Lightwave launched its first Smart Series devices in 2017. In August 2021 – four years later – all devices in the Smart Series range are receiving new and improved features with v5.0 Firmware.
Auto Calibration
Auto Calibration is easily the most impressive ‘under-the-bonnet’ feature of the Lightwave Smart Series Dimmers, and now v5.0 Firmware takes this feature several steps forward. This is a brilliant way to counter-act the issues presented by an ever-expanding variety of dimmable LED lamps within the general market and the complex circuitry inside them.
The purpose of Auto Calibration is to find the optimal maximum dim level that the wiring and load type allows. This means that Lightwave Smart Dimmers automatically identify the attributes of a dimmable lighting load. Whether you have one lamp on a circuit or several, the performance of the dimmer automatically adjusts to the load and the type of lamps used (leading/trailing edge), improving the installation and setup process.
Here’s the technical part:
At the beginning of the process, the dimmer will probe to detect if a neutral is present. If the neutral wire is not present, the dimmer will start to try dim levels from high to low. Each try will ramp the dim level starting from 0% to the actual maximum, followed by a stabilisation phase of 15 seconds. Once the stabilisation phase is complete without flicker, the dimmer concludes the Auto Calibration process by storing the maximum dim level achieved.
For those who have recently updated the firmware on their devices, you will have noticed this new Auto Calibration process initiated as the final stage of the update process.
Discrete Switching (ON/OFF mode)
Part of the new Auto Calibration process is neutral identification. If a neutral wire is present, Lightwave Smart Dimmers can perform ON/OFF switching. This dramatically increases lamp compatibility and is ideal for non-dimmable lighting. If there is another device on the market today that is capable of functioning as a Smart Dimmer or smart switch in this fashion, we certainly haven’t heard of it!
Soft-Start Dimming
Most Lightwave users rely on their voice assistant as the primary way to dim their lights, “Alexa, set kitchen lights to 50%”. However, some users prefer to dim their lights manually using press-and-hold on the button of a Smart Dimmer. User feedback suggested that the response time of manual dimming needed to be improved, and v5.0 Firmware significantly reduces the response time to achieve instant dim up/down response.
LED Indicator Auto-Off
The colour and brightness of the RGB LED indicators on Smart Series devices have always been customisable, and Auto-Off introduces added functionality to these LEDs. Once an event is triggered, the LED indicator of any Lightwave device will turn on for a few seconds, then turn off automatically. This is especially useful in your bedroom at night or if you want your Lightwave devices to be more discreet when not in use. This new feature is also extended to Smart Sockets, which previously had a minimum threshold of 14% brightness, meaning they could not be turned off. We’d recommend going a step further and building in a schedule automation to have the indicator LEDs ON during the day and ‘Auto-Off’ (0%) after dusk.
Multi-way Automation Wizard
Lightwave Smart Dimmers are capable of wireless two-way and multi-way switching. This means that only one Smart Dimmer needs to be wired into the circuit for any given lighting circuit, and switching can be triggered wirelessly from any other ‘Secondary’ Lightwave device around the property.
In the Lightwave app, the ‘Two-Way Switching’ automation template guides the user through the setup steps and requires minimal interaction to complete the process. The Multi-way Automation Wizard improves the setup process. The user is required to select the dimmers that are part of the desired two-way circuit, nominate a Master device (the one that is physically wired into the circuit), and the Secondary devices are automatically configured after an Auto Calibration takes place.
*Important note*
The indicator LED on Secondary devices will now blink green once when either button is pressed. In the app, you will notice an orange ‘S’ encircled on the tile of any devices configured as Secondaries. Tapping on these tiles within the app will not turn on the two-way circuit. The recommended best practice is to create a separate ‘Room’ in the app, and pop all of your Secondaries in there. This will simplify the presentation of devices within your Lightwave app.
Share/Transfer Ownership
This one is technically a system feature made available by the new v3.0 of the Lightwave app, but nonetheless, it’s a significant improvement worthy of a mention! Under ‘User Management’ within the Account Settings page, it is possible to share or transfer the ownership of your Lightwave system to someone else. This transfer could be from an installer to their client or during the handover process of a recently sold property.
Lightwave is passionately committed to constantly improving user experience, whether in the eyes of the person using our system in their home or the professional who is installing it. Our technology is continually developing and improving, and to further add to these new system features, we have some exciting news on the horizon regarding new products that we can’t wait to share.