I have an early 2000s house and they went wild with a) the sheer number of wall switches and b) the number of 3-way switches. I want to replace a good number of them while accepting my wife’s requirement that they look and function as dumb paddle switches when necessary.

I’ve looked around and these seem to be the best at fitting all of my requirements but Mama Mia, the price 😭 😭 😭 😭

https://www.amazon.com/Inovelli-2-1-Smart-Switch-Dimmer/dp/B0BG329SH3

Anyone have some suggestions?

  • MystikIncarnate@lemmy.caEnglish
    0·
    2 days ago

    Buy the innovelli switches.

    I picked up a bunch of them for my home and it’s been great.

    You’ll pay for them up front but at least you won’t be replacing them in 6-12 months like some other vendors.

    Edit to add: I’ll note, the ones I have are zwave. If you want, they also have ones with motion sensors built in (they look the same). They’re a bit more costly, but they can be useful for automations as they’re basically motion/presence sensors built into the switch instead of requiring a second device to do it. It would be useful on hallways where the switch is in a good spot to pick up people in the hallway…

    IDK. Use your imagination. With innovelli, the blue series is ZigBee, Red series is zwave. There’s also a white series which is kind of neither, and both.

    Good luck.

  • pbbananaman@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    2 days ago

    I think as far as Zigbee support for a three way dimmer, you’re looking at the best option. I will also note that the dimmer on the Inovelli is amazing. It’s capable of setting my can light LEDs at a dimness setting I didn’t know was possible after using some standard Home Depot dumb dimmer switch.

    Pricey, but worth it IMO.

  • Tinkerer@lemmy.caEnglish
    0·
    2 days ago

    I have a 3 ZigBee sonoff switches: https://www.zigbee2mqtt.io/devices/ZBMINIL2.html#sonoff-zbminil2

    They are nice and don’t require a neutral wire, you can’t use these on 3 way switches but they are very nice and small. You then keep the aesthetic of whatever switch you use, paddle or flip switch.

    The one thing I’ve noticed is that if you flip the switch on and off really quick about 3 times it disconnects from the mqtt server and needs to be repaired.

    You could also go with a zwave or ZigBee inovelli switch which are nice but very expensive. They are very reliable and I have no complaints with the one zwave switch I have from them.

  • myplacedk@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    3 days ago

    I don’t know if this is exact enough, but I use IKEA switches and IKEA or other ZigBee bulbs.

    The switches looks like a different brand of paddle switches. They work like “dumb” paddle switches as a starting point, and then you build smartness on top of that.

    If you do it right, they also work when internet is down and your server is crashed. Actually this is how they work out of the box. (I think the bridge must be powered on, but if you don’t have power…)

    • TDCN@feddit.dkEnglish
      0·
      3 days ago

      If done right even if the controller/bridge is down it should still work. However Zigbee is a bit of the wild west so mixing brands of switches and bulbs might not always work if you want this functionality so stick with one brand or test before you buy more. I have a few sonoff buttons and they dont work with ikea bulbs when pairing directly. But your mileage may vary.

    • michael_palmer@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
      0·
      3 days ago

      The light bulb form factor was created hundreds of years ago for incandescent light bulbs. In this form factor, it is impossible to properly cool the LEDs. I used 12 pieces of Yeelight Pro 8W in a 10 m² room, and this room was as bright as the sky.

      • myplacedk@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        3 days ago

        Sorry for being inaccurate, I said “bulbs” but it’s actually a mix of bulbs, spotlights and panels. I’m okay with any form factor that fits the situation.

        That said, I haven’t had any issues with bulbs. The shape is practical due to history, meaning there’s a very wide selection of lamps etc.

        For both bulbs and spots I tend to go with “several”. I have very few places with just one bulb, it’s usually 2, 3 or 4 bulbs in a lamp, and up to 9 spots. This means that they rarely need to go full power, and that should make them last longer. I haven’t had any dying on me yet.

  • 𝕽𝖚𝖆𝖎𝖉𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖍@midwest.socialEnglish
    0·
    3 days ago

    I have tried every kind of switch, so trust me on this: go with z-wave.

    • for 3-way replacements, get these. You may have to rewire the dumb second switch, but you won’t have to replace it, because this switch works with dumb second switched. If you want to update the dumb switch, these are awesome simply because of how easy they are to install.
    • This switch is fantastic for being able to pack a ton of functionality into a single switch, controlling non-switch-wired devices like smart lightbulbs, fireplaces, garage doors, and so on. There are a couple of HA templates that make programming easier. Not only are there a lot of buttons, but each can be programmed to respond to single, double, or triple clicks, or long-presses. You’ll never use all of the functions.
    • I got one of these as a controller and have not had any problems with it. It works well with zwave2js. I did try once to connect it to find ZigBee devices a previous owner left laying around, and never got them to work, but as I understand it Zigbees a big more flakey. I assume with enough diligence it’d be fine.

    I really really like those Eva Logik switches. The fact that they work in 3-way configuration with existing switches makes things so much easier - and cheaper.

    • turmacar@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      2 days ago

      FWIW with zigbee I’ve had better luck with zigbee2MQTT and then using MQTT. If nothing else it made it a lot clearer what was/wasn’t a router and what was just and end device than the native zigbee integration. ( I was getting very frustrated with a less capable no-neutral wall switch. )

      Might just be placebo but it feels like there are cheaper/longer batterylife zigbee sensors than there are zwave.

      • 𝕽𝖚𝖆𝖎𝖉𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖍@midwest.socialEnglish
        0·
        1 day ago

        Cheaper, maybe. I wouldn’t say most ZWave devices are exactly cheap. OTOH, I’ve never had a device not pair eventually, even if I have had a few times where I had to try the pair a couple of times. My biggest issue with ZWave has been when I replaced the controller, and had to remove devices from a controller that no longer existed and add them to the new controller. Pairing is usually straightforward, but many ZWave devices assume you still have the controller and expect you to start the removal on that end. And that part’s already horribly documented, if at all, and then the reset is “click 5 times fast, then hold for 15 seconds”. Hold on the 5th click? Or press 5 times and then press again and hold? Anyway, Thank goodness it rarely comes up.

        As for battery life, I don’t know. All of my button-cell battery-powered ZWave sensors have battery lives of 1-2 years. I have 4 or 5 motion sensors in the house and a couple of tilt sensors on the garage doors; the only one I have an issue with is a water sensor, which either burns through batteries at an alarming rate, or has a crappy battery level sensor. I have an 2xAA siren in which the batteries last about a year; they lasted a year in 2023-2024, and I replaced them at 20% because I was going around replacing batteries. That doesn’t seem too bad, to me.

    • TVA@thebrainbin.org
      0·
      3 days ago

      For that second bullet point you can get them a smidge cheaper at thesmartesthouse

      They’ve got a sale going on, might be worth looking into, but, sxan has really good points with his first bullet point

      • tburkhol@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        2 days ago

        Just want to me-too Ruaidbrigh’s reco’s and to point out, as a long-time homeowner, that you don’t have to do all the renovations at one time. For me, at least, there’s a big difference between spending $1000 to replace all the switches in the house and spending $100 to replace a couple switches every month or so. Big difference between spending the whole weekend re-wiring switches and a quick after-coffee task.

      • ShepherdPie@midwest.socialEnglish
        0·
        3 days ago

        I’ll second what they said about ZWave and their recommended switches.

        I have that same Zooz scene controller in the kitchen and it works great to control the kitchen lights and the RGBW cabinet lighting I installed. For ‘normal’ smart switches, I’m using the dimmer and on/off Zooz switches (Zen32 and 34 I think? Zen72 & 76) which are about half the price of that Innovelli.

        I used the HUSBZB in the past and it did work, but it’s also pretty dated and hard to update so I went with the Sonoff 3.0 USB dongle (zigbee) and Zooz ZST10 dongle (zwave) and have had a trouble free experience.

    • afk_strats@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      0·
      3 days ago

      I’m sorry. I’m still new on my HA journey (and marriage) so I’m sure there are unexplored integrations

  • a1studmuffin@aussie.zoneEnglish
    0·
    3 days ago

    Just to play devil’s advocate, why do you want to automate your lighting? I’d consider myself an advanced HA user (been using it since 2019 and have coded several custom integrations and built custom hardware) and never bothered with automating my home lighting. I’m always walking past the light switch as I enter or exit a room anyway, so it’s not a big inconvenience.

    The real wins I’ve gotten from HA are smarter home security (door locks/sensors/cameras etc), climate control, energy management, garden irrigation, and remote control of “dumb” devices like my garage door and motorised front gate.

    • myplacedk@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      3 days ago

      That’s fine, but I’m opposite. When I moved to a different house, smart lighting was the first thing I did, requested by everyone in the family.

      Just the fact the light switches are wireless and can be positioned wherever I want then is gold, specially in an older house where things has been moved around so much that the switches locations doesn’t make sense anymore.

      Specially in the bedrooms, kids and adults like that the magnetic buttons are movable.

      Also, the family in the car leaving the house and I notice a light is on - I can just continue driving while we turn it off. And this is just remote control. Even smarter is when the house recognized that everybody left, and I get a notification that some stuff is still in, with a button to turn it off.

      The hallway connecting almost every room on the floor has two switches. None of them are near a bedroom or a bathroom. Or in use. A motion sensor and schedule switches the lights between “almost off”, “day” and “night”. Nobody ever thinks about the light switches, nobody walks around in the darkness or gets blinded at night.

      In the living room I have scenes for the TV area.

      • Teatime: Slightly dimmed light on the table, brighter light on the wall decorations.
      • Board games: Bright light on the table, slightly dimmed light on the walls.
      • Movie: No light on the table, very dim light on the walls. Increase brightness when the movie is paused.
      • Night: A single bulb on lowest setting, so that one kid can see that there’s no monsters while walking by at night.

      …etc

    • afk_strats@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      0·
      3 days ago

      Tldr this house was wired funny

      Here are some reasons:

      1. automatic lights which follow us from bed to the toilet and back with minimal disturbance of each other and which return to pure dark without flipping a switch.

      2. A hallway which have terrible switch placement. It has a 4-way switch and it leads to a room with another 3-way. 5 switches which should have been 3 can be consolidated using automation

      3. I want automatic motion lights on stairs. Another annoying 3-way to get rid of

      4. Kitchen has 9 light switches. I don’t want to explain why, but it’s not that big

      5. TV area where scenes are important/want integratiom with other stuff

      6.I want on/off automation on a few interior and all exterior lights for safety/security

  • Deello@lemm.eeEnglish
    0·
    3 days ago

    Not the most elegant solution but have you looked at Shelly devices? They are smart relays that connect to your switches in the wall. They connect via Wi-Fi, cloud optional. Newer ones are supposed to support things like Threads and Matter. What I love about them is that you can use any switch you want.

    • afk_strats@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      0·
      3 days ago

      I have looked at these and I am seriously considering them especially with newly-announced ZigBee compatibility… This is the trulyb"stealth" and I think cheapest option

  • Serinus@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    3 days ago

    GE Cync had some wall switches at the recent CES for around $25. I think they’re Matter over Thread, which is my preferred tech. And I’ve had good luck with the CYNC Matter bulbs.

    I expect I’ll pick up a couple of those when they’re out.

    • afk_strats@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      0·
      3 days ago

      Help me out here. I happen to own a few cync bulbs as a carryover from my last home… The app has gotten better. But I feel like they have been extremely finicky. I am trying them on the custom integration and they are still finicky and seems like they break protocol. How do you get them to work over matter on HA?

      • Serinus@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        3 days ago

        Not all CYNC bulbs are Matter. Do they have a QR code and an 11 digit code printed on them?

  • zer0@programming.devEnglish
    0·
    3 days ago

    Are you looking for scene support (double, triple, etc click events) or just being able to remotely control the light?

    Worth noting several brands have cheaper “add-on” switches to use in 3-way scenarios. You would only need one smart switch and add-ons for the remaining switches.

    I personally have a bunch of Enbrighten dimmers/switches and add-ons that work like dumb switches when disconnected from the hub. I too was concerned with the WAF (wife approval factor).

    • afk_strats@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      0·
      3 days ago

      Edit: Scene support is not a priority. I need remote control so I can integrate sensors or scenes set up in HA

      These are immediately going on the top of the list. Also, I’m going to adopt WAF as a metric immediately. Thank you.

      Quick questions about owning these. Do the paddles stay in the center? Or do they click into a position? Also, do you find the click of switching them as loud as non-smart switches?

      • zer0@programming.devEnglish
        0·
        3 days ago

        The switches reset into a neutral position, so you can’t tell if they’re on or off except for the LED.

        The dimmers don’t make a noticeable sound but the switches make an slight audible click when turning on or off.

        Worth noting mine are a few years old and they may have changed some things.