New HS220, strange behavior when dimming

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New HS220, strange behavior when dimming

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New HS220, strange behavior when dimming
New HS220, strange behavior when dimming
2021-01-02 02:09:01
Model: HS220  
Hardware Version:
Firmware Version:

The short story is that I just installed an HS220.  For a while, it looked like it wouldn't dim, but it would turn on and off.  Today, I discovered that if other appliances are turned on (they're on what I thought was a separate circuit), it will dim, but there is intense flickering at every level but 100%.

 

The longer story — I have a basement room with two fluorescent light fixtures (4 tubes each).  There are two 3-way switches on either side of the room.  I replaced the 4 tubes in each fixture with 2 Toggled dimmable LED tubes.  These wire direct to the AC line.  That worked great, as expected.  Next, I eliminated one of the 3-way switches (I know that the HS220 is *not* compatible with 3-way).  I can get into the details of the wiring changes if that would be helpful, but 120V was now going direct to the other switch, now effectively a single-pole switch.  After this, I hooked up the HS220 to replace the other switch.  This switch is in a two-gang box, and the other switch is on a different circuit (let's call it Circuit B).  I had been certain that I was getting line/load/neutral for the HS220 all from the original Circuit A.

 

I ran through the full setup on the Kasa app.  Adjusted dimming values.  However, the switch wouldn't dim the lights.  To test, I swapped the HS220 with a Lutron Skylark dimmer I have in another room which also uses Toggled tubes and already works great.  With both devices swapped and wired up, they worked great, completely as expected.  I swapped back to the desired configuration being sure to use the exact same wiring.  A little bit of internet searching suggested I should check to see if the two light fixtures are wired in series or parallel (I gather that parallel is required).

 

However, today I went to watch TV.  The TV and receiver are both on Circuit B.  As soon as they turned on, the lights connected to the HS220 (which is on Circuit A) flickered briefly.  Huh.  I tried dimming, and sure enough they actually dimmed.  Except anything below 100% resulted in some pretty intense flickering from the lights.  When I turned off the TV/receiver, the lights went back to full power.  I'll also add that I can take the dimmer down to 1% and the lights are still at full power.

 

I don't know what voodoo is going on in my basement or where wires are crossed (possibly literally!).  Does anyone here have advice for how to proceed?  Thanks!

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#1
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10 Reply
Re:New HS220, strange behavior when dimming
2021-01-03 00:22:06

@timonium Do the devices on circuit B work normally when circuit A is off?

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#2
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Re:New HS220, strange behavior when dimming
2021-01-03 01:09:10

@B.Will Devices on circuit B do work normally when circuit A is off.

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#3
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Re:New HS220, strange behavior when dimming
2021-01-03 01:40:12

@timonium Then some how you have the output(load) of the dimmer connected to circuit B.

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#4
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Re:New HS220, strange behavior when dimming
2021-01-03 18:19:37

@B.Will Thanks for the feedback and advice.  I've spent a couple hours removing ceiling tiles, tracing wires.  The old switch box is on a wall, and I won't be able to assess with 100% confidence what's behind there.  I'm assuming there are no boxes between that one and where the wires poke out of the ceiling.  While I found one wire after the load that ran all around the perimeter of the house only to be capped at the end, everything else checked out.  I'm starting to feel like Clark Griswold in Christmas Vacation.  I've attached the wiring diagram for this circuit. 

 

I tried disconnecting sections to see if that ruled anything out.  When I have the second light bank removed from the circuit (dashed brown line), light bank 1 acts as expected — it turns off and on and dims.  There is no interference from the TV being on.

 

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#5
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Re:New HS220, strange behavior when dimming
2021-01-03 18:44:34

@timonium Sounds like light2 wiring is the problem.

Disconnect wiring for light2 at light1 box,cap wires label do not use.

Do the same at light2.

Run new wire from light1 box to light2.

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#6
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Re:New HS220, strange behavior when dimming
2021-01-03 19:26:36

@B.Will Would there be a way to test the wires before just replacing?  With the HS220 at 100% and the TV off, I'm getting ~124V at both light 1 and light 2.

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#7
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Re:New HS220, strange behavior when dimming
2021-01-03 19:29:51

@timoniumI think you would need a electrician to fix what’s there.

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#8
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Re:New HS220, strange behavior when dimming
2021-01-03 19:30:32
Yeah, I might be reaching that point...
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#9
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Re:New HS220, strange behavior when dimming
2021-01-03 19:30:33
Yeah, I might be reaching that point...
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#10
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Re:New HS220, strange behavior when dimming
2021-01-24 08:14:55
I just installed the KASA HS220 today in my kitchen. I had previously replaced the 4 fluorescent tubes with TOGGLED D416-40321. These are direct wired replacements and do not use the old ballasts. They work great but are extremely bright. Got these a few months ago from Home Depot. After installing the HS220, I discovered that it will only turn them on and off. Any attempt to dim them results in flickering but no dimming at all. It doesn’t matter where I place the dimmer, anything under 100% causes intermittent flicker. I checked the toggled.com website, and they list several dimmers that are compatible with their bulbs. KASA is not listed. Apparently they require an ELV dimmer, whatever that means. I’m super disappointed as I like the features, functionality and design of the KASA HS220 and the Toggled bulbs are also very nice but I looks like they are simply not compatible. I will be returning the KASA to Amazon and just using a compatible Lutron dimmer which is not smart. I hope this helps someone else who is facing the same issue using Toggled bulbs and KASA dimmers.
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