Automatically set button LED colors on the Zooz ZEN32 Scene Controller to show device status.

[@n2ocharged]

I know this is a little older (at least 8 months) so I'm not sure what changes HA has made to the automations... However, I have noticed that you don't need to add a trigger ID, Entity, and the "to" option because it is checking the state in the actions/conditions below. The only thing you have to do is add each entity you want it to check against on a separate "action" lines. For example, in each of my triggers I put in the entity I want the automation to run against (IE: door locks). When a door lock is triggered (either manually or remotely) it activates this automation. It looks at the two options below, chooses the correct one, and then sets the light accordingly. I'm very happy I found this as you've explained it in a way everyone can understand. I've implemented it on all of my zooz switches.

[@mostlychris]

There have been a number of updates and that is the unfortunate thing about technology and videos. They get outdated after a time. However, there are still some valid points and it sounds like you were able to pick a few things out. Thanks for watching and for the feedback.

[@n2ocharged]

@@mostlychris You've made an excellent video and earned my subscription the first time I watched this video... I've had to come back and rewatch it a couple of times because I lost some of my automations and it even just vanished one day. Thank you for the content, I learned a lot from you already.

[@abboberg987]

i don't have doorlocks, but what a perfect way to explain the use of conditions, entity_id's, and and or's (p.i.) . I am gonna watch this again when i want such a complex automation.

[@mostlychris]

Lots of use cases for the automations for sure!

[@deep126]

is there any way to build the scene automation in node red only? i can listen to the zwave_js_value_notification and see the info in the debug but how do i use that as a trigger in node red?

[@mostlychris]

Yes you can. Use the events node from Home Assistant and specify the zwave notification listener.

[@deep126]

@@mostlychris thanks, I kept looking into it and figured it out. Now I have a giant web for the node red automation with 35 switch outputs! Do you have any recommendations on how to set up scenes in node red? I started using subflows for this

[@RJMaker]

Thanks for the video. I noticed while watching this video I was doing some things wrong in the automation creation. As a possible future suggested video topic. An in depth tutorial on the GUI automation page ( condition types, how to build and use them, etc..) would be fantastic, as I'm not sure any exist currently.

[@mostlychris]

I'll add that to my request list. Thanks for watching!

[@felt505]

I've done something similar with my garage doors. For light switch notifications, since it doesn't matter to me which door is open (only whether or not one is), I added them to a group and use the group's state in Node Red to determine the LED color. No messy logic needed. The group is open if either door is open and doesn't close until both are closed.

[@mostlychris]

Oh man! That is an excellent solution. I'm going to try that for the door locks. The only other issue I occasionally run into is that the door locks don't report status, but that is a z-wave issue and not related to the switch at all.

[@emruff1]

Is there a way to have the LED on when the door is open but then turn off when the door is closed?

[@mostlychris]

Sure. Do the same thing as in the video. Just use an automation to set the state of the LED based on the "on" or "off" setting for the door sensor. This is exactly what I have done with the garage door.

[@RickFarris]

Does YAML have macros? Can you replace 2 and 3 with GREEN and RED? Just curious?

[@RickFarris]

Why yes, Rick, YAML does have macros. You can either put a dollar-sign in front of a variable, i.e. $GREEN or $RED where you define them, or use the {{ }} double brace "place-holder" method. Thanks for the help!

[@mostlychris]

Talking to yourself Rick? There was another suggestion on using templates, which is what I think you are talking about. Templates will work as well.

[@RickFarris]

@@mostlychris I went and looked it up. It’s generally considered bad form to leave naked numbers in the middle of code. I always try to leave some hints for the maintainer. A lot of times that ends up to be me and I forget.

[@bsem68]

If you have latest firmware 10.20 you can set parameter 23 to 1 so the led on big button doesn’t flash whenever sending a parameter to change led color. I noticed this in your video that yours is flashing.

[@mostlychris]

I just saw this on their tweet last night. I made a note to update the firmware and turn that off. It's kind of cool to see it react though.

[@wstrater]

I would have used a template. The template could return the correct color or could return a state such as all_locked, some_locked or all_unlocked. Returning just a color would make the LED automation easy. Returning a state could be used in other automations or NodeRED.

[@mostlychris]

Good point. Trying to keep it simple. Templates can make things complicated for some. Do you have an example of a the template syntax?

[@wstrater]

@@mostlychris I am more comfortable creating logic with if then else than structured YAML so my simple may not be your simple. I also like the fact that I can test my templates in Developer tools. I created two Toggle Helpers and put them on my phone dashboard. I then opened Developer Tools Template page and came up with the following. {% if is_state('input_boolean.test_toggle_1', 'on') and is_state('input_boolean.test_toggle_2', 'on') %} All On {% elif is_state('input_boolean.test_toggle_1', 'on') or is_state('input_boolean.test_toggle_2', 'on') %} Some On {% else %} All Off {% endif %} I think the Home Assistant UI is amazing but sometimes it is better to put the mouse away and use the keyboard.

[@wstrater]

Had an "Interesting" experience with triggers. I had a relay become unavailable and and then available again. This caused the state to go from "closed" to "unavailable" to "closed" again. If you create a trigger with only a "to: closed" then the automation would be triggered. Having a "from: open" and "to: closed" is more inline with what I wanted. The same issue can occur with templates. "is_state('relay', 'closed')" would go from "true" to "false" to "true". Using "not is_state('relay', 'open')" would be a better option.

[@mostlychris]

Good points. Thanks for the tips and the template suggestions.

[@abboberg987]

a true word you are saying at 20:51 'if you can remember what all of those buttons do'... i have four flic2-buttons with each a press, double-press & hold. Can't remember them all. And i don't want to mention the PartnerAcceptanceFactor....

[@mostlychris]

Yep. The buttons are only as good as remembering what they are for.

[@jmr]

You could set it up as a secret control panel. Who has a hidden door they want to open? 3 press button 1, 2 press button 2. 🤣

[@mostlychris]

Lol. My kids would love that. That might be a cool idea to get them involved in all my evil home automation and tech stuff.