Hi
My girlfriend is opposed to any sort of change, so I’m trying to find the best solution to control Hue lights.
She doesn’t like any of Philips’ own buttons and dimmers. I’m not keen on the Friends-of-Hue self-powered switches - I gather they sometimes take several presses to function if not used in a while.
What I want is to stick with standard looking UK light switches. I can probably just about persuade her to accept retractive switches.
I’ve tried the newish Philips Wall Switch Module, and it works ok, but there are a few negatives: You can’t select different scenes to be used at certain times, like with the Smart Button; I’m not keen on the idea of a battery-powered device behind a screwed-on faceplate; and for a triple-gang switch, there won’t be enough room in the back-box for two, so they would have to go somewhere else, like under the first-floor floorboards.
So instead, I am considering using a generic Zigbee relay, such as this:
https://www.samotech.co.uk/products/zigbee-switch-sm308-s/
Or maybe even a Zigbee switch, if I can persuade the GF to go with the design:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07ZM3CBHP
But then of course not wire anything up to the relay outputs, and get HomeAssistant control the bulbs in sync with the switches.
Is there a better way of doing it? For example, does anyone make a Zigbee module that doesn’t include the relay, just registers a button press, or short between two inputs, and sends an on/off signal?
If this is the best way of doing it, is there a simple way of syncing one or more Hue bulbs with the state of the relay? Or do I have to do separate automations for switch on->bulbs on; switch off->bulbs off, bulbs on->switch on and bulbs off->switch off?
Many thanks!