Wifi smart light replacement

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dukester

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#288950 3-Aug-2021 06:24

I have a number of light switches where two light switches control one light, hallway lights and stairwell lights. I want to replace them with wifi light switches that I can still manually operate the lights from either end or voice control. What would be my options?

gregmcc

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#2754173 3-Aug-2021 07:10

A lot of wifi switches have a set of inputs so wired switches can be connected for manual control, if you are wanting 2 or more manual switches the wiring becomes a bit more complicated.

Voice controls - most do Google or Alexa, some do homekit as well, there are also Zigbee and Z-wave, you will need to do a bit of thinking on the path you want to proceed down.

As far as recommending a particular switch, I won't as not many are approved for use in NZ, as there may be some changes to the wiring, it would be in your best interests to talk to your electrician, you could give it a go yourself, but 2 way or even 3 way light switching is out of the realm of most DIYers and there are things like electric shocks and fires if you don't get it right.

There are also things to consider, is there a neutral available at the switch you want to replace? Most need them, some don't.

davidcole

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#2754192 3-Aug-2021 07:39

The Shelly 1pm and 2.5 are probably your best options. They're wifi. And they install in behind the switch, so you existing switches can stay. Need to be installed by a sparky officially.

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chevrolux

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#2754209 3-Aug-2021 08:41

Shelly relays for sure. Works fine with two-way switching and no need to swap existing faceplates or modules.

Arsonist

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#2754251 3-Aug-2021 09:30

Where do you guys buy your Shelly products from?

timbosan

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#2754341 3-Aug-2021 11:45

Slightly different option - I have Philips Hue bulbs and leave the mains switches on all the time, and then install the Hue lightswitch (often in a far more accessible location) as it is battery powered and can go anywhere, plus it will control all devices in a room (I haven't tried it across multiple rooms). For example I have 2 bulbs and a plug-in Hue switch (connected to a lamp) in one room, and the lightswitch turns off and on all three when used. Plus it has dimmer controls built it, and I can still hue Siri.

I have these:

davidcole

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#2754376 3-Aug-2021 12:48

Arsonist:

Where do you guys buy your Shelly products from?

Directly from shelly.cloud.

But there is a crowd here selling them.

Shelly Relays - Control Your Home From your Phone – Smart Home Shop

Shelly 1PM Home Auotmation (onesecurity.co.nz)

I haven't used either of these companies.

AliExpress

Shop now on AliExpress (affiliate link).

alsta

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#2754427 3-Aug-2021 14:04

Got one from smarthome shop the other day. Quick turn around.

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richms

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#2754502 3-Aug-2021 14:40

Other option if you can redo it to get a neutral and live at both ends and the feed to the light at one end is to swap them for normal wifi switches and then use the automation rules to make the button on the one with no light connected toggle the other one off and on. For some tuya switches there is even a multi way switching option that makes it easier and doesnt clutter up your automation section with 4 rules per switch pair, but I found no difference with speed between that and using rules, and rules works across brands of switches.

All but one of the ones I wanted wifi control on had all the wires at one end and then a single 3 core (red/yellow/blue on the old ones, and red/white/blue on the newer ones) to the other end so that was able to be sleeved black for neutral to power the remote end switch. One other one had a mess of a couple of twin cables going around the place and the feed to the light went thru the far switch and there was no way to get a neutral back there.

Richard rich.ms