[Solved] Fibaro Dimmer 2, set dimming value without turning light on - possible?

DIYglenn

Hi!
I have a Fibaro Dimmer 2 which I'm currently testing. I love how well integrated it is. It took me just a few seconds to get it working, and I see that all the parameters I was interested in testing are there.
However, there's one thing I'd like to do which I'm not sure is possible (limitation of Homey or Fibaro);
Is it possible to set a dimming level on the dimmer without turning the light ON?
AFAIK the only thing you can do with the App is to "dim" the light, you can not set it to on or off, but how about flow?

I'd like the possibility to f.ex set dimming level to all Dimmer 2's that are off to 50% if it's later than 20:00, so when the user turns on the light, it will be at max 50%, or last value if it is less than 50%.

caseda

The dimmer 2 has a "force dimming level" flow card for this use case

DIYglenn

Awesome! Thank you!
I guess I should have read up on the parameters before spamming the forum. 
But to clarify, is this parameter 19, "Forced switch on brightness level", meaning I'll daily be changing this parameter from Homey...? Just thinking of how many "read/write" parameters a Dimmer 2 can handle before ruining it.

How can I read the current brightness? Because if it is f.ex. 30% and I turn it off and on, I don't want it to be 50%, any value lower than 50% I'd like to keep. 
But next day after 09.00 f.ex. I'd like it to be set to a default of f.ex. 80%. (Guess I'll just create a new flow for this).

Also, what is the "relative brightness level" as opposed to brightness level?

Sorry for all my follow-up questions, I'm new to Homey and Z-wave altogether, and I haven't found any information on the different cards for Fibaro. But I'm very happy that I'll be able to achieve what I wanted  

cbh

Maybe you can get the solution you're looking for, by making a variable (in Better Logic, e.g.) and then some flows adjusting it as you like during the day and then using that variable (drag it from the "Tags"-drop down to the set brightness" on the dimmer - in that way you're able to manipulate the value all that you want and when you turn on the light, the present value will be used...

DIYglenn

Hey this is cool!
I love that it is a desktop application for both Mac and Windows (come on Athom, please continue supporting it...)

Is this correct? If the time is 19:00 and the light is off and its dimmer level is not under 50%, then set forced brightness to 50%.
How can I do the same to multiple dimmers? Do I need a single flow for each of them? Can I put them under "and", or will that mean that ALL of them will have to be off (true) before running the command?

cbh

If you want to do it with multiple dimmers (and the value should be the same for all) I will for sure go for a variable ;-)

TedTolboom

@DIYglenn The forced brightness will only be activated when the device is switched on.
So no need to look at the current state of the dimmer...  aka skip the AND column cards...

Fire69

DIYglenn said:

Also, what is the "relative brightness level" as opposed to brightness level?

I'd like to know that too!

TedTolboom

Fire69 said:

DIYglenn said:

Also, what is the "relative brightness level" as opposed to brightness level?

I'd like to know that too!

With relative brightness you can increase the brightness in (relative) steps of e.g. 5%... push 1 button = + 5% (e.g. 40% -> 45%)
With brightness level you set an absolute value... push 1 button = 45%

DIYglenn

cbh said:

If you want to do it with multiple dimmers (and the value should be the same for all) I will for sure go for a variable ;-)

Aha, still learning - that seems like a very good idea.
Yes, the idea is to have a more gentle light when turning lights on at evening/night, and rather dim up if wanted.

DIYglenn

TedTolboom said:

@DIYglenn The forced brightness will only be activated when the device is switched on.
So no need to look at the current state of the dimmer...  aka skip the AND column cards...

I'm not sure that's going to give the result I want. 
I do not want lights to dim if they are already on, I only want to dim them if they are currently off, and dimmer value is higher than 50%, so that if it's late and we come home, we won't have a max brightness light. (I know I can just hold the switch to dim from 0% of course, but I'd like to utilize Homey Flows).

Actually I might be approaching this in the wrong way. Maybe this would be more correct (if possible);
If Dimmer = switched ON, AND current Dim level !<=50% AND it is between 19:00 and 07:00, then Dim level =50%. (Ignoring forced brightness).

I couldn't find a way to say "time is between x&y" at "when"...

Because then it would only be applicable to the dimmer as it is turned on... Or will it then start at current dim level before dimming to 50%?

In terms of variables, how would I solve that rather than doing this for each Dimmer?

TedTolboom

DIYglenn said:

TedTolboom said:

@DIYglenn The forced brightness will only be activated when the device is switched on.
So no need to look at the current state of the dimmer...  aka skip the AND column cards...

I'm not sure that's going to give the result I want. 
I do not want lights to dim if they are already on, I only want to dim them if they are currently off, and dimmer value is higher than 50%, so that if it's late and we come home, we won't have a max brightness light. (I know I can just hold the switch to dim from 0% of course, but I'd like to utilize Homey Flows).

Actually I might be approaching this in the wrong way. Maybe this would be more correct (if possible);
If Dimmer = switched ON, AND current Dim level !<=50% AND it is between 19:00 and 07:00, then Dim level =50%.

I couldn't find a way to say "time is between x&y" at "when"...

Because then it would only be applicable to the dimmer as it is turned on... Or will it then start at current dim level before dimming to 50%?

@DIYglenn if a dimmer is off, the dim-level is 0%... so looking at the (read actual) dim-level doesn't make sense in your setup / for the purpose you are looking for...

You need to distinguish between two things:
1) Set brightness level: change the actual state of the device to a specified level
2) Set forced brightness: change the setpoint of the dimmer, when the device will be switched on in the future...

I've implemented 2) into this driver to be able to change the setpoint of our corridor lights during the night...
switching them to a lower brightness after 21:00:


And back in the morning (second flow)...

Since I've also set the timer function, the lights will automatically switch off after 10 minutes (additional flow card added for this purpose)... turning them on, will bring the brightness level to the set setpoint.

PS. if you set the "double click" option to true in the devices parameters; double clicking the button will turn on the device to 100% brightness....

DIYglenn

Thank you for
elaborating that. I thought dimmer and on/off could have separate value, not just 0-100%. 

So in your case, how if someone dims the light down to 30% after 21:00, and then turns off and on the light, it will not be at the last value, but the value you set in that flow?

In other words, forced value is just a startup value, ignoring the previous level, high or low, but will not change any dimmers that are currently on?

But it doesn’t damage the dimmer when you keep changing these parameters back and forth every day?