How to Use Your ZEN71 On/Off Switch With Smart Bulbs On Hubitat

The ZEN71 is the recommended On/Off switch for standard on/off smart bulb control on SmartThings. Please ensure that your smart bulbs are integrated to and controllable from the Hubitat UI. Here is a quick guide on how to install and program the device to get the most out of your smart lighting experience. If you'd like to learn more about using this and other Zooz switches with smart bulbs, read this overview article first.

WIRE YOUR SCENE CONTROLLER

Simply 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 ZEN71 is wired, you'll be able to turn the smart bulbs on and off from the main button. However, 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 switch and rely on wireless commands instead:

We recommend you install the custom driver for your ZEN71.
Add the ZEN71 On/Off Switch to Hubitat and click on it in the web UI to access all of the settings for the device.
Turn the ZEN71 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 switch in smart bulb mode.
- Under Scene Control, select Enable to enable scene control so you can program your ZEN71.
Click Save. Now when you click the paddles on the ZEN71, nothing will happen with the light itself; your smart bulbs will remain on.

LINK THE ZEN71 TO YOUR SMART BULBS

When the ZEN71 is in smart bulb mode, both the upper and lower paddles can now be used for remote control via scene control.

SCENE CONTROL This will allow any single or multi-tap from both paddles on the ZEN71 to be assigned a different action to trigger your favorite smart bulbs settings. We've linked the simple instructions below showing how to program scene control for the ZEN71 On/Off Switch via Hubitat:

Here is how to program scene control on your ZEN71 on Hubitat.

We've provided just a few examples on how you can use the device to activate your favorite settings instantly:

If the upper paddle is pressed once, toggle the state of my smart bulbs (turn them on if they're off or turn them off if they're on).
If the upper paddle is double tapped, set my smart bulbs to bed time scene (lights dimmed, set to warm yellow).
If the lower paddle is tapped once, set my smart bulbs to focus mode (full brightness, cool white).

The ZEN71 supports 1-tap, 2-tap, 3-tap, 4-tap, and 5- tap as well as held and released for both the upper and lower paddles, so you have plenty of programming options available.

3-WAY SET-UP If you're using the ZEN71 in a 3-way with smart bulbs and 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.

Direct association programming for Z-Wave smart bulbs is not currently available on Hubitat.

If you have any questions about using your ZEN71 with smart bulbs on Hubitat, just ask!