Not really looking for any specific answers, but just wanted to get some thoughts/ideas on how you deal with three way switches.
My situation is that in all the common areas of the house most of the switches are three way. My house (built in 1997) is very hit and miss when it comes to neutral wires in the switch box.
I found This site that shows common three-way methods and was able to figure out that one light I had conformed to Method 1 (I put an Inovelli dimmer with a dumb toggle and it works great). But the other lights I have are really hard to figure out and don't seem to fit any of his examples. I am not sure if the electrician did something unusual or I just don't have the knowledge/experience to figure it out. (probably the latter)
I solved this problem in a couple places by using Lutron Aurora dimmers with Hue lights (not a cheap option, especially when the fixture has four bulbs in it).
I've thought about doing the Lutron Caseta Pro option, because of the no neutral feature and the fact that the 2nd switch is bypassed in favor of a remote. But again, not a cheap option.
I've also thought about doing something similar by bypassing the three-way in one box and using something like a Zooz Zen34 or similar.
So, any thoughts about 3-way? What worked for you. What Didn't. Any tricks on determining the right switch for the situation? I would love to hear any thoughts that anyone has on this.
Before I made the decision to go HE, I was on the reddit smarthome forums. We had I contest to see who had the most switches visible from one spot in the house. I won or was near the top with 28 switches and fan controls visible from my breakfast area seat (semi-open floorplan in that section of the house). The great majority of those were 3- & 4-ways. I built the house in '87. So, yeah, I know your problem.
The outside & garage lighting was where I wanted to start and -yep- fairly bristling with 3- & 4-ways. I did not want to change the wiring as it would be a problem for my wife to rectify if I died and she decided to sell the house. I decided to give Third Reality surface-mounted switches a try as they were out in the garage and weren't going to catch my eye. That turned out to work very well as we went to voice command primarily.
So well, in fact, that I decided to do the same in the aforementioned breakfast/kitchen area. I bought 4 of the Version 2 models, painted them ivory to match, and mounted them in a semi-hidden spot beside the refrigerator. Works great, and since I mounted all four on a 4-gang plate it looks console-like and isn't an objectionable aesthetic.
BUT, this excellent, detailed post by @logan3089 -which sadly didn't get any traction here- DID catch my eye and I have it in my bookmarks. If you'e a firmware flashing kind of guy it might interest you.
Thanks for the shout out, but I can't really endorse my own suggestion anymore, considering I've even moved away from it. I have since set up a "blue iris computer" to run my security camera software, and set up a Node-Red "server" with MQTT stuff alongside it. I've actually swapped over my 3-way (and one 4-way) to virtual switches exclusively on HE and run the actual switch operations through Tasmota rules, MQTT commands, and Node-Red.
I'll make mention of this in that thread in case others come along to find it and can post up screenshots of flows, Tasmota rules, etc.
I do have a question about the way I think that Treatlife operates. If I understood your post, it is a dual relay that toggles between the two load circuits, effectively a "Y" switch. If so, are there other zigbee 3-ways that work the same --hopefully without flashing? I like to use dumb 3-ways to alternate circuits, switching -say- a dedicated humidifier circuit over to the dehumidifier. I'd like to have a zigbee Y switch in my bag-o-tricks.
I really like my Lutron Caseta switches, dimmers, and fan controllers. I use Pico remotes for 3-way and 4-way setups, as well as Hubitat button controllers for controlling some non-Caseta devices on Hubitat. The system costs a little more, but it works so well, and I know that it will continue to function for years to come. It also integrates directly with numerous other systems, making it more flexible.
You've given me something to think about there. I am starting to think I should make a list of wiring changes I've made, just in case.
I've seen those before but resisted them base on how far they stick out from the wall, assuming it would look terrible. As you point out, though, it would be a good solution in an area where looks don't matter so much, like a garage or utility room. Also, it's always hard to tell from a picture what something will really look like in your home. I may pick one up just to check it out. I am sure I could make use of it somewhere. Thanks for the recommendation.
The nice thing about Lutron lighting systems, is that there are plenty of electricians that are already familiar with Lutron. If we ever sell this house, I’ll probably leave all of the Lutron devices in place, as I have no desire to rewire every switch in the house. The system will still be useful for the new owner without requiring a separate home automation controller like Hubitat, SmartThings, or Home Assistant. The Lutron SmartBridge Pro allows easy use of Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, and Google Home...as well as the Lutron mobile app.
I don't think the smart switch acts as a Y, like a typical "dumb" 3-way would. While Tasmota does see two relays, the actual "on and off" status varies depending on the position of the dumb switch as well. Relay 1 is off, 2 is On, actual circuit is on. But then another scenario has both relays 1 and 2 on, and the actual circuit is on still.
For what it's worth, the zigbee switches would likely pair with hubitat anyway, not needing flashing. The reason Treatlife needs Tasmota (and even then, "needs" is a bit of a misnomer; more later) is because they're wifi switches, which hubitat does not natively support. As a wifi switch, it's meant to connect to your router directly, exposing itself to the internet, so that it can be controlled via the China-based tuya smart app. In order to "get it out of the cloud," you can flash Tasmota to enable local control, block internet access to the device itself and still maintain operation, and custom drivers for Hubitat can then interface with Tasmota as well, or MQTT messages for Node-Red operation, etc. Unfortunately, the treatlife switches were significantly cheaper than many other solutions, but what you save in money is made up for (significantly) in headache and hassle. (I'm a bit of a tinkerer though, so I enjoyed the project; and I haven't had to buy any "repeater outlets" to reach my wifi-based switches.)
Seeing as to how Zigbee or Z-wave switches can talk directly with Hubitat anyway, just pair them up like you would any other zigbee or zwave device and call it a day.
I have since set up a "blue iris computer" to run my security camera software, and set up a Node-Red "server" with MQTT stuff alongside it. I've actually swapped over my 3-way (and one 4-way) to virtual switches exclusively on HE and run the actual switch operations through Tasmota rules, MQTT commands, and Node-Red.
