[newbie] lights control & ask for some more docs

[lucav (Luca)]

Hello,
I’m completely new to domotica, and I have some basic questions, in particular: what hardware should I buy/build to control my home lights? I did’t find anything as such in the documentation, on www.home-assistant.io, is there?
My house is full of old, traditional, light buttons, how can I control them using this software?

The following, for example, is an interesting discussion, I would like to find similar subjects in the docs:

How to control non-smart desk lamp / general lights-logic

I am new to home automation, and I am currently setting up a raspberry-pi/HA based solution in my appartment. I already got myself a couple of z-wave based motion sensors, which I want to trigger lights. Now I am having this desk lamp which is having a manual switch, which means I will not be able to smartify this lamp easily. One thing I can do, however, is to get somthing like this: and then leave the lamp always running, but only control it via HA. This might work out for simple logic (…

Thank you!

[forsquirel]

No one is really going to tell you what to buy. Its all going to be up to the person and the situation. If you’re in an older house where the wiring may not include neutral wiring then that limits some of your choices. If you want simple and easy look at a hubs and lights like the phillips hue ecosystem. If your house contains neutral wiring you could go with MQTT or ZWave switches which could be a better, cheaper option for a whole room.

If you have the skills to build your own stuff then things like ESP controlled devices are a fun thing to do.

Again, its all about what you can get your hands on, what works with your existing hardware, and lets be honest, how much money you want to spend.

[lucav (Luca)]

Thank you very much for your suggestions.

[lucav (Luca)]

One more little question.
Why this
https://sonoff.itead.cc/en/products/sonoff/sonoff-basic
costs 4$, while this
https://www.z-wave.com/shop-z-wave-smart-home-products/smart-lighting-ge-jasco-ge-z-wave-wireless-lighting-control-add-on-toggle-style-switch-white
costs 20$ ?

I cannot get the point.

[lucav (Luca)]

Oh, and this
https://www.z-wave.com/shop-z-wave-smart-home-products/smart-lighting-ge-jasco-ge-z-wave-in-wall-smart-light-switch
costs 72$.

[123 (Taras)]

For the same reason all cars/homes/toasters/phones/books/hotels/etc don’t cost the same price.

Appearance
Brand
Features
Prestige
Build-quality
Reliability
Interoperability
Long-term support
Evolutionary path
Standards-based vs proprietary protocols
Reputation
etc

[lucav (Luca)]

Ok, of course. But could you be a little more specific? In that specific case, which specific features make one product better than the other one? In your list, I am interested in particular in “Features” and “Standards-based vs proprietary protocols”.

[123 (Taras)]

@lucav

which specific features make one product better than the other one?

The one best suited to your needs depends on your requirements.

My requirements aren’t fulfilled by any of them; the lights I chose use UPB technology. They cost even more than the zwave light you mentioned (but cheaper than Lutron’s Radio Ra 2).