"smart" dimmers and switches - understanding the options (new build)
caseyb
3 years ago
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sprink1es
3 years agocaseyb
3 years agoRelated Discussions
Any "Smart" Things in Your Build?
Comments (48)On the good side.... the insteon switches have been more reliable than I expected. I haven't had a single one go out in 18 months now (I have probably 30); I expected more failure. I have had 3 or 4 times an individual switch has seemed to 'die' for an unclear reason, but each time pulling the little tab in the bottom that disconnects the power and reconnect it has fixed the issue. The basically function as I expect them to. Also on the good side they seem to function well as just regular light switches which is nice (i.e. my wife doesn't harass me about the tech because she can use normally) On the bad side... I haven't found it to be super life changing or anything; hitting a button to shut off all lights when leaving is nice. Telling Amazon Alexa with my voice to set scenes is cool, especially when lazy on the couch. But frankly I haven't used it as much as I would have thought. I guess a lifetime of turning switches on and off gets programmed in. Looking back it is probably a worthwhile upgrade from 25-30$ /ea nice dimmers, probably not worth the upgrade from cheap $1 switches. The only other not so idea thing my wiring was done for old school lighting, and my switch locations hooked up the same. But I put LEDs in everywhere. So I have a lot of spots where a single dimmer controls say 6 cans, but they suck so little power that my Insteon dimmer switch doesn't have very granular control. Basically I get a little dimming on the lowest couple of settings on the switch. If insteon had a switch for LEDs (they might now) or if you have higher loads on your switch circuits I think you would see better results. It hasn't bothered me too much as I don't want to dim much most of my lighting is just having specific sections of light fully on or fully off....See MoreSmart switches for ceiling fans?
Comments (3)GE / Jasco makes one. Can be found at common retailers like Home Depot and Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/New-Model-Wireless-Wall-Controls/dp/B06XTKQTTV It's Z-Wave based so you'll need a compatible hub. I don't have their fan switch but I have several of their Z-Wave dimmers and they work well with Samsung SmartThings. P.S. That's a good looking fan!...See MoreIs there such a thing as "semi-smart" light switches and plug ins?
Comments (7)If I'm understanding the question correctly, you can achieve what you want with Insteon switches (and likely others). You can "pair" switches so that they basically talk to each other, without requiring any sort of hub. This capability isn't clearly advertised, because the target market is people setting up larger-scale "smart homes". The switches aren't cheap (looks to be $50 each at Smarthome.com, but deals can be found. You put one in place of every existing switch. Then the instructions will include the process for "pairing" two or more. Switching one on/off sends a signal to all other paired switches. There's a caveat with this approach though, it *always* controls all lights. So you've now lost the ability to turn on/off only one specific light. To get back that ability, now you're talking Hub & app....See MoreNew build ‘smart’-er home
Comments (11)We have the following in our home: Motorola MB8611 DOCSIS 3.1 Multi-Gig Cable Modem Apple router Google mesh (3 total) Google Hub (2) and mini (1) Nest (1 doorbell camera, 1 exterior camera, 11 door/window guards, 5 thermostats for radiant heat) Wemos that run year-round (9 plugs/switches, primarily to control various exterior lights) Wemos that run seasonally (2-3 plugs for holiday yard lights) Kasa plugs in wine cellar (1 for chiller, 1 for humidifier) Leviton 5-way switches (1 for living room lights, 1 for office lights) Sonos (7 units throughout house) Racchio irrigation system Flume water sensor 12+ outlets with built-in USB chargers Miele W&D and DW (all wi-fi compatible) SZ fridge, induction range and under counter unit (all wi-fi compatible) We also control the following with Google Assistant/apps on our phone: Amba electric towel rack that we control with a Leviton smart switch Ditra-heat warm floor mat that we control with a Mysa thermostat Motorized Roman and solar shades that we control with Pulse 2 app Smart recirculating pump I'm sure I'm missing a few items, but this gives you an idea of what we currently run in our home. While we've tried to create an efficient, cohesive ecosystem for our many devices I'm not sure we've succeeded... We were early adopters and there weren't as many choices when we installed our first Wemo switch for our outdoor lights almost 12 years ago! We find that once we set something up, we don't really need to change it all too often so as long you're okay with managing the required apps, you should be fine. We use Google voice assistant to operate most items. It helps that we have very good wi-fi and also have ethernet cabling throughout our home. My husband who does not work in IT is very good at trouble-shooting when updates, etc. cause things to go wonky as they inevitably do! I have a Android, husband uses Apple. Hope that helps!...See MoreRebecca Delo
3 years agoBrad Smith
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