I have an early 2000s house and they went wild with a) the sheer number of wall switches and b) the number of 3-way switches. I want to replace a good number of them while accepting my wife’s requirement that they look and function as dumb paddle switches when necessary.
I’ve looked around and these seem to be the best at fitting all of my requirements but Mama Mia, the price 😭 😭 😭 😭
https://www.amazon.com/Inovelli-2-1-Smart-Switch-Dimmer/dp/B0BG329SH3
Anyone have some suggestions?
I don’t know if this is exact enough, but I use IKEA switches and IKEA or other ZigBee bulbs.
The switches looks like a different brand of paddle switches. They work like “dumb” paddle switches as a starting point, and then you build smartness on top of that.
If you do it right, they also work when internet is down and your server is crashed. Actually this is how they work out of the box. (I think the bridge must be powered on, but if you don’t have power…)
If done right even if the controller/bridge is down it should still work. However Zigbee is a bit of the wild west so mixing brands of switches and bulbs might not always work if you want this functionality so stick with one brand or test before you buy more. I have a few sonoff buttons and they dont work with ikea bulbs when pairing directly. But your mileage may vary.
The light bulb form factor was created hundreds of years ago for incandescent light bulbs. In this form factor, it is impossible to properly cool the LEDs. I used 12 pieces of Yeelight Pro 8W in a 10 m² room, and this room was as bright as the sky.
Sorry for being inaccurate, I said “bulbs” but it’s actually a mix of bulbs, spotlights and panels. I’m okay with any form factor that fits the situation.
That said, I haven’t had any issues with bulbs. The shape is practical due to history, meaning there’s a very wide selection of lamps etc.
For both bulbs and spots I tend to go with “several”. I have very few places with just one bulb, it’s usually 2, 3 or 4 bulbs in a lamp, and up to 9 spots. This means that they rarely need to go full power, and that should make them last longer. I haven’t had any dying on me yet.