I have no light switches

Bluefoam

I just did a light switch elimination project this morning... Blanked off a bunch of switches, put in some hue remote/blanking boxes, and moved one of the sensors into the attic... The house has been full automated for a couple of years, but I'm sick of people using the switches.

I now have only one light switch, which is in the main bathroom & it also switches the fan, so is necessary {for the moment 🤣}. Thanks for the opportunity to share...

1. If wifi goes down, I'm gonna have difficulty turning on some of my lights.

2. Be careful with 3 gang switches, yes I did electrocute myself.

ted1

Not sure that is up to code ..

ThreeGreens

How do you turn on your lights? Auto when someone walks into the room? Or do you have to take out your phone and open an app, select a room and turn on?

If auto sensor, does this still work when someone is sitting down on the sofa/chair for a period and not moving much? I mean do the lights go out in such a case?

What if you're watching a movie and want to darken the room?

It's an interesting idea, but I'm curious about how it works in practice. If you have had it (with the light switches in place) and feel you don't need the switches, then it obviously works for you. But I'm just curious about how it works.

I also wonder why others continued to use the switches if the other way works better? How do the others in the house feel about the loss of switches? If they aren't happy, then why?

Sorry for all the questions, but I'm genuinely curious.

What will you do if the wifi goes down for any reason? Sit in the dark?

All my lights are automated also, but I can't see the benefit in removing switches.

Lurching

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119761287#Comment_119761287

Trip & reset the breaker for the lights - Hue lights all come on when power is restored.

Bluefoam

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119761293#Comment_119761293

Great suggestion!

Bluefoam

There's a limited number of spaces with just blanks... I've also got some of the hue switches & they can be pulled away to reveal the original switch...

Bluefoam

I have a number of remotes, buttons and sensors... Depending on the room and the need.

Bathrooms are on sensors. Spare room was on a sensor when I was using it as an office, but I have now made that a more permanent guest room & changed it to a Hue switch because guests had difficulty understanding the complexities of not flicking lights on/off...

TV room ceiling lights are on a Hue switch, which is hidden... I have side lights that are on the main switch, they also come on automatically at sun down and turn off later in the evening... I can also have them come on when the tv is switched on... Basically automatic, but can be overridden by switches.

Front door on a sensor, and also lights the laundry room, just to give me a heads up if someone approaches the house... They turn off after a minute of no activity.

Main bedroom on sensor... Goes off after one minute... Means you can get into bed and not worry about hitting the switch. I also have an LED ribbon behind the headboard that comes on gradually 30 mins before my alarm. Makes it easier to adjust to the morning start...

Attic is on a sensor... Very handy, usually have stuff in hands, managing the steps, no need to fumble for a switch.

Hall & landing on sensors... If you get up for the Jax in the middle of the night, lights just turn on for you... Also coming in the front door in the dark with shopping, luggage, stuff, light just comes on...

One of the great things is that you can have controls for each room, but not on the wall. For instance, the lights over the kitchen units come on with the lights from the living room. But there's 6 other lights in the kitchen ceiling that I rarely use... For these I have a Hue button the is magnetised to the underside of a shelf... So I can use the if I want to...

I never use my phone to control the lights, just to do the initial setup.

10-10-20

I was hoping that this was a bit of a humble-brag, and it is! Well done!

Gusser09

What is the benefit to any of this? Seems like a bit of work for no real reason.

Bluefoam

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119762472#Comment_119762472

I literally went into detail on that a couple of posts up... If it's not for you that's okay, but you are on the home automation forum...

Simplified benefits:

Security; Simplification; Accessibility; Energy Saving.

Gusser09

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119762584#Comment_119762584

Yeh i know. Something ive considered doing. But not sure if the benefits would be worth it.

Lurching

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119762604#Comment_119762604

It's pretty annoying when you've schedules set up on lights and someone turns them off at the switch.

Tree

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119763841#Comment_119763841

I'm skipping that part by putting the relays behind the switch (or ceiling rose), let's the house luddite interact with the system as usual while I have fun