replace wall switch with smart switch

bittihuduga wrote: »

hi
i have quite a few xiaomi smart bulbs in the house which work well with my xiaomi gateway and Homeassistant.
i also have few ceiling lights that cannot be replaced via smart bulbs.
i was thinking of replacing wall light switch with a smart wall switch
something like this which are TUYA
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001193120949.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.6f136d22tf1dAV
i have read its not easy our out of the box to connect TUYA parts with HA.
any advice where to start for replacing wall switch and make my existing ceiling lights smart?

Hi,

I recently replaced all my one gang light switches with the Sonoff one. And I've replaced a two gang and will replace a three gang with a Tuya one.

I'm not sure if the one you have linked will work. You need to know if you need a neutral wire or not - do you have a neutral wire in your light switch box?

I don't have a neutral wire in my switch box so I needed to put a capacitor in the light fitting in the ceiling - its easy (I am not a sparky). The capacitor comes with the switch. This is the Sonoff one I used:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000096289910.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.64bd8260kadXVA&algo_pvid=18ce694b-d3aa-4f56-89e2-d60eb9d0e719&algo_expid=18ce694b-d3aa-4f56-89e2-d60eb9d0e719-0&btsid=0b0a555616096770175706093e8960&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_,searchweb201603_

And these are the two and three gang ones I bought:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000191335997.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.27424c4dua5HQE

They are all working fine with Alexa.

I have not done the three gang one yet which controls my porch, landing and hall as I'm not sure at which light fitting I should put the capacitor.

I bought the wrong ones first. Ones that required a neutral wire. I have them on sale on adverts at cost.

Shout back if you need help/help each other.

Cheers

bittihuduga wrote: »

thanks for your inputs.
i am bit nervous to open and check the neutral. i assumed in general that there is no neutral in ireland.
mine is a new build in dublin

There is neutrals in mine, built in 2008.
Not all of the Shelly switches need neutral wire anymore anyway.

Celticfire wrote: »

I've just received some Tuya switches that I ordered from Ali and seem to be having trouble getting them to work. They are one gang touch switches. I wired them up and used the smart life app to setup. So far so good.

The thing is they turn on fine but once on they can't be turned off manually or through the app . They then turn off automatically after a few mins. When the light is turned on and the blue light goes to red it only stays lit for about a second. (the lights can be turned on and off manually as long as it's clicked continuously) Once the red light goes out I have to wait till the switch turns off the lights before it turns blue again.

Just wondering if anyone else had the same problem?

The same thing happened me earlier with a two gang one. Told Alexa to turn it on and it came on and then just went off again. Told Alexa to turn it back on and it worked.

I only have Tuya for the two and three gang and I havent set up the three gang yet as I'm sure connecting the wires will give me a headache - not sure which light fitting to put the capacitor in either.

I used Sonoff for the one gang.

No updates = on Main Module V1.1.1 and MCU Module V1.1.1

Are you on the same Celtic?

I just noticed there is a timer function in the app. Perhaps that had been set accidentally.

Just throwing ideas out.

Celticfire wrote: »

I'll be honest I've no idea how to do that.
Also reading above my switches came with a capacitor but I've no idea how to use it. No info in the leaflet. (My wiring doesn't have a neutral)

Id say that could be the problem.

You need to put the capacitor into the light fitting.

In the fitting you will have this plastic thing with wires going into it - I dont know whats its called. At either end of this plastic thing you will have a blue wire and a brown wire going into it (live and neutral). So you have to connect the ends of the capacitor to each. Obviously turn off the electricity first.

bittihuduga wrote: »

hi
i have quite a few xiaomi smart bulbs in the house which work well with my xiaomi gateway and Homeassistant.
i also have few ceiling lights that cannot be replaced via smart bulbs.
i was thinking of replacing wall light switch with a smart wall switch
something like this which are TUYA
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001193120949.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.6f136d22tf1dAV
i have read its not easy our out of the box to connect TUYA parts with HA.
any advice where to start for replacing wall switch and make my existing ceiling lights smart?

If you already have the gateway, get Xiaomi aqara switches. There are with and without neutral versions, with the latter missing power meter features, but otherwise they work very well in my setup.

iba wrote: »

Id say that could be the problem.

You need to put the capacitor into the light fitting.

In the fitting you will have this plastic thing with wires going into it - I dont know whats its called. At either end of this plastic thing you will have a blue wire and a brown wire going into it (live and neutral). So you have to connect the ends of the capacitor to each. Obviously turn off the electricity first.

I did that today and problem solved. Thanks

grogi wrote: »

Isn't Tasmota FW for WiFi based Sonoff devices?!

When it comes to brand agnostic Zigbee hubs, you have:
* Hubitat elevation
* ConBee
* Electrolama Zig-a-Zig-Ah + Zigbee2MQTT software

Tasmota is firmware for ESP based devices, which can include Sonoff devices and some Zigbee gateway devices.

bittihuduga wrote: »

for some of my sensors, i need a zigbee hub. i prefer a hub/gateway connected to wall socket rather than conbee2 or others plugged into usb (just due to location where my pi is placed)
hence looking at tuya or sonoff gateway or xiaomi gateway.
im not good in flashing tasmota on tuya or sonoff, so looking for preflashed ones.

I probably don't understand you correctly but you don't need a hub for the Sonoff or Tuya switches. But they do need to be flashed to work with HA. For them to work with HA, is that when they need a hub?

I picked up the wireless Tuya hub for about 15 Euro because I recently bought Tuya/Moeshouse Radiator TVRs, haven't fitted them yet, need a plumber, but they do need a hub.

I think the hub that was on sale in Lidl a couple of weeks ago, is the same as the Tuya hub, just with Lidl branding.

I also have the Xiaomi hub, window and door sensors and PIRs. And I tried to link my Sonoff/eWelink account with my Xiaomi account so that the Xiaomi PIRs would turn on the Sonoff switches but every time it does not accept my u/n and p/w even though they are correct.

bittihuduga wrote: »

sorry, may be my lack of knowledge. i know some of the tuya dont work out of the box with HA - this is where they have to be flashed with tasmota. not my cup of tea :-(
i also read that a tuya zigbee hub required for few tuya systems (wifi blind) and i need a zigbee hub for my other xiaomi zigbee devices.
my xiaomi hub is v2 - non zigbee one

Most common Tuya devices work with HA out of the box but still depend on Tuya's cloud service. HA has built in Tuya support and you only need to add your Tuya App login details to your HA config and all of your devices will automatically be added to HA.

Tasmota is a custom firmware for ESP based devices but will not work with many Tuya devices especially most new ones as most Tuya manufacturers have stopped using ESP based chips. Tasmota is often used to eliminate the need for the cloud based service.

Another option for using Tuya with HA but without cloud dependence is a third part integration called TuyaLocal. This works without changing the firmware, but can be a bit of a messy setup initially.


Tasmota is usually a better option for Sonoff devices as they are all ESP based but if it's not your cup of tea it is no longer a requirement for HA either as there are a number of third party integrations that will work with Sonoff with or without the need for their cloud service.

bittihuduga wrote: »

thanks emaherx.
are you saying sonoff without cloud can be used without flashing in HA?

i saw this link - https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/tuya/
it details only few tuya device support
hence i was not sure and wanted to flash with tasmota.
for now i can use their cloud service if it works with HA

Sonoff can work without cloud yes, you still need to have an account but newer official Sonoff firmwares include a LAN mode for when the cloud is unreachable, and this feature is usable by HA to control Sonoff devices locally.


Those few Tuya devices cover a lot of devices, most devices are just some implementation of a switch, is there particular devices you are considering that wouldn't be covered?

I've Tuya switches and climate devices here working with Tuya Local. I couldn't leave my heating dependent on a cloud service, so far it's working well, but it was far from a simple setup.

bittihuduga wrote: »

i did not see the smart blind controller in their list. i will check out tuya local

Under cover it says smart curtains, which may be the same thing.
but it also covers scenes and automations from the tuya app, so if a particular device is not strictly supported just create an automation for it in the Tuya app and then call that from HA.


Not sure about the smart blinds in TuyaLocal though, it currently has support for a smaller range of devices.

NewMan1982 wrote: »

Am i correct in thinking a wired smart switch means you can turn non smart lights on and off from an app and from the physical switch if required?
Is there any on sale from Irish retailers? i have been searching on google and found it a bit confusing as some of the switches are non wired which i assume means you end up with two light switches in each room.

I haven't bought an alexa or google assistant yet so will buy whichever one suits my needs best.

I'm hoping to start with indoor light switches, then smart plugs and then maybe move onto security and cameras eventually.

Yes, the non-smart bulb can be turned on by app or switch (and Alexa).

I don't know of Irish retailers, I buy everything from Ali.

Not sure exactly what you mean about two light switches in one room. A one gang switch normally controls one bulb. A two gang one controls two bulbs etc. This sort of depends on your current set-up.

What you first need to determine is if you have a neutral wire or not inside your current light switch.

Post links to the switches you looked at and maybe I can help with any confusion you have.. Perhaps give a concrete example of one room in your house and what you want to do exactly.