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?

  • UnearthedUnusual@lemm.eeEnglish
    1·
    10 hours ago

    In case you don’t feel like doing electrical work on some of them or find that the price of some of the options are too much, I wanted to suggest the ThirdReality Zigbee smart switch. They also sell them in four packs so you can save money. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0CRB18DHG?psc=1

    Where it fits with your requirements:

    • You can press it like a regular light switch (button-style) any time if you want to use it like a regular light switch
    • Goes over an existing light switch. So, you don’t need to deal with electrical stuff.
      • Can take them off the existing switch and flip the actual light switch manually if the whole smart switch fails
        • It does take mild effort to snap the device off the wall, but you don’t need a screwdriver, just your hands and determination
    • Better price than what you linked, and sold in multi-packs for cost savings since it sounds like you want to buy a lot of switches

    Where it may not fit:

    • Maybe your wife will not think this looks like a light switch? Maybe show her one online first, or only buy one to show her.
    • The aesthetics can look kind of weird depending on the existing light switch plates
      • Could make the aesthetics nicer by changing out the light switch plates to match the smart switch, which could be reasonably cheap
    • Make sure it will fit all of your light switches. If you have non-standard sizes because the prior homeowners were free spirits, the device may not fit. They do have a kit to help with a small range of sizes.
      • I bought one first and tested it/measured it with all the light switches to make sure it fit first

    Some info you did not ask for that may also be helpful to you/others:

    ThirdReality suggests buying a hub with them but if you have a USB zigbee dongle you don’t need it. Like this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0D737SJ5G?psc=1

    I found the connection was a little inconsistent behind walls at first, but after adding a sufficiently thick USB extension cable to help lessen connection issues from interference they have worked really well. For longer distances/through lots of walls you may also want to have Zigbee smart plugs here and there/other Zigbee devices that plug into outlets that can repeat the signal and strengthen your connection.