Smart lighting frequently asked questions

Non-dimmable landscape or architectural lighting can be used with the non-dimming bridge which will provide on/off control only. When connected in this way the products can be controlled through the app, or by voice, and can be included in scenes and schedules.

Yes, you can use a plug-in floor lamp through the Smart Plug, which will allow on/off control. If the lamp has a removable bulb you can use a suitable Smart Lamp, providing dimming control or full colour control.

No, the smart products replace the function of the existing dimmer in the circuit. They cannot be wired in a circuit with another dimmer. The Smart lamps can be dimmed from the app or an appropriate wireless controller, but do not support a wired dimmer.

You can control dimmable downlights with the Collingwood smart dimmable bridge, which will allow on/off and dimming control of a circuit of downlights up to 120W total. This can be used with any Collingwood downlights to make them smart.

With the current system you can use the non-dimmable bridge to switch power on and off to an existing colour change system, however in future it will be possible to integrate the colour change system directly, and control the colour from the CWD smart app.

The non-dimming bridge can be used for on/off control with any of our LED strip drivers, or you can use the dimming bridge to provide dimming control with a mains-dimmable strip driver.

The products are designed to be used with Collingwood's LED downlights but will work with many other products, including dimmable LED and halogen.

Typically you can use up to 30 devices with the hub, more than this is possible but may affect the performance of the system. A bridge counts as a single device even if it is powering a circuit of several downlights.

All Collingwood smart devices have on-board memory which stores their scene and group information, and they will remember dimming level and colour settings when they are turned off, recalling it automatically when they are turned back on.

The smart products have a 1-year warranty.

The automations can be scheduled to any time in 1 minute steps, and can be set to repeat on any of the days of the week.

The sunrise and sunset times are provided by a cloud-based service that works from the location set in the app, so no daylight sensor is needed. As long as the app knows your location it knows the correct times for sunrise and sunset.

300m in a straight line.

Yes, the lights can be scheduled to turn on or off or to dim at specific times. These Automations can be either one-off events or can be set to repeat on certain days, or every day.

Up to 30 scenes can be saved, however each device can be included in a maximum of 8 scenes.

If you are using the Collingwood smart lamps then they can be controlled individually, but if you are using a bridge to control a circuit of conventional downlights they can only be controlled together as a single unit.

If you have the smart lamp installed in a room with a conventional light switch, simply turn the switch off then back on and the lamp will light at its most recently set brightness (and colour for lamps which support this feature).

Yes, currently only for iOS devices. You can set events based on your phone arriving at or leaving your home, so for example you can ensure that your lights all go off when you leave in the morning, or turn lights on to welcome you home as you approach.

The radius is 300m, so when you move more than 300m away from the 'home' point you will trigger the 'turn off' option, and when you cross back into this radius you will trigger the 'turn on' feature. You can see the location of the home point on the map in the geo-location settings.

The Pro system with the hub allows you to control your lights from anywhere provided that the hub is connected to the internet through your home Wi-Fi, and the phone with the app also has an internet connection.

One bridge is required per circuit, unless the total circuit load is more than the rating of the bridge.

For typical downlights you can wire at least 10 on each dimmer, and it will work with a single light if necessary.

The bridge requires both live and neutral, and although the wall box may only have a live connection there will be a full set of connections in the ceiling. The bridge is intended to be wired into the ceiling wiring, but the live-only wiring to the original switch may be reused to connect a replacement retractive switch if desired.

Yes, using the bridge it is possible to make a multi-gang switch installation smart. If you can replace the switches with retractive (push) versions you will have full local and remote control, while leaving the switches as they are allows smart control only when the lights are turned on at the switch.

Yes, with the bridge you can replace the switches with retractive switches allowing a single dimmer to be controlled from two or more places. The existing wiring between the switches can be used to connect the new switches, so little or no extra wiring will be needed. You can wire as many retractive switches into the circuit as you need, and the dimmer can be controlled from any of them.

Yes, but only if the router is a dual band and the 2.4GHz is enabled along with the 5GHz. E.g. the Virgin Media Hub 3 is a dual band router and the CWD smart system works perfectly with this with both frequency bands on.

The hub is 63mm x 63mm x 23mm, excluding the space required for the power connector.

You can use your existing light switches to turn the smart products or and off, however when the switch is off you will not be able to control the devices from the app, and scheduled events will not work. If you are using the bridge you can replace the switch with a retractive switch which will then allow full control all the time, and will also allow dimming from the switch.

It will be reduced but provided that the front plate is not metal it should still work. A metal front plate with a plastic back box could also be used. For better reception try feeding the antenna through a hole in the back box and into the wall space.

The bridge is intended to be fitted into the ceiling space by removing the first downlight in the circuit, wiring the bridge in-line, then inserting it back up through the downlight's hole in the ceiling. For a qualified electrician this process should take less than an hour. The lamps and smart plugs just need to be plugged in and set up. Once you have an account created, the smart products take a couple of minutes to set up in the app.

From left to right the lights are:

Status light: Shows steady green when the hub is working properly. This light will flash slowly when the hub is searching for devices. Internet connection light: Shows steady green when the hub has connected to the internet (cloud) service. This light will flicker to show activity on the ZigBee or Wi-Fi networks.

Wi-Fi connection light: Shows steady green when the hub is connected to the Wi-Fi. Flashes green slowly to show that the hub is ready to be set up.

The button on the hub is used when resetting the hub or changing the Wi-Fi settings. The app will give instructions on how to use the button at the appropriate times.

The hub requires a power connection to its USB port from the supplied power adaptor, but there is no need for a physical network connection as the network connection is made wirelessly through Wi-Fi.

You can unplug and move the hub without any problems - all your settings are saved and will be there when the hub is turned back on. The app will not be able to control the lights until the hub has reconnected to the Wi-Fi and the cloud, which should only take a few seconds.

Yes, but be aware that the signal range may be reduced depending on the materials used in the cupboard - a wooden cupboard or dresser will not have much effect but a metal cabinet will greatly reduce the range.

The typical range from the hub to the devices is 30m without obstacles, although the Collingwood smart system is based on a wireless mesh technology, so the messages to control the products are relayed from one product to the next. It is possible to install smart products much further from the hub than the 30m wireless range, provided that there are other products in the system located in between. See the notes regarding pairing for more information.

Install the app from the app store. When you start it for the first time it will ask for login details. Click on the 'Create Account' link at the bottom of the page to create a new account, enter a valid email address and choose a password, then click the link in the confirmation email to complete the process. You can then log in and begin setting up your smart home.

You can share your home account with another person through the app. You can invite others to join your home, then they will be able to control the lights without having to set up the system. People who have been invited to join in this way will not be able to change settings or add or remove devices.

This is handled through the app. The Wi-Fi details are entered into the app, then the phone and app are connected to a temporary Wi-Fi access point created by the hub to complete the setup.

From the main screen you can tap the switch symbol in the corner of each device's icon to turn it on or off. The device will remember its setting and will turn back on at the same brightness. To adjust the brightness or colour, tap its icon to open the control page, then use the sliders or colour wheel to control the colour and brightness.

A scene is a set of pre-defined brightness settings for one or more lights, that can be recalled at the touch of a button. Tapping a scene's icon will cause all lights that are included in the scene to recall their pre-set levels. This can be used for example to set the mood in a room, and since you can have multiple scenes, multiple moods for the room can be stored and selected whenever you want. Any lights that are not included in the scene, for instance lights in other rooms, are not affected by it.

Enter your user name / email into the login screen then use the 'Forgot Password?' link at the bottom of the screen. You will receive an email with a link that you can use to reset your password.

You can tap the person icon at the top left of the screen to bring up the settings, then tap your name or icon to bring up the account settings screen. From here you can select 'Modify password' to change your password.

Yes, you can turn off notifications inside the app, but there is only one global setting which will turn all notifications off. You will then not receive notifications for other devices going offline.

If you have more than one phone set up on your account, the 'when I leave' event will not be triggered unless all of the phones leave the area. The 'when I arrive' event will be triggered when any one of the phones enters the area, then will not trigger again if a second phone enters the area.

Each time you add a device the system will scan for all available devices and add any that it finds, regardless of type. This way you can comission a whole house system at once. In some cases where there are a lot of devices or they are widely spread you may need to scan twice to find them all as a single scan will time-out before all are found. Be aware that the smart lamps will only remain in pairing mode for 3 minutes, so it is best to switch them on at the mains just before beginning comissioning. The bridges and smart plugs will remain in pairing mode until they are found by the app.

To add a smart device, tap the add button in the top right corner of the app, then select the desired device from the list. The app will then give instructions on how to ensure that the device is ready to pair. Once you have ensured that the devices are ready, tap 'next step' and the system will scan for available devices. You may find that it will pick up devices other than the type that you have selected, as it will scan for all available smart devices.

If a product is not yet paired it should already be in pairing mode, shown by the status light glowing steady red. If this is not the case, press and hold the button on the product until the status LED begins to flash, then release the button. It should now be in pairing mode and ready for the app to find it.

The smart devices require a hub to operate but it doesn't have to be the Collingwood smart hub. If you have an Amazon Echo Plus or a Samsung SmartThings hub you can use either of these to detect the Collingwood smart devices and control them directly, provided that they are not already paired to another hub. However if you do this you will only be able to control the devices through the relevant app for the hub that you use, and you may not have the full range of functionality provided by the Collingwood smart app. Any device that has been connected directly to the Echo Plus will only be available from within the Alexa app, not in the Collingwood smart app.

In general the app will tell you if a device can be updated, by displaying a red dot on the device's icon on the main screen. To check manually, open the device's settings page in the app and tap 'Device update\. Follow the instructions in the app to apply the update to the device. A device will not be usable while it is updating

With the devices in pairing mode, tap the (+) button in the top right corner of the app, then select the product you are trying to add from the list. The setup process should complete automatically.

Yes, you can use the smart lamps in any standard light fitting, provided that it is not connected to a dimmer. The lamps themselves provide the dimming function controlled by the app, and will not work if wired to another dimmer.

For devices which have the reset button, press and hold the button until the status light near the button begins to flash rapidly, then release the button. The status light will turn red to show that it is ready to pair. For smart bulbs, turn the power to the bulb off and back on 6 times in a row quickly. The bulb will then flash through a range of colours to show it is ready to pair.

To remove a device from the system correctly, open the Settings / Information page for the device and tap the 'remove' button. Once you confirm that you want to remove the device it will be unpaired from the system. Alternatively, long-press the device's icon in the home screen, or tap the edit button, to show the delete buttons for each device. You can then remove a device without needing to open the settings page, which is useful for removing devices in the event that one has failed or can no longer be reached by the app.

Each device that comes up in the search will have a small power button icon on the right of the screen. If you tap that button the associated light will briefly flash so you can tell which one it is. You can name the devices from the search screen before confirming them, and if you already have rooms set up you can assign them to rooms from this screen.

Yes, you can use Amazon, Google or Siri voice assistants with CWD Smart. For Amazon and Google tap the home icon in the top left corner, select Integrations and you will see instructions on how to do this. For Siri integration, you can add scenes that you have set up to Siri by using the button in the top left corner of the scenes screen.

You can tell Alexa to turn the lights on or off by name, using the names given to the products in the Collingwood app. It is also possible to rename products if you find that Alexa has trouble understanding certain names. To dim the lights, you can specify the brightness by percentage, or use words like 'half', e.g. 'Alexa, set kitchen lights to half brightness'. To activate a scene, tell Alexa to turn it on using the scene name, e.g. 'Alexa, turn on movie time'. It is also possible to use the Alexa routines feature in the app to set up alternative names for scenes or set up lighting effects that you can activate with single commands.

You can tell Google to turn lights on or off by their names as given in the Collingwood app, so for example you could say 'Hey Google, turn on the kitchen light'. You can also dim the lights by giving a light level, either as a percentage or using terms such as 'half' or 'quarter', for example: 'Hey Google, dim the kitchen light to half', or 'Hey Google, set the living room to 30%'.

In the Alexa app, find and enable the CWD smart skill to control your devices. The skill setup will walk you through the steps required to find and add the devices, then you will be able to control them using the names they have been assigned in the Collingwood app. Scenes can be activated by telling Alexa 'Turn on (scene name)'.

In the Google Home app, tap the + symbol in the top left corner, then select 'Set up device'. Choose 'Have something already set up', then find 'Collingwood Smart Home in the list of manufacturers. Once you activate this you can enter your CWD smart user name and password to link your account, then your devices will be available to Google Home.

Collingwood smart devices can be directly connected to the Amazon Echo Plus and may also work with other smart hubs, but full compatibility with 3rd party hubs cannot be guaranteed. In many cases the hub will be able to control the basic functions of the Collingwood smart device, such as turning it on or off, or dimming it, but you may find that the 3rd party software can't provide the full range of automation functions.

You may be able to add other ZigBee devices to the Collingwood smart system but Collingwood cannot guarantee that they will work correctly. 3rd party devices may install correctly but may only support the basic manual controls, not scenes or automations.

You may find that Alexa will still use the old name for the device or scene, or the renamed device will not be available. In this case, you can tell Alexa to check for new devices (either through the app or by saying 'Alexa, discover devices') and the device names will be updated.

Yes, Google Home will automatically detect the new device or scene name.

At present Google Home and Amazon Echo are supported when using the Collingwood hub. It is also possible to use the Echo Plus or the Samsung Smartthings hub to directly control the smart products, with the range of control options in these cases being determined by the particular system in use.

If you have products throughout the house it is likely that some will be too far from the hub for them to communicate directly with it. Once all products are added to the system they will relay commands between themselves through the wireless mesh network, but the devices will not pass on messages until they have become part of the network. It will be necessary to complete the pairing process with the closer devices first, then once these are part of the network they will assist in pairing the more distant devices.

The smart lamps will remain in pairing mode for 3 minutes after they are powered on. If you have left them for longer than this they will stop listening for pairing commands and you will need to turn the power to the lamp off and back on. Once you do this the lamp will be in pairing mode for another 3 minutes.

This means a firmware update is avaliable. Click on the icon to open settings and you will see an option to update firmware. This applies to the other smart devices as well, if you see the dot there is a firmware update available.

Sometimes the communications can be interrupted by interference, especially if a device is far away from the hub. Normally the device will come back online in a few seconds, but if it stays offline try restarting the hub by briefly turning it off then back on (you can pull the power plug out of the hub until the lights go out, then push it back in). This will normally bring all devices back online.

Firstly, try unplugging and reconnecting the hub to force it to restart. In many cases the hub will simply have lost its internet connection due to a brief internet outage, and sometimes it cannot automatically recover it. If this fails and the centre light does not light again when the hub restarts, there may be an issue with your internet connection, or a global internet issue affecting the cloud servers. As a last resort, follow the instructions to re-configure the Wi-Fi settings elsewhere in this FAQ. If this is successful you should not lose any of your settings, scenes or schedules as the hub will remember them when it re-establishes the connection to your account.

During a power cut, the system keeps its settings with the power off, meaning that any saved scenes and schedules will not be lost. Any bridges used with retractive switches will work immediately when the power comes back, but the system will require a short time to reconnect. The hub should connect to the Wi-Fi within a minute of the network coming back on line, thereafter it will connect to the dimmers within a few seconds.

If you lose your internet connection the local control of the lights will still work, so you will be able to control your lights from the wall switches or through the app using local Wi-Fi connectivity however the app, voice control and some scheduling functions will be affected, as will integration of the lights with 3rd party systems. You will not be able to control the lights from outside the house until the hub can connect to the internet.

The hub uses Wi-Fi, and supports 2.4GHz networks only. WEP and WPA security are supported.

The Collingwood smart system uses AES256 and TLS 1.2 encryption for sensitive data. The hub will only connect to secured Wi-Fi networks using WPA security, unsecured networks cannot be used. For someone to gain access to your system, they would need to have access to your password information, or you would need to invite them in to the system. Once a device is added to the system through the app it can only be paired with another device if you use the reset button to put it into pairing mode, or if you remove it from the system by deleting it in the app.

User data is stored securely on the cloud server.

All the devices in the range have been tested against the relevant standards for the European Radio Equipment Directive (RED), which covers safety and radio emissions.