Hi,
I’ve been avoiding WiFi devices like wall switches, light bulbs, RGB bulbs/strip lights and outlets because I am under the impression there is no native integration with Home Assistant. I think WiFi is only available via Tuya Integration and is therefore cloud reliant and less reliable.
Are my assumptions correct?
Should I stay away from WiFi devices?
I don’t think any additional equipment is required?
Wi-Fi is a means to an end. It’s like the highway system allowing for travel, delivery of goods, commuting to work, etc. It serves many purposes so there’s no “Wi-Fi integration” per se.
What you have are integrations for the different communication protocols that all use Ethernet/Wi-Fi networks as their “highway”. For example, there’s MQTT (used by Tasmota, a popular firmware for IOT devices) and REST (used by ESPHome, another firmware for IOT devices).
For example, I recently acquired outlets that are controlled via the Tuya cloud. I replaced their Tuya-based firmware with Tasmota. Now they communicate directly with Home Assistant using the MQTT integration (the messages travel via my Wi-Fi network).
There is no need to use the TP-Link servers. My devices communicate directly with HA over my internal network. But I can also use the Kasa app when I’m home. One advantage here is there’s no need to flash the devices, they work right out of the box. There’s no additional hardware required, and I didn’t need to install MQTT.
Depending on what the hardware is you can also use WLED for lighting which I have found to be awesome. Has a HA API and runs completely local. For a lot of others I use ESPhome, also has local HA API control.
Try Shelly WiFi devices for wall plugs, they have native cloud-free api access AND MQTT out of the box with the latest firmware
As for LED light bulbs, I am using Philips Wiz lights with a custom integration and it is working flawlessly, once again they have cloud free access, but you need to enable that during setup, and you need their phone app to setup, but that is a one time deal. Eventually this integration will be added as native.
Both devices also allow you to set a static ip, which makes reconnection to the access point faster since no DHCP is needed
I am not using WiFi wall switches except for a single Shelly i3 (and maybe another later), since I am using Lutron Caseta which runs on 433mhz, they do cost more… but you get what you pay for
Wherever I was able to replace a light switch with a smart wifi switch I did.
The benefit of switches is that you still have dumb switch functionality when automation fails.
I installed 22 sonoff T1 switches 3 years ago (all flashed with tasmota) and they continue to work fine. No issues whatsoever,
Similarly with Z-Wave switches and dimmers. I have in-wall Z-Wave switches and dimmers connected to pushbuttons and they are great for acting like a normal switch / dimmer without any need for HA if the need arises.