Getting Alexa to dim lights to 10%

[armymutt]

Until I decided to Insteon the bedroom while my wife is off traveling, our typical nighttime routine was her telling Alexa to turn the lights to 10% and the Hue bulbs in the ceiling fan would comply.  This left the room light enough for me to come in and then turn off the lights when I went to bed.  Now I have a keypad and fanlinc.  Would like to pull out the Hue bulbs for use elsewhere.  I set up a scene in ISY called "Lights 10%" where the action is to dim the light to 10% over 8.5 seconds.  I then published this to Alexa via the portal as an Alexa device.  When I issue the command, the lights turn off.  So, where am I going wrong?  I'm not a programmer, so this is all new to me.  

[auger66]

Dim what kind of light? A new light? The old Hue light?

[paulbates]

The insteon switch might dim differently. What happens if you use udm or iox to dim the light at different levels?

Then run the same kind of test on the scene. Can you post a pic of the scene.

Edited June 5 by paulbates

[oberkc]

12 hours ago, armymutt said:

I then published this to Alexa via the portal as an Alexa device. 

What Alexa category did you use for this scene?  Light? Switch?  Scene?  Other?

 

12 hours ago, armymutt said:

I set up a scene in ISY called "Lights 10%"

Does this scene work when run from the admin console?  Depending on the fixture and bulb, sometimes low levels of dimming can be more than the fixture can handle.

 

I have not been successful trying to dim Insteon scenes from Alexa.  Furthermore, if the scene is not added as Alexa category "light", I don't thing that Alexa will recognize the scene via voice commands within the context of the room in which Alexa resides.  A simple solution (hopefully) would be to create an Alexa routine.  Choose a voice input command that is easy to remember (such as Alexa: dim room).  When commanded, Alexa would be programmed to turn on the Insteon scene.

[larryllix]

The only thing I control with my Alexa speakers are ISY programs, and then they can operate, and do, whatever I want them to.

All devices have the same vocal syntax
...Alexa, Turn On dim lights
...Alexa, Turn On very dim lights
...Alexa, Turn On bright lights
...Alexa Turn Off all lights
...Alexa, Turn On Christmas lights
...Alexa, Turn on TV lights
...Alexa, Turn On red lights

No set or level commands ever used. It keeps it simple and easy to remember.

[armymutt]

13 hours ago, auger66 said:

Dim what kind of light? A new light? The old Hue light?

My goal is a dumb LED light controlled by the Fanlinc.  

2 hours ago, oberkc said:

What Alexa category did you use for this scene?  Light? Switch?  Scene?  Other?

 

Does this scene work when run from the admin console?  Depending on the fixture and bulb, sometimes low levels of dimming can be more than the fixture can handle.

 

I have not been successful trying to dim Insteon scenes from Alexa.  Furthermore, if the scene is not added as Alexa category "light", I don't thing that Alexa will recognize the scene via voice commands within the context of the room in which Alexa resides.  A simple solution (hopefully) would be to create an Alexa routine.  Choose a voice input command that is easy to remember (such as Alexa: dim room).  When commanded, Alexa would be programmed to turn on the Insteon scene.

The Alexa category is Light.  When I use the mobile app and select the 10% scene, the light turns off.  If I select it again, it goes to 10%.  

13 hours ago, paulbates said:

The insteon switch might dim differently. What happens if you use udm or iox to dim the light at different levels?

Then run the same kind of test on the scene. Can you post a pic of the scene.

Here are the pics.  The light was on at 100% when the screen capture occurred.  

[paulbates]

10% may not be a good value for the fanlinc light switch. You need to validate that this setup can work and at what level before writing programs, Alexa integration, etc.

Did you try using the UDM app or iox to manually apply different percentages (90%, then 80%, 70%, etc) and visually see what happens to the bulb?

Edited June 5 by paulbates

[armymutt]

21 minutes ago, paulbates said:

10% may not be a good value for the fanlinc light switch. You need to validate that this setup can work and at what level before writing programs, Alexa integration, etc.

Did you try using the UDM app or iox to manually apply different percentages (90%, then 80%, 70%, etc) and visually see what happens to the bulb?

Yes, the Fanlinc is capable of dimming and brightening the bulbs.  I checked a variety of them with the UDM.  The keypad is an on/off switch (2487S), so the command would have to go directly to the Fanlinc.  

[armymutt]

I ended up deleting the scene and just using the Fanlinc light part as a device with Alexa.  Seems to work.  The switch won't be involved, but at least the desired effect is achieved.