So for sonoff mini, there’s a zigbee version. If I installed that behind the dumb switch with dimmable dumb lights, could I use HA to dim the lights or does it have to be a smart switch that specifically states that its a dimmer?
Sonoff is very good and reliable. It also very easy to implement into HA. Price tag is very cheap. Most recommended.
It may not work in a grounded metal electrical box.
Well that’s confusing for me. So if a metal gang box is used, then the sonoff mini is not an option?
Perhaps if it has an external antenna that can stick out of a hole in the box. The grounded box would likely block the Zigbee or Wi-Fi signal. Plastic boxes would be OK though
My recommendation is skip all this and use a Lutron Caseta or RA2 system. It’s super stable, rock solid operation, and excellent integration into HA. IF you ever sell your house, you don’t want to have to have the new owner run HA or repair dozens of lights to a new WiFi SSID in order to have working lighting.
A few table lamps etc… here and there is no big deal, but if you are doing a major lighting redo, go with Lutron. You’ll be glad you did.
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I recently tried installing a Wi-Fi smart outlet near the fringes of my home’s Wi-Fi coverage (exterior brick wall near a pool pump). Before actually installing it in the wall, I tested it outside the wall for proper reception.
It worked within a steel J-box for a short time and then wouldn’t connect. I swapped it for a plastic J-box and it still wouldn’t connect. The same outlet in a steel box connects when moved indoors, merely ~ 2 feet closer than its non-functional exterior location. Sometimes when the threshold is crossed, not even a plastic box helps.
In contrast, the same model of Wi-Fi outlet is installed outdoors in an aluminum J-box countersunk into the exterior brick wall. It’s been working reliably for about a year now, even during our cold winter. Its distance from the Wi-Fi Access Point is virtually the same as the non-functional location. Obviously the reception pattern must have “lobes” so it’s one of those YMMV situations.
Compare that with the two Philips Hue Color bulbs used to illuminate our pool. They are located about the same distance away from the Hue Hub as the non-functional Wi-Fi outlet was from the Access Point; they’re about 11 and 13 meters away from the Hue Hub.
I purposely located the Hub with a nearly direct line-of-sight to them through a picture window because there is no opportunity for another device to serve as a repeater. In addition, the bulbs are located nearly a half-meter below a concrete pool deck and (obviously) below the water line (there’s a round plastic access hatch in the deck to reach the bulb).
When I discovered they work reliably in this configuration, it would be understatement to say I was “pleasantly surprised” (more like gobsmacked). The location’s Wi-Fi signal (measured with a phone app) reads -90 dBm (basically, zilch) yet the ZigBee signal reaches over 11 meters and a half-meter below ground. Color me impressed.
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I am the wrong person to ask. I have almost no experience with Zigbee.
The Sonoff Mini has an external specifically for use with a metal box. You just remove (or partially bend it open using a screwdriver) and push the antenna outside the box.
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