I bought a Sengled light strip and some globes and paired them with my SmartThings hub. I notice that when I turn them off/on, or dim them, the change happens very abruptly. I’d like a slight ramping/fading effect. Is this something that can be achieved with WebCore?
If so, will it continue to work without regular maintenance? I’m a newbie, and the impression I get is that everyone’s ‘pistons’ are unreliable and constantly breaking down.
Ouch! Well, this is a forum designed to troubleshoot pistons…
We have over 6 thousand visitors a day, with only about 5 new topics a day.
Personally, I think that is strong evidence that most of us have an awesome SmartHome.
Most of the topics here are when we are trying to do something fancy, and learning new tricks, LOL
Anyways, back on topic…
I have not had a single good experience with that brand, other than the price.
I am not saying to give up… I am just saying that I have been less than impressed in the past.
Your mileage may vary.
There is a command in webCoRE to fade a light… but I don’t remember if I have tested with your brand.
Just keep in mind that once a fade begins, (for all practical purposes), it cannot be aborted until it has completed the entire cycle.
"Just keep in mind that once a fade begins, (for all practical purposes) , it cannot be aborted until it has completed the entire cycle."
I don’t think that will be a problem. I just want them to look nice when they turn on/off and dim. A short 500 millisecond transition.
If this is something that can definitely be accomplished with WebCore, I’ll get started right away. Can you confirm this for me?
Fade commands are essentially, spam commands sent from webCoRE to your bulb.
In other words, with a 500ms fade, it will likely only be one (or maybe two) commands.
(IE: still abrupt)
I think 4 seconds may be a good place to start, but feel free to experiment.
Here is a simple piston you can import, which should test fading both up and down.
(just import, point it to a single bulb, press Test, and sit back for 13 seconds)
(I did not set the starting level, so the first time you press Test may react strangely)
You can play with the duration in this test piston, and once you find numbers that look good to you, then you can incorporate that logic into any piston.
For reference:
Here is the log for fading from 100 to 0 in four seconds:
setLevel([88], [delay: 500])
setLevel([75], [delay: 1000])
setLevel([63], [delay: 1500])
setLevel([50], [delay: 2000])
setLevel([38], [delay: 2500])
setLevel([25], [delay: 3000])
setLevel([13], [delay: 3500])
setLevel([0], [delay: 4000])
Still a bit choppy, but you get the idea…
I appreciate it. To be clear, my Sengled bulbs transition instantaneously. Possibly due to their firmware. I only want a small transition, and i want it to happen every time I switch them off/on or adjust the brightness. Is this piston likely to solve the problem?
The test piston is so your eyes can see how well Sengled handles the spam fade commands.
(I recommend setting logging level to FULL during your testing)
Once you find a delay that is acceptable to your eyes, then all your pistons that turn on or turn off that bulb can use the fade command you just learned. (instead of the normal turn on/off)
… of course, if you turn on/off the light without using a piston, then the bulb will change abruptly.
Forgive my ignorance. I want to control the lights using Google Assistant, as well as SmartThings buttons and motion sensors. Will I be able to see the fade by turning on the light with all of these methods?
Now there are loopholes to this…
For example, Google can turn on a Simulated Switch, and when webCoRE sees that switch change, then webCoRE can take over and fade the light properly.
Likewise, if a SmartThings button triggers a webCoRE piston, then you can also fade…
But anytime you bypass webCoRE by directly changing the light, it will be abrupt.
Pro Tip:
None of these are worth pursuing though if you are not happy with the test piston delay and results.
I understand. I set up virtual switches on SmartThings to control Tuya products with IFTTT, but the delay is too long. Will using a simulated switch with WebCore also introduce a delay?
I’ll try the piston later and post the results. I’m worried that this might not be worth pursuing at all, when I can probably just use another brand of light.
Should I just abandon SmartThings all together if I want lights that fade, turn on simultaneously and do automated effects (like ‘colour looping’ and ‘candle flicker’)?
The delays for IFTTT are not impressive… but the delays with a SimSwitch are nearly instant.
(around 15ms?)
SmartThings (and webCoRE) communicates with sooo many different devices…
(I would not give them up because they definitely open up a slew of new possibilities)
That being said, if you want a continuous stream of commands going to a bulb non-stop…
… then I would seek out a bulb or Device Handler that can handle all that micro-managing.
(for the record, the price point is likely at the other end of the spectrum from the Sengled brand)
Without an external “brain” in the mix, you will be forcing webCoRE to send over 100 commands per device, per minute… Ouch!
Ideally, for fancy stuff like flickering, you want a bulb (brand) that can handle a single request (from webCoRE), and then the internal chip on the bulb can handle all the timings and continuous adjustments.
Personally, I do not want my home network to be congested with spam commands.
(better to keep that chatter inside the device, IMO)
For a silly analogy:
If I tell my son to go clean his room, I do not want to stand there and say, “Do this. OK now do this. Next I want you to do this”.
The perfect solution is for me to ask once, and then let the kid plan his route from there.
(we all can dream, right? LOL)
This same concept applies in the SmartHome world. For long lasting events (fades/flickers etc), then ideally webCoRE asks once, and then lets device handle all the micro-decisions.
All of this is just a fancy way of saying, webCoRE can definitely handle it’s side of this logic, but can your device take it from there?
Edit:
I guess if we take this analogy one step further…
Let’s say my kid is incompetent, and I am required to stand in the door giving out one command at a time… Truthfully, we can still accomplish the task at hand, but it will take a bit longer, and during that time, I will not be as responsive in my other duties because I am kind of tied up here at the moment…
I’m a little confused. I’ve used multiple brands of cheap wifi globes with the Smart Life app, and I was able to easily run animations (like color loop and candle flicker) that I design inside the app. Phillips hue does the same thing using a hub.
Is there some reason why this can’t be easily achieved with the SmartThings hub/app and some compatible lights? Such as my Sengled ones?
I wouldn’t go that strong.
I have over 100 pistons, over 300 devices (including simulated switches) and pistons failing ratio is maybe 2%-3% of the time…
So, 97% of the time they work perfectly.
In my experience bad coding is one of the main reasons. The other one is congested network issues,
Yes, this is exactly what I described. A dedicated “brains” that was designed to control one brand of devices. (and deal with all the micro-managing every 200 ms)
The question is, do those third party apps allow external devices (like webCoRE) to send commands to it?
The first wifi globe I purchased came with instructions to download the Tuya/Smart Life app. Using this single app on its own, I was able to control the light, set up automations and activate animated effects (colour loop and candle flicker). I purchased different brands of wifi globes later and found that they could also be added to the Smart Life app and controlled in the same way. Most wifi globes you find in stores can be added to the Smart Life app.
And to answer your question, yes, The Smart Life app can also be controlled by Google assistant and IFTTT.
I recently bought a SmartThings hub for the purpose of using zigbee sensors/lights. I assumed (wrongly) that the SmartThings app/hub would be capable of doing what the Smart Life app can do, with any compatible light I add to the SmartThings app. Now I have a few Sengled lights paired directly to my SmartThings hub. They turn on/off abruptly, they don’t turn on at the same time, and they are incapable of doing animated effects, making them inferior to my previous wifi globes in every way.
Unless WebCore can fix this, then going with SmartThings was probably a mistake.
Perfect. This means that webCoRE can use advanced logic to determine what command to send to Smart Life, and when. (IE: when you arrive home, or when the temperature rises above X, etc.)
It sounds like webCoRE can be your big brains, and Smart Life can handle all the menial repetition. (without you touching the app)
Every single device on the planet has limitations.
Thankfully, webCoRE can overcome most of them.
(but it is not so good at spamming commands ten times a second)
Perhaps we can compare webCoRE to the CEO of a company… The one in charge of the big perspective… Behind the scenes… Issuing commands to different departments etc.
You won’t find the CEO standing in the doorway telling the janitor how to rinse out his mop bucket. He has other much more important things he should be doing.
That responsibility should really lie with the janitor’s boss…
If they cannot instruct properly, then someone has to go…
In other words, don’t get mad at the CEO if the janitor is incompetent… LOL
(direct that towards the janitor, his boss, or perhaps human resources for hiring him)