Controlling groups of electrical loads
A load control system may include control devices for controlling electrical loads. The control devices may include load control devices, such as a lighting device for controlling an amount of power provided to a lighting load, and controller devices, such as a remote control device configured to transmit digital messages for controlling the lighting load via the load control device. The remote control device may communicate with the lighting devices via a hub device. The remote control device may detect a user interface event, such as a button press or a rotation of the remote control device. The remote control device or the hub device may determine whether to transmit digital messages as unicast messages or multicast messages based on the type of user interface event detected. The remote control device, or other master device, may synchronize and/or toggle an on/off state of lighting devices in the load control system.
1. A device comprising:
a user interface;
a communication circuit;
a status indicator configured to be illuminated to display feedback; and
a control circuit configured to:
identify an actuation of the user interface;
transmit, via the communication circuit in response to the actuation, a status query message configured to identify a state of at least one lighting device of a group of lighting devices;
receive, via the communication circuit, a status message that indicates the state of the at least one lighting device; and
display feedback on the status indicator based on the state of the at least one lighting device of the group of lighting devices indicated in the status message.
2. The device of claim 1 , wherein the actuation is configured to control the state of one or more lighting devices in the group of lighting devices, and wherein the control circuit is further configured to transmit, via the communication circuit, a digital message configured to control the state of the one or more lighting devices in the group of lighting devices based on the state indicated by the status message.
3. The device of claim 1 , wherein the control circuit is configured to:
receive status messages from multiple lighting devices of the group of lighting devices;
and determine a state to indicate as feedback on the status indicator based on the status messages received from the multiple lighting devices of the group of lighting devices.
4. The device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one lighting device is a first lighting device of the group of lighting devices from which the control circuit receives the status message, and wherein the control circuit is configured to determine a state to indicate as feedback on the status indicator based on the state of the first lighting device of the group of lighting devices from which the control circuit receives the status message.
5. The device of claim 1 , wherein the group of lighting devices comprises a master lighting device, wherein the at least one lighting device from which the status message is received is the master lighting device, and wherein the control circuit is configured to determine the state to indicate as feedback on the status indicator based on the status message received from the master lighting device.
6. The device of claim 1 , wherein the state comprises an on/off state of the at least one lighting device of the group of lighting devices.
7. The device of claim 6 , wherein the control circuit is configured to:
receive status messages from multiple lighting devices of the group of lighting devices;
and display feedback on the status indicator to indicate an on state or an off state based on on/off states included in the status messages received from the multiple lighting devices of the group of lighting devices.
8. The device of claim 6 , wherein the group of lighting devices comprises a master lighting device, and the at least one lighting device from which the status message is received is the master lighting device, and wherein the control circuit is configured to determine whether to display feedback on the status indicator to indicate an on state or an off state based on an on/off state included in the status message received from the master lighting device of the group of lighting devices.
9. The device of claim 6 , wherein the at least one lighting device is a first lighting device of the group of lighting devices from which the control circuit receives the status message, and wherein the control circuit is configured to determine whether to transmit an on command or an off command based on an on/off state included in the status message received from the first lighting device of the group of lighting devices from which the control circuit receives the status message.
10. The device of claim 1 , wherein the state comprises an intensity level of the at least one lighting device of the group of lighting devices.
11. The device of claim 1 , wherein the user interface comprises a rotary knob or a linear control.
12. The device of claim 11 , wherein the control circuit is configured to:
determine a dynamic starting point for a rotation of the rotary knob based on the state of the at least one lighting control device indicated in the status message; and
control the status indicator to indicate the dynamic starting point.
13. The device of claim 12 , wherein the dynamic starting point defines a lighting level from which the lighting control devices may be controlled in response to the rotation of the rotary knob.
14. The device of claim 1 , wherein the control circuit is configured to transmit a respective status query message to each of the lighting devices in the group of lighting devices and stop transmitting the respective status query messages when a status message from a particular one of the lighting devices indicates that the particular one of the lighting devices is in a non-preferred state.
15. A method of providing feedback of at least one lighting device of a group of lighting devices, the method comprising:
identifying an actuation of a user interface of a remote control device;
in response to the actuation, transmitting a status query message configured to identify a state of the at least one lighting device of the group of lighting devices;
receiving a status message that indicates the state of the at least one lighting device; and
displaying feedback on a status indicator of the remote control device based on the state of the at least one lighting device of the group of lighting devices indicated in the status message.
16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the actuation is configured to control the state of one or more lighting devices in the group of lighting devices, and the method further comprising:
transmitting a digital message configured to control the state of the one or more lighting devices in the group of lighting devices based on the state indicated by the status message.
17. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:
receiving status messages from multiple lighting devices of the group of lighting devices; and
determining a state to indicate as feedback on the status indicator based on the status messages received from the multiple lighting devices of the group of lighting devices.
18. The method of claim 15 , wherein the at least one lighting device is a first lighting device of the group of lighting devices that receives the status message, the method further comprising:
determining a state to indicate as feedback on the status indicator based on a state of the first lighting device of the group of lighting devices that receives the status message.
19. The method of claim 15 , wherein the group of lighting devices comprises a master lighting device, and the at least one lighting device from which the status message is received is the master lighting device, the method further comprising:
determining the state to indicate as feedback on the status indicator based on the status message received from the master lighting device.
20. The method of claim 15 , wherein the state comprises an on/off state of the at least one lighting device of the group of lighting devices.