_hue_switch
  integration: deconz
  mapping:
    1002:
      scene: scene.bedroom_dimmed
  constrain_input_select: input_select.bedroom_scenes,bedroom_dimmed

# Config for scene3
app_bedroom_scene_off:
  module: controllerx
  class: Controller
  controller: bedroom_hue_switch
  integration: deconz
  mapping:
    1002:
      scene: scene.bedroom_off
  constrain_input_select: input_select.bedroom_scenes,bedroom_off

toixdm · February 14, 2021, 2:29pm

Don’t know what code your Hue device sends for action ‘off’ but doubt 1002$2 is the one. Something like 1004 perhaps? And a trailing “$2” won’t work anyway. My config example works for ‘single’ clicks only. $2 means count.

silkoo · February 14, 2021, 2:41pm

There is no off button on hue button switch. It is only a one button device

toixdm · February 14, 2021, 3:21pm

I see. According to the event sequences in your post#9 above and what the ControllerX Hue Smart Button shows my config example may not be feasible for this particular device since Hue Smart Button lacks a distinguishable “off” event code. Unless the “double click counter” recipe would work somehow, i.e. <1000$2>, right now I wouldn’t see how to adapt my config example to work for a Hue Smart Button (and similar). You are right, given the limited number of events for it after the initial ‘on’ any subsequent “single short press” <1002> can either be an ‘off’ (default with XController) or with the extra ‘input_boolean’ configured to trigger another action, e.g. ‘switch to next scene’ action. But not both.

xaviml · February 16, 2021, 7:27am

Hi @silkoo,

You are not using a list to separate actions, so when you do:

mapping:
    1002:
      scene: scene.bedroom_max    # optional: set a fixed scene at 'on'                                                                                                        
      service: input_boolean.turn_on
      data:                                                                                             
        entity_id: input_boolean.bedroom

You should be doing:

mapping:
    1002:
      - scene: scene.bedroom_max    # optional: set a fixed scene at 'on'                                                                                                        
      - service: input_boolean.turn_on
        data:                                                                                             
          entity_id: input_boolean.bedroom

What this last config does is to activate the scene first and then call an HA service call to turn on an input_boolean.

The same happens to the 1002$2 action.

Regards,
Xavi M.