Adding Lights and Sensors

You can add lights and sensors and group them into the zones and scenes. As mentioned previously, Census is the preferred method for adding a lot of devices to the system. See Adding Devices with Census.

This section will show you how to add lights and sensors manually.

Lights and Sensors each have configurable characteristics that define their operability within the SimplySNAP lighting system. Fields marked with an * are mandatory. All other information is optional.

Adding Lights

  1. Click the Add Light button.

  2. Enter the desired name for the light, the SNAP Address for the light controller and the controller type into the provided fields. This information is required as a minimum. Other information may be entered as desired including a description, the control zones the light will be included in, etc.

  3. Click the Save Changes button to save, or the Cancel button to exit without saving changes. On a successful save, a green light panel for the newly added light will appear in the content area of the display.

Each light is added individually by invoking this dialog. When all lights are entered, SimplySNAP will verify your lighting controller(s) software is up-to-date, and update the controller(s) if necessary. SimplySNAP will then be ready to control your lighting system.

After a light is entered it is controlled from the Lights and Zones page. All lights can be controlled by clicking the On/Off switch on the blue All zone panel or dragging the slider to a specific illumination level.

Each individual light may be controlled similarly by clicking the On/Off switch on the light panel for each individual light or dragging the slider to create a specific brightness level for a light.

Adding Sensors

Sensors contribute to the "intelligence" of your lighting system. With sensors in place your system will be able to respond to events such as a person entering or leaving the area. Switches are a type of sensor that provides a manual way to activate lights without needing to log in to the SimplySNAP interface.

To add a new sensor:

  1. In the navigation menu, click the Lights and Sensors menu item in the Devices sub-menu.

  2. Click the + Add Sensor button near the top of the page.

  3. Using the provided fields, enter the desired name for the sensoror switch, the SNAP Address for the controller the sensor is attached to, and the controller type. You'll also need to select a sensor type from the Sensor Type drop-down list.

  4. In the Zone field, enter the Zone the sensor will affect.

  5. Steps 2 - 4 are required as a minimum. Other information may be entered as desired including a description and location. The Threshold High and Threshold Low fields are used to fine tune the sensitivity of attached sensors, but only for cases of weak sensor response. Most sensors work fine with default settings.

  6. Click the Save Changes button to save, or the Cancel button to exit without saving changes.

At this point you'll need to configure how the sensor will control your lighting. A sensor can control lights at the zone or scene level.

To use a sensor for control via Scenes:

  1. Click the Scenes menu item in the navigation menu.

  2. Create a new scene, or edit an existing scene.

  3. Click the Add Behavior button.

  4. Click the Behavior Type drop-down and configure the criteria for your sensor.

  5. Select the applicable Zones.

  6. Click the Create Scene button to save a new scene or Save Scene to save an existing scene, or the Cancel button to exit without saving changes.

Adding Wireless Switches

To manually add a wireless switch, click the Wireless Switches menu item under the Devices in the navigation menu.

To add a new wireless switch:

  1. Click the Add Switch button.

  2. Enter the desired name for the switch, the SNAP Address for the light controller and the controller type into the provided fields. The controller type drop-down is where you select which type of wireless switch whether it be the 2-button switch or 8-button switch. Each controller type has associated buttons to all you to select Scenes that will be applied when the controller button is pressed. This information is required as a minimum. In the Advanced section, you can change the Antenna Compensation based on your standard.

  3. Click the Save Changes button to save, or the Cancel button to exit without saving changes. On a successful save, a green light panel for the newly added light will appear in the content area of the display.

Each wireless switch is added individually through this page. When the switches are entered, SimplySNAP will verify your lighting controller(s) software is up-to-date, and update the controller(s) if necessary. SimplySNAP will then be ready to control your lighting system.

After a switch is entered it is managed from the Wireless Switches page.

Configuring a Five Button Switch

SimplySNAP site controllers support an optional five button switch that is connected to the USB port on the site controller. The five button switch supports easy lighting changes, and is configured to activate one or more Scenes whenever a button is pushed. By default, the five button switch is configured for button 1 to set Zone All to 100% brightness, with buttons 2 through 4 decreasing brightness levels at 25% increments until button 5 which sets Zone All to 0% brightness.

The buttons can also be configured to trigger a sequential list of up to five scenes depending on how often the button is pushed.

To configure a five button switch to trigger a list of scenes:

  1. Open the External Button Controller tab by clicking Config-Buttons.

  2. Click the Trigger a List of Scenes radio button.

  3. Click the Add Next Scene under Button 1 display the drop-down of associated button one scenes.

  4. Click the - Select Scene - field and select a scene that you would like invoked when Button 1 is pushed. Scene/Zone information can be viewed by clicking the Scene Description next to the scene selection drop-down.

  5. Continue to select scenes that you would like invoked by Button 1 until all desired scenes are configured, (you can invoke up to five scenes with a single button.) The scenes will activate in the order they're listed in the fields under the button name.

  6. Continue to configure buttons 2 - 5 in the same fashion.

  7. Click the Save Changes button to finish assigning scenes to buttons, or the Cancel button to exit without assigning scenes.