Hi guys
What are you all using?
The only ones I can find that do not require a neutral are energenie products that require a separate hub that I understand does not work with Home Assistant.
Is there a Sonof solution?
Be interesting to find out what others are using?
There’s an ongoing discussion on UK plugs.
I know it’s slightly different than your request, but the same principles would apply from a technology point of view:
I actually control these using an energenie dongle on my pi that sends 433Mhz signals.
Agree with lolouk ref the other discussion… although this one might be more focussed to the issue of the lack of UK no neutral offerings which is very frustrating for all of us. So far I have a 2 gang Z-wave light switch and a 3 gang 433 Mhz light switch controlling various outside lights, and haven’t gone any further with interior switches because the majority of my internal lighting are all on multi ‘way’ i.e. can be switched on/off from more than one location and I haven’t seen anything on the market for that (probably something can be done repurposing the internal wiring but I haven’t taken that brave step yet).
They both work well, z wave implemented using a z-stick in my Pi, and this 433mhz one [https://www.amazon.co.uk/sourcingmap-Glass-Switch-Remote-Controller/dp/B01480ZUQ6/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_4?s=diy&ie=UTF8&qid=1521643353&sr=1-4-fkmr0&keywords=sourcingmap®+Smart+Home+Safety+Switches+for+Lamps+3+Gang+1+Way+Black+Touch+Sensor+Switch+with+Remote+Controller+-+86mm+x+86mm+x+35mm%2F3.4x3.4x1.4in+110V-240V+AC] using a £4 transmitter also plugged in Pi.
for your multigang, LightwaveRF does support this.
you need to buy 1 master and as many slaves as you have other switches for the same light
just make sure you don’t feed 220V on the signal pin else you’ll kill it
The switch that has to be Zwave is a fibaro dimmer with a blanking plate over it.
All my other lights are hue, with covers over the original switches so they can be got to in an emergency, but won’t get accidentally switched off.
Couple of the Hue dimmer switches dotted around (in actually more convenient places than the original switches), and Bob’s your dad’s brother.
that’s why I use smart light switches, so they can still be used like “normal” switches, even if the worst was to happen and HA is down (worst actually happening too much as I tinker too much and reboot HA too often :D) but I can’t indeed select a colour on a bulb (Mine are all white)
Before I got home assistant I had a broadlink rm pro and a couple of rf light switches. This generally worked well. Only issue I found switching to HA was with kitchen. All others work well as they are generally turned on or off via automation so I get less issues of Status getting out of sync.
So rf can work well. I think it’s best if they have separate on off commands.
Gents, an option to consider. I used RF switches initially and they work ok. The problem is I dont know of a way to make them work reliably with motion sensors, since you cant convey the state to HA. I have access to neutral so now I have Sonoff touch and it’s possibly the best current solution.
Since some may not have access to Neutral, this is I believe a good solution:
this sonoff https://www.itead.cc/smart-home/sonoff-rf.html
which you can flash with tasmotta and therefore connect to HA via MQTT, but it also has an RF receiver, which you can manually operate with this remote/wall plate
https://www.itead.cc/sonoff-t1.html
you can even add a PIR for motion activation.
you install the sonoff at the light fixture itself on the ceiling and now you have wifi via HA and manual via the RF switch and also PIR if you want.
One more thing, each switch will end up costing 1/3 of a zwave and without the pain of that system
Can you confirm if the sonoff touch support dimming? I can’t find any info anywhere that says it does and it would be kind of a deal breaker if it didn’t…
No dimming
thanks for you confirming
You shouldn’t need RF for outside lights as these should have neutral at the switch because, unlike internal lights, you don’t pass permanently live wires to the outside. Hence all my outside lights attached to the house are controlled by Sonoff Basics in the wall and I’ve added extra switches to trigger those not attached with an inside switch via MQTT.
LightWaveRF in combination with an RFXCOM.