Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
63,287
30,363



Leviton-250x375.jpeg
Leviton today unveiled new HomeKit-enabled light switches and dimmers at CES 2017, including a 1000W Universal Dimmer, 600W Universal Dimmer, and 15A Universal Rocker Switch.

Like other smart light switches and dimmers, the trio of new Decora products can be used in tandem with the free Decora Smart Home app for iPhone and iPad to control lights and loads.

The app has customizable settings for bulb type, adjustable fade rate, minimum and maximum brightness levels, and more.

With HomeKit, the products can also be controlled with Siri voice commands and Home app on iOS 10 to easily turn on, off, dim, or brighten an individual light or an entire room, zone, or home.

The dimmers and switch can leverage HomeKit scenes including "Good Morning" and "Good Night." Other custom HomeKit scenes can be configured in the Home app to automatically turn off lights, lock doors, close the garage door, and set the thermostat to the desired temperature in just one step.

The dimmers feature rocker paddles and embedded LEDs to display the illumination level, but the LEDs vanish when not being used to ensure a clean design. The in-wall dimmers and switch are also designed to function with low-wattage light sources, such as a single LED bulb or a strand of holiday lights.

Light switches comprise one of the most crowded HomeKit accessory categories, with several competing options available from Elgato, iDevices, Incipio, and more.

Leviton said the new Decora lighting control accessories will be available in April. Pricing was not disclosed.

Article Link: CES 2017: Leviton Debuts New HomeKit-Enabled Light Switches and Dimmers
 

dwaltwhit

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
1,169
2,175
Tennessee
I have to plead ignorance here. I have a house full of hue bulbs but one of my lights is a flourescent tube light in my kitchen. Could I take this switch and install it to control this "dumb" light? Or is this the same as say the Hue Dimmer switch?
 

rek89

macrumors member
Sep 10, 2015
43
102
Could I take this switch and install it to control this "dumb" light?

From the press release, it looks like your use case is exactly what this switch will do. This switch will be a replacement for a traditional switch and can control any load within the switch's rated specs - fan, light, outlet, etc.
 

44267547

Cancelled
Jul 12, 2016
37,642
42,491
I like the minimal design. Seems easy enough to install and control any other variable lights in my household.
 

dwaltwhit

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
1,169
2,175
Tennessee
From the press release, it looks like your use case is exactly what this switch will do. This switch will be a replacement for a traditional switch and can control any load within the switch's rated specs - fan, light, outlet, etc.
I sure hope so and would love for it to be about $50
 

bsbeamer

macrumors 601
Sep 19, 2012
4,303
2,681
Fair warning to anyone who is going to try these out: If you have LED light bulbs, LED overhead/recessed lights, or other low-power lighting, these dimmers and/or bulbs will likely buzz or not work correctly with your current lighting setup due to the high load rating of the dimmer. Low power and ultra low power dimmers can run $75-100+ a piece and can actually work from 0-100% with dimmable LEDs. Not all LEDs are dimmable. Not all dimmers are compatible with LEDs. Not all dimmers can be adjusted to work with LEDs.

If using these with a fan or higher wattage/usage lighting, they will likely work fine. The non-dimmable 15A will also likely work fine.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bommai

cjgrif

macrumors regular
Oct 25, 2011
111
250
Salisbury, MD
Fair warning to anyone who is going to try these out: If you have LED light bulbs, LED overhead/recessed lights, or other low-power lighting, these dimmers and/or bulbs will likely buzz or not work correctly with your current lighting setup due to the high load rating of the dimmer. Low power and ultra low power dimmers can run $75-100+ a piece and can actually work from 0-100% with dimmable LEDs. Not all LEDs are dimmable. Not all dimmers are compatible with LEDs. Not all dimmers can be adjusted to work with LEDs.

If using these with a fan or higher wattage/usage lighting, they will likely work fine. The non-dimmable 15A will also likely work fine.

The in-wall dimmers and switch are also designed to function with low-wattage light sources, such as a single LED bulb or a strand of holiday lights.

I have encountered this issue with LED bulbs not working well with some dimmers, but the article does specifically say they are designed in such a way to be compatible with low-wattage loads. You would still need an dimmable LED bulb of course.

This may be exactly what I've been waiting for - I started 5 years ago when I bought my house replacing some of the switches with z-wave enabled ones, but once HomeKit was announced I wanted to wait and see how it matured and have been a little disappointed with the "buy a wall wart"/"buy a fancy light bulb" approach. Not that they aren't good for certain use cases, but luckily my house was very thought out with switches and light fixtures in all of the right places so just being able to control the physical wall switches makes the most sense in my case.
 

ChrisCW11

macrumors 65816
Jul 21, 2011
1,037
1,433
Great, but so far at CES, its been Alexa powered or bust. I am sure these will work with other home automation platforms, but it would be very silly for Leviton to make a home-kit only enabled solution.
 

hipnetic

macrumors 65816
Oct 5, 2010
1,266
562
I wish these came out a month ago, so that I could have tried them out. I recently bought about 6 Lutron Caseta dimmer switches, because those were the only HomeKit-compatible option. They work great, but I don't like the physical design of the dimmer switch itself (four same-sized triangular buttons and it's difficult to hit the one you want when you fumble around in the dark). At $60, the Lutron Caseta dimmers are pricey, too, but they do come with a 2nd remote dimmer which can effectively be used as an in-wall dimmer/switch for a 2nd location.

These Lutron dimmer switches will supposedly cost "no more than $50", so if they're $50 they are a questionable value compared to the Lutrons since they don't come with the 2nd remote dimmer.
 

Carlanga

macrumors 604
Nov 5, 2009
7,132
1,409
Fair warning to anyone who is going to try these out: If you have LED light bulbs, LED overhead/recessed lights, or other low-power lighting, these dimmers and/or bulbs will likely buzz or not work correctly with your current lighting setup due to the high load rating of the dimmer. Low power and ultra low power dimmers can run $75-100+ a piece and can actually work from 0-100% with dimmable LEDs. Not all LEDs are dimmable. Not all dimmers are compatible with LEDs. Not all dimmers can be adjusted to work with LEDs.

If using these with a fan or higher wattage/usage lighting, they will likely work fine. The non-dimmable 15A will also likely work fine.
Fair warning to you: it says they will work properly for this. Technology advances and w new players prices have come down.
 

Le Big Mac

macrumors 68030
Jan 7, 2003
2,806
375
Washington, DC
Fair warning to you: it says they will work properly for this. Technology advances and w new players prices have come down.

Indeed, the press release says:

The new lighting control accessories are engineered with advanced technology to function with extremely sensitive, low-wattage light sources, such as a single LED bulb in a hallway or a strand of holiday lights.
 

clat22

macrumors newbie
Jun 5, 2008
18
2
I have to plead ignorance here. I have a house full of hue bulbs but one of my lights is a flourescent tube light in my kitchen. Could I take this switch and install it to control this "dumb" light? Or is this the same as say the Hue Dimmer switch?
Very good question. I find the best combination of bulb vs switch is;
dumb bulb + smart switch = smart solution that works.
smart bulb + dumb switch = dumb solution, unless you don't mind putting duck tape or a tape blocker on your switch. Most smart bulbs turn dumb or act erratic after cutting the power to them.
Smart bulb + smart switch = crap shoot. If it's the same manufacturer and they were designed to work... they have a higher probability of working. If they weren't designed and tested to work together.. don't bother.


As for the flourescent, not sure it'll dim, unless it was designed to be dimmable, but the smart rocker will work
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jakuta and condor

robinp

macrumors 6502a
Feb 1, 2008
749
1,783
When is someone going to release a smart light switch for the UK market. Seems like everyone is rushing to make them for the US but nothing over here yet.
 

Darien Red Sox

macrumors regular
Dec 13, 2010
216
7
CT, USA
Like the fact that no hub or bridge is required. I know of at least one outside light that this would be handy to use it to turn on the light before you got home.
 

hipnetic

macrumors 65816
Oct 5, 2010
1,266
562
A) So that you don't need to take your phone out to turn a light on or off, or dim it
B) So other people who live there or visit can use the lights
The point is that it's redundant and a waste of money to pair a smart dimmer with a smart bulb. If you use a smart dimmer, you can use cheap, dumb bulbs.
 

QuarterSwede

macrumors G3
Oct 1, 2005
9,778
2,026
Colorado Springs, CO
Fair warning to anyone who is going to try these out: If you have LED light bulbs, LED overhead/recessed lights, or other low-power lighting, these dimmers and/or bulbs will likely buzz or not work correctly with your current lighting setup due to the high load rating of the dimmer. Low power and ultra low power dimmers can run $75-100+ a piece and can actually work from 0-100% with dimmable LEDs. Not all LEDs are dimmable. Not all dimmers are compatible with LEDs. Not all dimmers can be adjusted to work with LEDs.

If using these with a fan or higher wattage/usage lighting, they will likely work fine. The non-dimmable 15A will also likely work fine.
Most dimmers that the big box hardware stores sell are compatible with all common light bulbs now (Incandescent, CFL, and dimmable LED). Just don't buy a low budget non-dimmable LED and it'll work fine.

Per the article:
The in-wall dimmers and switch are also designed to function with low-wattage light sources, such as a single LED bulb or a strand of holiday lights
 

dwaltwhit

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
1,169
2,175
Tennessee
Very good question. I find the best combination of bulb vs switch is;
dumb bulb + smart switch = smart solution that works.
smart bulb + dumb switch = dumb solution, unless you don't mind putting duck tape or a tape blocker on your switch. Most smart bulbs turn dumb or act erratic after cutting the power to them.
Smart bulb + smart switch = crap shoot. If it's the same manufacturer and they were designed to work... they have a higher probability of working. If they weren't designed and tested to work together.. don't bother.


As for the flourescent, not sure it'll dim, unless it was designed to be dimmable, but the smart rocker will work

I hope you are right. Dimming isn't something I'm concerned with on this particular light, I just want it to work when I say siri turn on the kitchen lights
 

Jkingsle

macrumors newbie
Jan 8, 2017
5
3
How will these switches connect to the HomeKit hub (I.e. The appletv).. if it's bluetoooth and not wifi that's going to present some issues in many setups due to range. Anyone have any ideas?
 

mistafro

macrumors regular
Aug 24, 2003
184
180
Why would you want a dimmer switch for a Hue bulb?

Not a dimmer switch but a switch that can be controlled like the caseta ones. That way you can replace the dummy switch with it and not have a second switch on the wall like the current hue switches work. If you do that you have no control if someone turns off the dummy switch.

Problem is the caseta switches are not compatible with hue Lights, they flicker constantly on and off...
 

scapegoat81

macrumors 6502a
Oct 7, 2012
758
148
Philly
Like the fact that no hub or bridge is required. I know of at least one outside light that this would be handy to use it to turn on the light before you got home.
This is what I was looking for. Where do u see this ? If this works how i think it will, I need like 3 of these
 
Last edited:

Stokkes

macrumors member
Sep 24, 2007
63
35
Here's the big question mark for me that hasn't been mentioned here.

There's absolutely no mention of how it will integrate with HomeKit without a Hub. Will it be like the Eve switch which uses Bluetooth (crappy) and is known to be unreliable or will it have an integrated Wifi chip in the switch which you'll have to connect to your Wifi network?

If it's bluetooth, this thing is going to be horrible. I have high hopes since Leviton has been in the business for decades and they won't release something subpar.

I put in a few Lutron Caseta Dimmers and while I'm not a big fan of the dimmer itself, it's rock solid to the point where the on/off functions just like a dumb switch, so if your Wifi goes wonky or the Hub isn't reachable, it will still turn the damn lights on/off.

I can't say the same about the Hue Dimmer. Because it isn't directly wired, I often have to hit the button a few times before the lights turn on and it drives me nuts. I'm now only going to stick to HomeKit compatible directly-wired switches, hopefully with a mechanical (Decora-style) feel (Lutrons are push buttons which are sometimes hard to find in the dark).
 
  • Like
Reactions: mistafro
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.