Reply to: Smart / Wifi Light switches

[Paralytic]

After much consideration I'm out. Not having a neutral cuts down the quality of what is on offer.

I think this was probably the most likely...

SONOFF D1 Smart Dimmer Switch LED Light WIFI Wireless Dimmer

...but, i'd feel like I was in a cheap Asian hotel.

I have home assistant running on a small dell wyse. Sonoff relays for outside lights with a couple of sonoff motion sensors. Couple of sonoff plugs.

Going to get some kind of radiator thing going on this summer.

Look at Fibaro Dimmer 2 - they don't need a neutral. There are probably some others too now.

[minestrone]

After much consideration I'm out. Not having a neutral cuts down the quality of what is on offer.

I think this was probably the most likely...

SONOFF D1 Smart Dimmer Switch LED Light WIFI Wireless Dimmer

...but, i'd feel like I was in a cheap Asian hotel.

I have home assistant running on a small dell wyse. Sonoff relays for outside lights with a couple of sonoff motion sensors. Couple of sonoff plugs.

Going to get some kind of radiator thing going on this summer.

[d000hg]

People who put this much time into their smart-home are unlikely to have many friends bothering them.

[Paralytic]

I found it's easier to use wifi bulbs and have them connected to a normal light switch. These lights can be controlled in a number of ways, such as a normal wall switch, phone app or Alexa/Google Home. You can create groups and IFTTT routines.

This is fine if you live alone and have no friends or family that visit. So, fine for you

But for the rest of us who have people who will turn light switches on/off (it's a kind of a habit we grow up with), it won't be long before your wifi bulbs have no power and can't be controlled.

Or do you also have a separate wifi wall switch or relay too?

[northernladuk]

Pretty much everything in the house is now voice controlled, takes a bit of training but the kids have finally got the hang of doing it when I ask

And even the cat is chipping in.. although when a cat appears to be 'helping' I can't help but feel something sinister is going on!

[SimonMac]

Pretty much everything in the house is now voice controlled, takes a bit of training but the kids have finally got the hang of doing it when I ask

[ladymuck]

[DoctorStrangelove]

The Sirius Cybernetics Corporation UnLimited would be proud of you all.

[ChimpMaster]

I found it's easier to use wifi bulbs and have them connected to a normal light switch. These lights can be controlled in a number of ways, such as a normal wall switch, phone app or Alexa/Google Home. You can create groups and IFTTT routines.

[mrdo]

Care to expand on that a bit? What problems have you faced?

They have a very small list of compatible bulbs which can be found here:

https://support.lightwaverf.com/hc/e...ibility-Charts

My bulbs weren't on that list so I contacted them to see if it was worth pursuing. They basically said that they can't keep track of every bulb on the market so try a single switch and if that works then you should be OK.

I tried a single switch and all worked as expected so refitted the entire house, all using the exact same combination of switches and bulbs. After the latest firmware update, all of my switches stopped working - when I contacted them they said that the switches would never have worked with my bulbs and that I was told this - this was complete b*tulip as I had spoken to multiple engineers who had actively encouraged me to proceed. They refused to give me a refund and suggested that I change my lights to fit the switches. Had to swap all of my switches back which cost me about £1000 in total.

[Paralytic]

Care to expand on that a bit? What problems have you faced?

It was a few years ago now, but i ruled them out due to them being proprietary (do not use an open protocol therefore locking you into their ecosystem) and expensive. I quite liked the look of them though.

[d000hg]

Avoid Lightwave if you are going down that route.

Care to expand on that a bit? What problems have you faced?

[mrdo]

Avoid Lightwave if you are going down that route.

[Paralytic]

You need to decide how much you want to get into home automation - i've got pretty much my whole house set up (I went for Smarthings as that's what i found was the best choice a few years ago). I still have light switches (retractive) but can control everything via Alexa too. I don't find i do that too much, but its got the wife approval factor. I've also got motion sensors to automatically turn things on and off, and a number of other automations (eg, put house into simulated-occupied mode when everyone leaves)

I've used a mix Fibaro and Qubino relays that sit behind the light switchs (I self-installed - needs a little bit of electrical knowledge/confidence), but there are plenty of others on the market too (eg, Sonoff). You'll want to do some reading on ZWave and Zigbee, though Matter/Thread are the thing that many people are looking towards (though its already running late).

[d000hg]

I find a switch on the wall seems to be quite convenient, low cost and superbly reliable.

Do you walk over to your TV to change channel?