I am looking for a switch/dimmer that can be integrated (locally) into HA. So far, so easy, I could use anything from the “behind the wall” zigbee / z-wave switches to smart switches to …
What would, however, be ideal is if the switch / dimmer is cabled. I.e. it connects to HA without a wireless standard. While I do trust zigbee / z-wave most of the time, wired tends to be more stable imo.
Now for switches (on / off), I could go with something like the Shelly Pro lineup. However, what should I do for dimmers? The Shelly dimmers work through wifi and I don’t really want to cludder my wifi with IoT devices if I can avoid it.
I could use something like the phoscon kobold (as it - from my understanding - could be a “one device to do all I want” situation, though it relies on zigbee). However, the Pro lineup from shelly does not work for this.
I’ve found these devices from Future Now (P5): FNIP-6x2AD
They seem to do exactly what I want - however - they also appear super expensive (around 700-800 EUR) from what I can see.
Does anybody have experiences with those devices? Or any other hints?
I’m honestly not looking to learn KNX or another larger system… too much effort (newborn in the house and new house = lots of work already).
Hi there,
unfortunately not. As I wrote, the Shelly Pro lineup is likely perfect for pure switching. However, they do not function as dimmers. So I’d be limited to switching lights (or sockets) on and off. I could not dimm them.
I mean I could do a workaround, where if I dimm a light it’s a dimmable bulb and there’s an automation that first turns on the shelly Pro and then dimms the bulb, but you see how that’s a little complicated
Hmm, you said you do not like KNX, there is something similar, wired, with LAN access point (and dimmer – sorry didn’t read that): Products – Wired | Homematic IP maybe that is closer?
There are Olimex POE boards which can be flashed with ESPhome firmware as well. The ethernet ESP32 board can then control the Shelly dimmer via GPIO. Maybe you do want to have a look at adding optocouplers between the circuit of GPIOs to avoid the risk of mixing High voltage and low voltage.
These boards are able to be powered via Power over ethernet (POE), so only one cable needs to run to them for data and power, if you use a POE switch.
There are plenty of cheap DMX dimmers out there.
They don’t use Ethernet directly, but you can run DMX over cat-5 easily, or use a local Ethernet (artnet) → DMX converter.
I use this addon and it works well!
Oh I just re-read and you said you’d rather not learn another larger system, but in truth this one is very simple!
The good thing is, this has been a widespread standard in the theatre/entertainment industry for 30+ years, so there is a massive amount of hardware available out there.
These are used with push buttons. Maybe you can use them in combination with Shelly Pro? If you set up Shelly pro so that it gives a short pulse on turning on light.
I looked into this device: FNIP-6x2AD. It can apparently be integrated into HA.
However, I think I’ll be going with Zigbee in wall switches such as these
Only reason: Easier to set-up and adapt later on if needed, since I can simply put a new one where ever it could be needed. Also this will require less wiring, since I don’t need to bring cables from every swith and every light back to the basement (where I’d install that unit). So while hardwired (ethernet) would be AMAZING, I think the lazy me - and to a certain extent the future proofing me - will go with Zigbee in wall. It’s just easier to put new lights/switches into HA down the road if necessary. Plus the installation into HA is done straight forward through ZHA…
These seem very promising. It’s completely low voltage. You have to buy seperate LED drivers or solid state relays, which you can buy good brands of from trusted sellers.
