Hello All, I wanted to take a minute to share a solution I found for light group status.
The problem: When grouping lights, switch / tile would report “off” unless all lights in the group where on.
The use case: Using smart bulbs (or in my case downlights) and wanting the ability to control lights with multiple groups. For example, All Kitchen Lights, Front Kitchen Lights, Back Kitchen Lights, or even a single kitchen light etc…
In order for fix the status updating correctly, I used a smart app called “TrendSetter”.
This application worked where virtual and simulated switches/dimmers did not. For the lights I have (Wiz), only the dimmer worked, despite my lights being color and temperature changing. The individual lights work as expected (color and temperature too).
I know there are a lot of other solutions out there, for my setup this is the only one that worked. I also understand this is not perfect. For me, it allows my non-tech savvy family members and visitors to do what they need.
I still have one known bug, but not a deal breaker for me. I am trying to play with rules to fix it, but have not been able to yet. Some of my family members like to use the physical switches instead of smart controls. When they do that and a light is offline, the TrendSetter group does not update accordingly. I tried a rule checking different status for offline lights, so far that has not worked. I am not a developer, but used to script a lot. I intend to look at the trend setter code to see if I can add something around device status. If anyone else finds a solution to the known issues I would appreciate a quick reply to help documented a full solution for the community.
Best of luck all!
Github Repo →
Partial example of the main dashboard (still WIP). Most of the lights on this panel are Trend Setter Groups. I have the link to “Lights” which brings up the panel below to control the rest of the downstairs lights, down the the individual light.
Partial example of the detailed light dashboard I created. The area circled in Red are the TrendSetter groups and the other lights are the individual lights.