Dimmer 2 scheme without switches

[AndyK 0]

Hello all,

 

Disclaimer: New to the world of home automation, so bear with me please

I want to use the Fibaro dimmer 2 in combination with motion sensors in my bathroom. From aesthetic point, we don't want any switches in the bathroom.

So the lights should be triggered when the motion sensor detects somebody entering the bathroom.

As a main unit, I use a RaspberryPi with Pimatic. Now, the question is; what is the correct way to do this ? I can find all kinds of scheme's involving momentary switches, but I want the Dimmer 2 to switch on lights as soon as motion is detected without any switch involvement. The lights are 12 V dimmable LED spots. Any help is appreciated.

 

Best regards,

Andy

[sve 1]

you'll have to program that in Pimatic. In short:

read the breached value of the sensor and then turn the light(s) on for a certain amount of time

 

Do think good about what your doing, if there is no switch and your controller or PIR is not working there is no way to turn the light on easily...

[Guest FredrikKarlsson]

Sure, this is easy. What you need to do, I think, is to just make sure that the motion sensor sends a

BASIC command class frame OFF or ON to the dimmer. Once you've set up the timmer level you want in the dimmer, I am quite sure that it will return to this setting once it receives an ON command (and then of course turns itself off when receiving an OFF command). This kind of thing is achieved easiest through direct communication between the two devices. This way you can remove the controller and it will still work. And, as a newcomer, it will allow you to familiarize yourself with one of the often neglected parts of the very capable devices that you have bought.
It's often much easier to achieve what you need in simple off/on situations if you do not involve the controller at all.

Now, you did not write what the motion sensor is, but I assume that it is the Fibaro sensor. The steeper price of this device comes with the upside of many more parameters and settings being available to you, and more association groups with special capabilities. What you need to do is go into your motion sensor device and go into the Advanced panel. Find the associations button and click on it to open up the interface. In the manual for the Fibaro sensor (chapter 6, p10) you get a description of association groups and functions available in the sensor. I suspect that what you need is simply to insert the dimmer into Group 2 of the sensor, Save the settings and then push the wakeup button on the sensor to have it receive the settings.
Possibly, you'll need to insert it into Group 4 too, but I would try just group 2 first.

If I'm correct, you will have the dimmer to turn on at the currently set level now, whenever motion is observed. Please also have a look at the other settings in the sensor, as they will also most likely allow you to set up automatic OFF once motion has NOT been detected in X minutes/seconds, depending on your needs.

Basically, shift focus from the dimmer to the capabilities of the motion sensor. And, please consider the very insightful suggestion made by @sve - what happens when the motion sensor is out of battery? Maybe there could be an alternative way of switching lights on in case of failure?

 

[AndyK 0]

Hi again,

 

Thanks for the response @sve and @FredrikKarlsson

 

 

 

Yes I am aware of the fact that without switches I have no manual override. That is a risk I am willing to accept. Also taking precautions with extra hardware on the shelf.

The dimmers are all reachable, which also means, in case of problems I could quickly connect a switch for manual override.Maybe not convenient, but would be ony until the situation is fixed. Sensors same story: I have bought these nice recessors, where the sensor fits in. Replacement is easy. 

 

The sensor I want to use is an Aeon Labs 6 in 1 Multisensor, as I want to do more with automation in the near future. Also, the sensor is fed through USB, so permanent power. No battery issue there. Thanks for your tip about the device association so you don't need the controller for basic usage. Gonna look into that for sure !

 

So, my original question still stands: How to wire the dimmer ?

 

best regard and thanks for the useful tips sofar.

 

Cheers,

Andy

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest FredrikKarlsson]

 

 

Ok, for the Aeon Labs multisensor 6 my manual says:

Quote

 

 

Monitoring motion. 

The MultiSensor can send Basic Set Command to association group 1, which is setup via the Association Command Class, when the Motion Sensor detects movement to control the associated devices to “OPEN” state. After 4 minutes by default, if the Motion Sensor is not triggered again, the MultiSensor will send Basic Set Command to these devices to set them to their “CLOSE” state. However, if the Motion Sensor is triggered again within 4 minutes, the MultiSensor will reset the timing and start timing again. 

The 4 minutes delay time can be changed through the usage of Z-Wave commands built into Z-Wave certified controllers/ gateways. (The speci c Z-Wave command supporting this function is Configuration Command Class) Please consult the operation manual for these controllers/gateways for speci c instructions on con guringthe MultiSensor. 

Parameter 3 [2 byte decimal] can be configured through your gateway in case the default settings of your MultiSensor are not what you desire. 

 

 

which looks easy enough. 

 

Not sure what your problem is re the wiring. Just don't include a switch at all?

 

[sve 1]

as mentioned above... works as a charm. I have two version 1 dimmers and a quibino dimmer wired as stated in the manual except the switch.

[AndyK 0]

Yeah, I figured that out in the meantime, just leave the switches out. I thought it was something like that, but I would like to know for sure.

Anyway, testing with the dimmers and motion sensors will commence this week. Looking forward to that

 

Once done, I'll drop a post here with the results.