Use the ZEN32 Scene Controller to control smart bulbs on Hubitat for the ultimate automation flexibility. Remember that your smart bulbs need to be added to Hubitat so that you can turn them on and off and adjust colors from the Hubitat interface. In this article we go through the steps of programming the Scene Controller to activate your smart bulbs wirelessly on Hubitat. We recommend that you start with this overview article to better understand how this and other Zooz switches work with smart bulbs.
WIRE YOUR SCENE CONTROLLER
Follow the appropriate diagram in the product manual to install your switch. There is no special wiring required when using this device with smart bulb unless you have a 3-way set-up that you would like to turn into a virtual 3-way using multiple Zooz switches. In that case, refer to the wiring diagrams here.
ENABLE SMART BULB MODE
Once the Scene Controller is wired, you'll be able to turn the smart bulbs on and off from the main button. But since we want to leave power to the bulbs at all times so they can still respond if the wall switch is off, we want to disable the relay on the Scene Controller and rely on wireless commands instead:
- We recommend you install the custom driver for your Scene Controller BEFORE you include the device to your hub to get the most of your experience.
- Add the ZEN32 Scene Controller to Hubitat and click on it in the web UI to access all of the settings for the device.
- Turn the Scene Controller relay on so that your smart bulbs are powered.
- Scroll down to Preferences in the detailed device view and change the following:
- Under Local (physical) and Z-Wave control/smart bulb mode, select the Disable local and Z-Wave control option to put your relay in smart bulb mode.
- Click Save. Now when you tap the large relay button on the Scene Controller, nothing will happen, your smart bulbs will remain on.
LINK THE SCENE CONTROLLER TO YOUR SMART BULBS
When the Scene Controller is in smart bulb mode, all 5 buttons can be used for remote control. There are a few different ways to program each button to trigger your smart bulbs.
We recommend using scene control which will allow any trigger from any button on your Scene Controller to be assigned a different action.
Here is how to program your Scene Controller with button events on Hubitat.
A few examples on how you can use the device to activate your favorite settings instantly:
- If the main button is pressed, toggle the state of my smart bulbs (turn them on if they're off or turn them off if they're on).
- If button 1 is pressed, set my smart bulbs to bed time scene (lights dimmed, set to warm yellow).
- If button 2 is pressed, set my smart bulbs to focus mode (full brightness, cool white).
- If button 3 is pressed, set my smart bulbs to chill mode (your favorite animation sequence).
- If button 4 is pressed, set my smart bulbs to party mode (rainbow lights).
Each button can be programmed for double tap, held, released, or multi-tap triggers so you have endless possibilities with creative ways to use this device as a smart bulb remote control.
If you're using the Scene Controller in a 3-way set-up with a mechanical switch on the other side of the installation, you will need to implement a mirroring automation to use the mechanical switch for wireless control of your smart bulbs. The easiest way to do that is to use the Hubitat Mirror app. You can follow the set-up and programming instructions for this app here.
Once programmed, the automation will keep the status of the switches and the bulbs in sync so you can still control the smart bulbs when using the mechanical switch without cutting power to them. You can then program the small buttons to trigger more sophisticated smart bulb scenarios as described in the previous section for scene control.
Direct association programming for Z-Wave smart bulbs is not currently available on Hubitat.
If you have any questions about using your Scene Controller with smart bulbs on Hubitat, just ask!
