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?
You must log in or # to comment.
This was not the thread I thought I was signing up for.
I’m sorry. I’m still new on my HA journey (and marriage) so I’m sure there are unexplored integrations
Look into the GE Enbrigjten series of Z-wave dimmer switches & 3-poles. They’re about half the price as what you linked, and use a more modern protocol stack. You’ll need a Z-wave hub, but you can get a USB dongle for about the cost of one of the switches, and it will probably Al’s include ZigBee on board as well.
GE makes dimmable 2-pole and 3-pole switches. The good thing about their 3-pole switches is you only need one smart switch for the branch, and can use companion switches to control the main smart switch over the traveler wire.
As always, pay attention to ALL smart switch literature and make sire you have a compatible load. Many switches require a neutral wire, and/or aren’t compatible with halogen fixtures. The product literature should make it pretty clear.
I also use Minoston switches, which I believe are another brand of the GE switches.
I’ll look into these. I hadn’t really considered ZWave but I don’t know enough about it not to do some more research. I picked ZigBee because we already have a tonne of Hue bulbs which I will slowly migrate to z2m.
You’re right, the cost of a Zwave USB shouldn’t be the deciding factor when the potential cost is in the hundreds for multiple switches.
I do know that I have neutral wires and have 2, 3, and 4-pole switches which I’m targeting for replacement
IMO the inovellis are worth the price. I was in a similar boat - bought into the hue ecosystem (still think they’re worth the premium for how rock solid they’ve been). Plus the home assistant integration is sooo customizable: for all buttons (up, down, and config buttons) you can set an automation for single, double, triple, quadruple, and 5x button press. I have triple press on all light switches turn all lights on that same floor on/off, and quadruple press does all lights in the house (handy for when you’re on way out of the house or going to bed).
Still, can understand if you have way too many switches to make this economical. It’s not a problem to add a system of z-wave devices in the house too, but Ive never had a problem with zigbee and there seems to be more component options. IKEA zigbee devices are a killer value too!
One other option I don’t see mentioned here is wiring a Shelly relay behind your light switches. Your wife would never know they’re there (they install behind the switch in the junction box) and I believe they are very economical.
I’m watching for these new Matter switches from GE that haven’t been released yet.
Matter is vaporware
Ok. With Matter, I may consider cync again
Amazes me that they excluded the shades from Matter. I would have very seriously considered them otherwise.
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…)
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.
They’re cheaper at Inovelli’s store, plus you can buy multipacks to save more: https://inovelli.com/collections/inovelli-blue-series
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.
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?
Not all CYNC bulbs are Matter. Do they have a QR code and an 11 digit code printed on them?
Nope. These things are 5ish years old, Cync “direct connect”. I have a few Cync wifi bulbs and even 2 Bluetooth-mesh bulbs from wayyyy back
Look into the Aqara H1 suite of wall switches. They’re fantastic!
These are cool but I need something which will help my existing light switches too. I looked at aquara wall switches and they are nice but they seem to be around the $35-40 usd range
if you already have smart lights:
Tuya have zigbee compatible 4way switches for like 8 bucks on AliExpress. The TS0044.
This is a great blueprint for it which makes programming the functions on a script a lot easier https://github.com/zpriddy/Home-Assistant/blob/d7940c3aba7e96aae8da53864022b37e09923ef7/ts0044_zigbee_remote.yaml
Since the blueprint is for that specific button I’d recommend getting that one. But they also have 3 way switches https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005178438396.html?productId=1005005178438396
What about just buying Matter Bulbs? Or supported WiFi Bulbs? I have 4 which work nicely! Aidot brand so it’s not known brand but it was good priced. I know you said they were three way switches so that may matter if you are wanting to utilize the 3 way dimmer, but with HA, it should be easy to do!
This would also be depending on which lights you want to control, as some may not be controllable such as maybe the bathroom lights. As an apartment dweller who rents, I put mostly smart lights every where I could in my home so I can control which ones come on or off on a schedule. Change colors as well to help set the mood with my floor lamps etc…
