Wall Switch Search: Toggle for Constant/Load and Toggles for Multiple Smart Devices

Hardware
1

I’ve been searching everywhere and trying different wall switches to use with my smart lights because I am concerned about a couple of scenarios that could lead to issues.

Has anyone ever had someone over to their house that inadvertently flipped a switch that controlled the constant to a load of a smart device? You don’t notice it until you’re away from the house and an automation fails to run or you lose control of something and have to search for the cause. It’s not fun and I would like to try my best to avoid it without hanging up signs.

Has anyone ever wired a smart light directly to constant power and then had a power outage and had to reset the smart light by turning it on-off five times but can’t because it’s wired directly without a toggle switch?

Does anyone have a workaround to avoid both scenarios and possible issues?

I have Tuya-based lighting so l first looked for a Tuya switch that was hardwired and controlled the constant to the load power as well as having smart toggle switches that could be linked in their app to smart lighting but I haven’t found anything. I figured that I could use one of their basic on/off smart switches so in case someone turns it off I could switch it back on but I figured that by doing so I would also have to create a sensor in HA for the smart lights with a condition that that would check to see if the switch was off prior to turning on the smart lighting. If the switch is off it would turn the switch on and then turn on the smart light(s). I think that might cause an issue because I think some smart lights turn on by default when there hasn’t been any power to them. Sometimes I also think that causes them to need reprogramming. There are some smart switches with LED displays but I think I would lose control of the constant to the load with those.

I also tried looking for a wall switch with a small toggle to control the constant to the load (like a traditional switch) which I was hoping most users would not touch and then some larger smart toggles to connect and control the smart lights. The larger switches would be for anyone who chooses not to use the voice or app control and are instead accustomed to controlling lights the traditional way. They would avoid the small toggle switch and see the larger smart switches and use them instead.

I’m sure that people have connected their smart lights both directly as well as through a traditional toggle switch and have probably run into both of my scenarios. Has anyone found a workaround that they could share?

2

Device availability varies WIDELY by region - where are you at?

Personally, this is why I generally only use smart bulbs in discrete table lamps. In my installs, things with wall switches ALWAYS get smart switches, no exceptions. (Never end up with power shut down to a device that shouldn’t be)

If I have a scenario where I MUST use smart bulbs in a fixture, I plan on using the Inovelli Red or the Zooz Zen32 device with a ZWave based smart bulbs such as the ones from Inovelli. The Inovelli Red and Zooz devices both support ‘smart bulb mode’ where you can turn on or off the switchable load in firmware, and I could connect the devices together through ZWave Direct association.

3

I’m in the US and I agree with you but I found some LED downlights that worked great for my remodeling needs so I went with them. At the time I was just happy that they worked perfectly for what I was doing but in hindsight, I should have thought out the situation a little more and maybe looked for something else that would have worked better. I have seen post-it notes on switches to stop people from using the switch and I have seen companies that have made plastic coverings to cover and lock the switch. What I can’t figure out is why haven’t more companies made switches that specifically address this problem instead of focusing on making a cheap plastic cover.

I’ve researched the Inovelli Red and will have to buy one to see how it works. I don’t know much about the Zooz Zen32. Insteon makes a keypad switch that has and on/off buttons for the load as well as several other buttons to use for whatever the user wants to program them for.

I actually just looked at the Zooz and it’s similar to the Insteon. The Insteaon does not have the relay to switch the main buttons use though however, it does come in both a 6-button and 8-button configuration with etchable customized plates.

Thanks for the help.

4

Some people just bypass the physical switch. However that is generally contrary to regulations, which require a physical switch so you can isolate the bulb.