Leviton ViziaRF (and nonRF) Dimmers - Loud Buzz

Scott12v

Member
I installed my first Vizia RF dimmer last night and encountered a fairly loud buzz coming from the switch itself whenever the lights were dimmed. I could easily hear this buzz from 10 feet away.

If the lights are off, there was no buzz. If the lights were on and turned to full brightness, there was still a buzz, but it was much quieter (had to get next to the switch to hear it).

I replaced the Vizia RF dimmer with a regular Vizia dimmer and got the exact same behavior so I don't think that it is a bad switch.

The switch is dimming 4 flood lights. They are 85 watts each. They are a mixture of GE and Philips bulbs, but I did remove all bulbs except for one and had the same issue. I tried each of the four lights by themselves with both the GE bulbs and the Philips bulbs and it didn't seem to make a difference.

The only thing I haven't tried yet is moving the switch to a different location.

Needless to say, I'm very disappointed. I've been waiting for these switches for the past 6 months, but for how much they cost, it is unacceptable to me that there is any audible buzz. If I'm going to pay $75 for a switch, it better be silent. Hopefully there is a solution.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Scott
 
Sorry for the duplicates below, my browser timed out so I didn't think it was getting posted. I don't see a delete option, so hopefully a mod can delete those for me.
 
Really? That is a little discouraging. Insteon did the same thing and I was hoping the Vizia RF switches would be flawless for the price. (of course :blink:)

Was your room dead quiet when you were testing? The Insteon switches were only annoying/distracting when there was very little ambient noise.
 
johnnynine said:
Really? That is a little discouraging. Insteon did the same thing and I was hoping the Vizia RF switches would be flawless for the price. (of course :blink:)

Was your room dead quiet when you were testing? The Insteon switches were only annoying/distracting when there was very little ambient noise.
Well, it was the bedroom so the room was quiet...the buzzing was loud enough that I wouldn't be able to read a book before bed.
 
Scott,

Have you tried replacing the bulbs with some high-quality bulbs (if they aren't already)? As I understand it, the only thing that would make the switches buzz like that are less-well constructed lightbulbs. The brands sound good--but is it possible that they are "budget" bulbs?

[Actually, I guess it's the bulbs that are usually buzzing, not the switch.]

I get soft buzzing noises while using a number of different manufacturer's dimmers, but never loud buzzing noises.

Chris
 
Hi,

This sort of makes me wonder if maybe INSTEON and Vizia are not using the same assembly plant. It is not uncommon for various manufacturers to use the same electronics assembly plant. It cuts down on the need to keep assemblers on payroll. Basically, you send out your circuit board, drawings and specs, and the plant ships you back however many of the circuit boards you ordered, pre-tested and ready to install. It is a fairly common practice for small to middle sized manufacturers.

I'm starting to wonder if at this one plant, one worker, is forgetting to apply that little bit of hot glue or resin that is supposed to prevent this type of stuff. I worked at one of these places for two months, until I got P.O.ed and moved on to more sensible work. The brain power used at these places is minimal.

It will be interesting to hear any real explanations of why these dimmers are now buzzing. :lol:

;)

Ken
 
ChrisWalker said:
Is it the switches or the light bulbs that are buzzing? I'm very curious.
So am I as I have used Leviton dimmers in the past and have never had any buzzing issues. I so want these switches to be a replacement for my Insteon setup, but the buzzing would be a reason to eliminate them. :lol:
 
Herdfan said:
ChrisWalker said:
Is it the switches or the light bulbs that are buzzing? I'm very curious.
So am I as I have used Leviton dimmers in the past and have never had any buzzing issues. I so want these switches to be a replacement for my Insteon setup, but the buzzing would be a reason to eliminate them. :lol:
Herdfan,

Have you ordered any of the Vizia RF devices yet, to at least test one out?

Chris
 
ChrisWalker said:
Herdfan,

Have you ordered any of the Vizia RF devices yet, to at least test one out?

Chris
If these were the 1st zwave devices I ordered, what controller would I buy to use with them? (Or does leviton have controller out now?)
 
johnnynine said:
ChrisWalker said:
Herdfan,

Have you ordered any of the Vizia RF devices yet, to at least test one out?

Chris
If these were the 1st zwave devices I ordered, what controller would I buy to use with them? (Or does leviton have controller out now?)
I would pick up the Vizia RF handheld controller, although I believe they're currently backordered.

You can also pick up ThinkEssentials on the PC side, which supports the enhanced 2-way functionality, and you can pick up the Z-Wave PC SDK which lets you use the advanced SCENE functionality in the switches.

[Of course, any Z-Wave remote that controls lighting will control these, since Z-Wave has basic interoperability across the board.]

Chris
 
ChrisWalker said:
Have you ordered any of the Vizia RF devices yet, to at least test one out?

Chris
Not yet. Homeseer sold out before I could place an order, besides as you said the Vizia RF controller is backordered so there is little need for them until it is available.
 
ChrisWalker said:
[ and you can pick up the Z-Wave PC SDK which lets you use the advanced SCENE functionality in the switches.
Chris,

I noticed on the Automatedoutlet website that there are 2 versions of the 4 button controller. One is described as a sCENE controller and the other as a ZONE controller. Do you know what the difference between these two controllers is?

Also, my new Electronic House magazine had a pictire of the SCENE controller and it had etched buttons. Do you know if these buttons will be available for order?

Thanks.
 
ChrisWalker said:
Scott,

Is it the switches or the light bulbs that are buzzing? I'm very curious.

Chris
Chris - it is the switches that are buzzing, not the bulbs.

I plan on moving them around the house tomorrow to see if they buzz anywhere else, or specific to location I already tried. I'll also get another person to listen to see if I'm being overly critical or if the buzz is as bad as I think.

Scott
 
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