Good Morning, I’m a novice with HA, just set one up on a VB via my basement server.
So far I am liking the potential and the functionality, I want to start updating the ‘builder grade’ switches and dimmers my new home came with, with something that can interface with HA. I have neutrals at all boxes. I’m not opposed to zibgee/zwave but I have quite the home network so I would prefer wifi.
Me too with WiFi and I also lean in that direction (preferring wifi) but my home is older so I have adventures with disintegrating cloth insulation as well as alot of places with no neutral.
For simplicity of protocols and tighter control I prefer to stick with WiFi (so not Zigbee or ZWave interference issues to ever figure out stumbling around)
Make all devices static IP’s as you add them and make sure each is properly named in your router to stop any confusion. Many devices listed below (mainly Shelly) each have their own onboard web ui so I have a set of shortcuts to them all (those ip addresses) 
Interesting title to this thread as the very best brand of light switch/es (not dimmers) are those that are completle invisible (hidden) and still allow the person to interact physically with the old hardware exactly as before, while still seamlessly offering remote control)…
Many of my automations rely upon sensing motion. I have motion snesors from Yolink, but that requires a hub (I hate having a hub) which talks to Yolink servers and your HA instance only talks to the Yolink servers (ugh). They are also working on a local hub but the check is in the mail if you know what I mean. They are able to keep the latency low by keeping mqtt pipes open between your hub and their servers, as well as your HA instance and their servers. However if your intenet connection is solid, that might be a good selection for SOME of your sensors - as Yolink offers one thing that no other automation I can find for Home assistant - Virtualarm. Virtualarm is a service for $9/month that you can set up with your yolkink account which will call you when a sensor is triggered (if you want) - and if you do not respond, then they call the police and/or fire department. My wife microwaved a potato twice by mistake and it actually caught of fire, setting my yolink fire detectors off (which do stil make noise if there is no internet connection) - so we did not hear our cell phones rining - and a fire truck was outside my home in 5 minutes! (for fire they do not call, they just show up.) So I have that turned on for leak sensors and home alarm related sensors.
My favorite integration with HA for sensors are Shelly. I swear by Shelly, you CANNOT go wrong with them. Their WiFi connection is ROCK SOLID. They stand by their products and will replace them if defective. They are victims of their own success as their business has just mushroomed so much that there are now delays when putting in support tickets etc. Note however, now that they have grown to be a large firm, the CEO and founder even answrers many questions on their main support forum which is actually a facebook group here. So, if you have a question or issue - it is likely the CEO will answr you directly as he is a smart techie geek as well. How freaking great is that? His name is Dimitar Dimitrov - you will see his posts and answers all over the place there. Be respectful, he doesn’t have to do that, don’t pester him
Almost every one of their products has their own web site interface (except for the BLU line of products) and they can be local only (and work with no issue) or also connected to the internet (mine are all connected to the internet for convenience but each has a unique 30 difgit password). They have a massive number of configuration options all available within the Shelly app, Home assistant, or each device’s web page.
Picture of a shelly relay for a ceiling fluorescent light fixture. It is configured such that you can turn the light on or off remotely through HA and at the same time physically (meaning if it is off physically you can still turn the light on remotely - and then off physically again - or visa-versa - works seamlessly). As this is in my basement I didn’t bother hiding the shelly, this setup is for convenience if I ever have to replace the unit (nothing lasts forever):
Notice at the end of each cable are ferrules - which is the cleanest and safestr, best way to connect to a shelly, so you will want one of these (forgive the messy workbench)
and
Lastly you will want extra wiring and a cheapie electical multimeter and extra (threaded so they can be bent many times) wires of the maximum size to fit into the ferrules (you may have to remove a couple of the threads)
Sometimes shelly would throw one in your order as a gift:
This is a Shelly Motion 2, (which are out of stock due to a chip shortage but you can find them elsewhere (I got 12 of them on absoluteautomaton.com. Their batteries last a full year ans they can sense eyes blinking even, mine sense motion from 20 feet away (this also has 256 levels of sensitivity, etc.
But amazingly, this new tiny device from Shelly (below) is actually a motion sensor that reacts even more quickly supposedly - than the above Shelly Motion 2 - this is a photo of a Shelly BLU Motion (in the blue circle, I pulled back to show you how small it is), motion sensor hidden in a bathroom above a toilet seat. The Shelly BLU Motion is amazeballs. The battery lasts 5 YEARS and it is tiny - and very sensitive. The (previous picture) Shelly Motion 2 goes to sleep and it’s only very minor latency is to wake up and reinitiate the WiFi connection - which it does very quickly with that custom chip (that has the shortage). With the Shellty BLU Motion below however, and this is the pure genious of this device (alro relying on the BT Home standard with BLE so the battery lasts a very long time), it is actually paired by bluetooth to (if you like) one or more or all of your Shelly (gen 2) devices in your home - which are already conected with an acitve connection to your network - so any mnotion as soon as it is detected is sent to ALL of your other shelly gen 2 relays so the notification ends up getting back to your Home Assistant almost instantly - pure genious!
@KruseLuds makes a very good case. It’s hard to argue with anything there.
I agree that local control is critical. And sticking with one trusted manufacturer like Shelly is almost as important. WiFi is a good choice if you have a robust network which you actively maintain. Zigbee and Z-Wave are more plug-and-play, with essentially zero network administration.
One thing I’d like to add is to make sure others can still control things with “normal” looking switches. Some of us like to have everything automated, while others like everything voice-controlled. That’s great if you live alone and never plan to move. But housemates, guests, prospective home buyers and, especially, landlords, won’t appreciate being prevented from operating lights and other things the old-fashioned way.
You want local control so you don’t depend on any third party “cloud” solution. These can change, switch to a subscription model, or just go out of business any time. You want to limit the number of different integrations and hardware types you support, since every HA and/or manufacturer update means more work verifying and fixing things.
Agreed. @Cobalty2004 and @CaptTom FYI here are some wiring diagrams I have used for wiring my shelly’s as I am not an electrician but I keep these handy:
This first one was a combo switch and outlet receptacle on the outside of a garage. The power was UNswitched (always on) and the switch was for a spotlight). It stll now operates exactly the same way, but in addition, the outlet and liight switch can be turned on and off individually as different switches within the Shelly and Home Assistant app. The gold wire is just the ground:
This is for putting a shelly behind a simple wall switch (not a dmmer) for an overhead light. Shelly is hidden and wall switch works just as before - and can also be controlled remotely (turned on remotely even if the switch is physically off):
This is for two simple wall switches at the top and bottom of a set of stairs, to turn on a single ceiling light fixture at the top of the stairs. This has to be done carefully as you need to know which lines are the travelers etc. On this forum I posted here how to exactly set the whole thing up - figure out which travelers are which and how to test the wiring to make sure you know which is whichh behind each wall switch - with a you tube video - it has to be done this way or you’ll wire something wrong and burn out the shelly or cause a short if you don’t know what you are doing. This is a Shelly 1L which Shelly discontinued but some are still available online and also Shelly is coming out with a replacement (better?) model shortly (it is in testing and should be out within three monthgs the CEO says). Note in the diagram the below picture the numbers of the switch contacts on the left are reversed (and is correct - they are just reversed in the picture to more easily show the wiring the way it is to be done):
This is for the dimmer switch in the same thread here where I have a link to “how to handle a thorny situation” that explains it in more detail (momentary switch as a dimmer that also works (to at turn the light on and off (but not dimming) even if WiFi is down!). Note, no neutral was available here as well (if you do have a neutral, then the Shelly will run at a lower temperature I believe (longer lifespan)):
Details on how to do the above are here.
This one below is how the ceiling basement fluourescent light in the first picture above was wired (the dotted line is the pull chain switch):
This one is a simple wall outlet controlled by a wall switch - the way they are normnally wired in the USA:
Completely in agreement. The WAF (Wife Approval Factor) is extremely important and the automations should not at all affect manual control.
Check this out as well!
Also the Leviton D26HD wall switch dimmer (requires neutral) which uses the new Matter standard works PERFECTLY in HA, is now rock solid (the matter integration is still in beta but it has never disconnected for me even through HA reboots, power outages when the power comes back on, etc. - since the last HA update of the matter integration). This is an excellent choice for a fully integrated Home Assistant dimmer switch. Here are all the details on it and how to set it up and reslove anyissues you might encounter.
Many thanks for the replies, I will look into Shelly and the Leviton line of products.
Hopefully my boxes are large enough I can tuck the Shelly boards into them, maybe I’ll order one on Amazon and see, if too large I can return it.
