I tried to show the configuration of a few of my keypads on the right.
The ratio decidendi behind my design was not so much to anticipate the desired lighting but to make whatever lighting
is necessary more convenient. I have a basic setting for each room that can be changed to meet a specific need.
For example, my master bedroom scene ramps up the overhead light to 30%, the bedside lights to 40%, the desk lamp to
40% and the accent lamp to 30%. If i need more light at the desk, i can use the assigned button to ramp it up.
I have used a single ramp rate (6.5 seconds) for every dimmer, lamplinc and keypad. I also have a preset dim
level for every device. Every scene uses these same values and the local preset dim and ramp rates match
these values. At least one thing in the plan is simple.
I have the room scenes assigned to several keypad buttons. Generally these are adjoining rooms but there are exceptions
(such as the master bedroom scene is assigned to a button on the keypad in my garage).
Where possible, i try to offload the functions to the insteon network. The limitation of including a button and
load from the same keypads in a scene is a major gotcha in my plan.
The lamps were easy. I created a scene that contains the lamplinc and all the buttons that are assigned to that
device, linked as controllers. For example
Z Master Bedroom Accent Lamp Scene
Master Bedroom Accent Lamp Lamplinc
Master Bedroom Bedside Lamps Keypad Button A (controller)
Master Bedroom Pedestal Keypad Button F (controller)
Master Bedroom Pedestal Keypad Button F (controller)
(There are two pedestals, both with the same config.)
Straightforward and no rule violation. The buttons all sync and the function is all on the insteon network.
I repeated the process for the desk lamp, assigning the buttons associated with it to the scene. Since I want to be
able to change any device in the bedroom without getting off my fatass, I created scenes for the overhead and bedside
lamps. Below is the scene for the overhead.
Z Master Bedroom Overhead Scene
Master Bedroom Bedside Lamps Keypad (load, controller)
Master Bedroom Pedestal Keypad Button C (controller)
Master Bedroom Pedestal Keypad Button C (controller)
Still have all functions handled by the insteon network with no violations of the load/button same scene rule.
Setting up the master bedroom scene is where I first encounter problems with the keypad limitation with button syncronization
adding to the complexity. I turned to triggers to overcome the limitation. My first attempt
Master Bedroom Scene
Condition
When
Master Bedroom Overhead Keypad
Button A
or when
Master Bath Overhead Keypad Button
B
or when
Master Bedroom Pedestal Keypad Button
A
or when
Master Bedroom Pedestal Keypad Button
A
is pressed on
Response
Set
Z Master Bedroom Overhead Scene
to on - and set
Z Master Bedroom Bedside Lamps Scene
to on - and set
Z Master Bedroom Desk Lamp Scene
to on - and set
Z Master Bedroom Accent Lamp Scene
to on
I omitted the garage keypad assignment since i did not show the setup to the right. I also set up a scene that
is similar but turns all the devices off.
This setup turns on the following
Master Bedroom Overhead Keypad load AND the buttons assigned to that device
Master Bedroom Pedestal Keypad Button C
Master Bedroom Pedestal Keypad Button C
Master Bedroom Bedside Lamps Keypad load AND the buttons assigned to that device
Master Bedroom Pedestal Keypad Button D
Master Bedroom Pedestal Keypad Button D
Master Bedroom Desk Lamp lamplinc AND the buttons assigned to that device
Master Bedroom Pedestal Keypad Button E
Master Bedroom Pedestal Keypad Button E
Master Bedroom Bedside Lamps Keypad Button B
Master Bedroom Accent Lamp lamplinc AND the buttons assigned to that device
Master Bedroom Pedestal Keypad Button F
Master Bedroom Pedestal Keypad Button F
Master Bedroom Bedside Lamps Keypad Button A
Mission almost accomplished. All four lights turn on in the room and the individual buttons reflect the status
of the individual lights.
This setup does not, however, sync the buttons assigned to the master bedroom scene. When i press any one of the
four buttons I have assigned to that scene, the remaining three should illuminate.
To get them in sync, I tried the keypad grouping function (as described in the keypad manual). As i understand
it, this function will sync the status of all the buttons you include in the group setup. (It requires you to link every
button in both the on and off status - I performed this with the press-and-hold method. That is, outside the ISY.)
This resulted in the lights and buttons going on and off 4 times.
Next I began to think on how the controller/responder linkage types apply to my life instead of ignoring it. I
created a scene with the buttons assigned to the master bedroom scene and linked them all as controllers.
Y Master Bedroom Scene
Master Bedroom Overhead Keypad Button A (controller)
Master Bath Overhead Keypad Button B (controller)
Master Bedroom Pedestal Keypad Button A (controller)
Master Bedroom Pedestal Keypad Button A (controller)
I then modified the triggers for the master bedroom scene as follows.
Master Bedroom Scene
Condition
When
Master Bedroom Overhead Keypad
Button A
is pressed on
Response
Set
Z Master Bedroom Overhead Scene
to on - and set
Z Master Bedroom Bedside Lamps Scene
to on - and set
Z Master Bedroom Desk Lamp Scene
to on - and set
Z Master Bedroom Accent Lamp Scene
to on
Two things should be noted about this trigger setup. I modified the original condition to remove all but one of
the buttons assigned to the master bedroom scene. Second, i did not include the Y Master Bedroom Scene (the four master
bedroom scene buttons linked as controllers) in the response of the trigger.
It works!
But since I don't know nearly enough about insteon and craplincs, i could not say if creating the Y Master Bedroom Scene
is why it worked or if the grouping i had performed on the buttons was influencing the results. I am unsure if the grouping
was overlaid or eliminated when i created the Y Master Bedroom Scene and i am unsure how to erase the grouping short of a
factory reset on all those keypads. (I wish there was a way to dump the contents of a device to instect what is in there.)
So I moved to my master bath and created the same setup. It works there too. But I have noticed when you
add multiple conditions to a trigger, reliability suffers. I suspect the problem is mayhem on the powerline. I
set up 18 triggers to control 9 different rooms, reserving two to experiment with my mack daddy Dusk scene.
My Dusk scene is assigned to 14 buttons on keypads. I plan to have the scene bring up 32 lights inside and outside
my house to their preset levels. Simple enough. I created a scene with those 32 devices (but no buttons) and when
i turn it on or off from the GUI, it works reliably. It also seems to only send one command through the PLM (or so it
seems from watching the led). But then there is the button syncronization. I want the scene to illuminate all
the buttons assigned to my room scenes as well as the buttons assigned to individual devices.
I also have buttons assigned to a Night scene. Thesse buttons are on the same 14 keypads that have the Dusk scene.
There are a few outside lights and a few inside contained in this scene.
Eventually, I want a schedule to turn on the same devices in the Dusk scene at sunset. At 22:00 want all the devices
except the ones in the Night scene to go off. At sunrise, the remaining devices will go off.
So the Dusk and Night scenes will mirror the same tasks that the scheduled events will perform. Ideally, i
would like the Dusk single off press to take me to the Night scene. A fastoff for the Dusk buttons would turn all
the devices off. (If i want to retire early, I could press the Dusk off once.) I understand we are not there yet
for the fastoff, so i will just have it turn everything off.
My experiments with the Dusk scene so far have been less than stellar. The scene will have to turn on tons of keypad
buttons (as many as 8 on some keypads, as would be the case for the pedestals in my master bedroom). The two buttons
in the same scene limitation will present a challenge too.
Similar to the scene I created for my master bedroom, I created a scene with the 14 keypad buttons, all linked as
controllers (Y Dusk). I created a trigger with one of the buttons defined as the condition. The response can only
have 16 items, so I tried this as a workaround.
X Dusk A Button Scene
X Dusk B Button Scene
X Dusk C Button Scene
X Dusk D Button Scene
X Dusk E Button Scene
X Dusk F Button Scene
X Dusk G Button Scene
X Dusk H Button Scene
Let me try to phrase what i did with each of these scenes. If the Dusk scene was successfully executed, there would
be lots of keypad buttons illuminated. I placed all the buttons (that would be illuminated) assigned to the A buttons
in X Dusk A Button Scene. I repeated that process for the B, C, D, E, F, G and H buttons, placing each in the appropriate
scene. All these links are RESPONDERS.
This is the trigger setup.
Dusk Scene
Condition
When
Master Bedroom Bedside Lamps Keypad
Button C
is pressed on
Response
Set
Dusk Scene
to on - and set
X Dusk A Button
to on - and set
X Dusk B Button
to on - and set
X Dusk C Button
to on - and set
X Dusk D Button
to on - and set
X Dusk E Button
to on - and set
X Dusk F Button
to on - and set
X Dusk G Button
to on - and set
X Dusk H Button
to on
The Dusk scene contains only the keypad load devices, lamplincs, relays and dimmers in it. No button are included.
I manipulated the buttons with the 8 scenes included in the conditions that follow the Dusk scene (X Dusk A Button, X Dusk
B Button, etc.).
The results were a light show. Lights and buttons going on and off everywhere. But creating this missive
has possibly helped me isolate my problem. See if you spot my screwup in this scene.
X Dusk C Button Scene
Half Bath Sink Keypad Button C (Dusk scene button)
Outside Porch Keypad Button C (Dusk scene button)
Guest Bedroom Pedestal Keypad Button C (Loft scene)
Foyer Overhead Keypad Button C (Living Room scene)
Loft Pedestal Keypad Button C (Z Loft Chair Lamp scene)
and 12 other buttons.
I need to yank the buttons assigned to the Dusk scene I think. I will try that and report back.
Found why i was having a light show (lights and buttons going on and off several times when I pressed a Dusk scene
button). I had included multiple instances of buttons that were already linked in a scene as controllers.
If you recall, i had created a scene for each room. The names of the scenes are prefaced with the letter Y.
So 'Y Master Bath' had already created links between all the buttons associated with the lighting scenerio for my master bath.
All these buttons are linked as controllers. Note that i said 'lighting scenerio' instead of 'scene'. When i want
the lights on in my master bath, i press a button assigned to my master bath (these buttons are linked in the Y Master Bath
scene). The button action (on) uses a trigger to turn on all the lights and sync the buttons associated with the lights
- for my master bath. The syncronization for the buttons assigned to 'master bath' lighting scenerio is accomplished
with the Y Master Bath scene. The syncronization for an individual device (such as a lamp - yeah - i have lamps in there)
is handled by another scene - the scene that links the lamplinc with the button for the lamplinc (the names for these scenes
start with Z - Z Master Bath Left Lamp for example).
