UK Light switches – My experiences (2021)

I have fitted Samotech switches and dimmer modules
https://www.samotech.co.uk/
and retractive switches
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Retrotouch-Simplicity-Screwless-Retractive-Switch/dp/B00VTSE17A/ref=sr_1_11?dchild=1&keywords=retractive+switch&qid=1621199239&sr=8-11

They work really well and I've taken them apart and they are good quality inside, the switches for instance use OMRON relays not some cheap generic unknown.

For motion sensors, I don't think you can beat Phillip's.
They use off the shelf AA and AAA batteries and last, well I don't know, they are all still on the same batteries after over 1.5 years and still showing 100%, the outdoor sensor must get triggered 60 times a day easily, and is reporting the temperature every 10 minutes and has been for over 1.5 years.
All other sensors which use CR???? batteries have died along with all the Smarthings sensors, but these Phillip's just keep working on the same set of batteries.

FWIW, I'm using a combination of Aurora AOne Dimmers and Samotech SM323 Dimmers and both are flawless, the only real difference is that the Samotech is slightly slower to respond when the physical button is pushed.

They look and feel like UK Standard Dimmer switches so I've not had to repeatedly explain to family members that it's one push for on, another push for off, and the only complaint so far has been that the dimmer dial doesn't have any limits.

Both can be purchased as modules, allowing you to replace the fascia/knob with one that matches the rest of your decor, and they show up in Hubitat as Zigbee Dimmers without any issues at all.

I keep meaning to write a post comparing the two, but they're giving me a lot less issues than my old lightwaverf setup and I don't have to find my phone/tablet/voice assistant everytime I want to control them!

Previous thoughts from me on this can be found here, happy to answer any questions! :slight_smile:

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Wish I'd known about those Yagusmart ones, but I'm very happy with the Aqara D1 switches now that Homekit integration and the M2 hub has appeared.

I tried (literally for years, to the despair of everyone around me) to get the original Aqara switches working by a homebrew solution, then SystronicsRF, then Hubitat. All a disaster, as the wired switches would knock the wireless ones (which are required for multi-way control) off the mesh. The only solution that may have worked was to have three Hubitat hubs for three separate meshes.

Now I run the wall switches (wired no-neutral D1 models with the identical-looking wireless counterparts) with the Aqara Hub M2 in ethernet mode, with the automation handled through HomeKit. Homebridge and @tonesto7's excellent app for Hubitat allow me to bring together the two worlds.

For dimmers and integrated lights I use the Aurora and Samotech devices like @proffalken above, directly on Hubitat. The Aurora ones I find great in appearance, but in operation they're a bit twitchy with the loads they like to handle. They're fine with incandescent, but some LEDs, Philips in particular, seem to freak them out. The Samotech relays and dimmers have been faultless, but as I bought the Aurora ones first I'm yet to try their SM323 module.

Before HE I was relying on Google Home to co-ordinate everything. I'd decided very quickly that I wanted something that offered complete control even if internet connection was down. That's what lead me to buying some Shelly wifi modules connected to Click Grid Pro retractive switches . At first I was extremely impressed with Shellys. Now... not so much.

The Shelly Dimmer works fine with HE with one exception. You can't progressively dim it with the "hold/release" function on a Zigbee button. On, off & set to x% work fine. It operates with all the LEDs I've thrown at it, down to a cumulative load of 18W without a Shelly Bypass connected. Shelly's advertised min load without the bypass is 10 watts.

The other Shelly module that's non-neutral is the Shelly 1L with an advertised non-bypass minimum load of 20 watts.
This one seems to be picky about what it's connected to. With some LEDs it's fine at 20w. With others (at the same cumulative load) it throws a wobbler causing the bulbs to strobe.
The Shelly Bypass cured the strobing but the bulbs were still dimly lit when the module was in the "off" state. In addition, the bypass unit (installed in the ceiling rose) was getting uncomfortably hot after a short space of time.

I've moved over to (mainly) Samotech SM314 dimmer modules. They work without a neutral connection & play really nicely with HE - even supporting progressive dimming on button "hold/release" commands. To-date, these have been flawless. They're a smidge thicker than the Shelly so you might need slightly deeper back-boxes to shoehorn them in behind the switch.

Again, they're connected to the Click Grid Pro retractive switches. These look just like "normal" UK light switches so completely blend in and have high partner approval factor.

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Hi guys, just a quick one and excuse my inexperience. If the internet fails, do, the Shelley's still work on your home network or are they temporarily redundant👍

They'll continue to work locally. :slight_smile:

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Also in the UK, also been working like many others with the constraints of i) no neutral wires at the switch and ii) an SO who’s one requirement is that the switches ‘look the same and work the same.

For this I’ve gone in big on Aurora Aone rotary smart dimmers for everywhere I need a dimmer switch and then fibaro dimmer 2’s up in the ceiling rose with the neutral wire.

The former (rotary dimmers) are much better than they used to be in my experience - the only consideration is getting the right bulbs. Aurora make some of their own, which are compatible and I’ve not had any flickering issues. There is a good website called Edwardes Bros that stocks bulbs and dimmers. There is a separate post for these on this forum where I’ve gone into a bit more detail eg re their slave functions and oddly sized dimmer knobs...

Lots of posts about the fibaro dimmer 2s around. I was very hesitant about putting them up in a ceiling rose, but actually it was very very easy to wire - you just have to find the neutral and you’re good to go!

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Which Aurora ones did you end up going with? I find at the top and bottom end of the dimming range the Philips ones (non-smart dimmables) flicker, which they don't do with a traditional dimmer.

Are you using the dimmers with Hubitat or Aurora's own hub, by the way?

Bulb wise, I have used the Aurora Enlite EN-DGU005/30 5watt GU10 LED Dimmable Warm White Lamp 3000k. They do a few different temperatures of that one. There is a very awkward to read compatibility table at p257 of their 2020 catalogue here.

Using it direct with Hubitat hub - don’t have an Aurora one

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Has anyone had any issues with the Yagusmart no neutral switches since the update to 2.2.8?

I've only recently updated (last couple of weeks or so) and am now on 2.2.8.152 and in that time I've had 3 of my Yagusmarts stop reporting their status correctly. I can still turn them on and off OK but the current status doesn't update so the system doesn't know if they are on or off. I've tried rediscovering them but that didn't help. On one of them I removed it and rejoined it and it's working correctly again so far, but another one still won't update it's status even after rejoining. I'm using the Nue Zigbee Switch driver for the singles and the Generic Zigbee Multipoint switch driver for doubles. I would be interested if others are having issues too.

I will check mine later today :+1:

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All responding correctly on my system?

Thanks for that.

I now have just one Yagusmart that refuses to report correctly so I'm wondering if that one has simply gone faulty. Maybe that started affecting the others? Who knows when a mesh has a dodgy device in it? I've got another one arriving today so will swap it out and see what happens.

Out of interest do yours get detected as any specific driver when they join or just as device? Mine just show as device and I have to select the appropriate driver. I guess no one has given Hubitat the fingerprint for these?

Update.

I have now changed out the remaining troublesome switch for a new one and everything seems to have settled down, so it looks like it may have been a faulty unit. What was worrying though, was that with the suspect unit connected, other Yagusmart switches at opposite ends of the house started acting flaky as well.

Without going back through the thread, was it a switch with a neutral?
I had a Xiaomi light switch with neutral many moons ago. Shortly after pairing it up (maybe a week or two) my zigbee network started playing up. Disconnected it and everything went stable again.

Probably caused mayhem when it started to repeat zigbee devices.

As an aside, I had a smart meter installed about 6 months ago. This completely trashed my zigbee network. Changed the zigbee channel on my hub and things stabilised again. You just never know. :man_shrugging:

No all of mine are no neutral switches, so don't repeat, which is why I thought it was odd.

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Do the Yagusmart switches pair easily with HE, or do they need other drivers? Looking at them just now for some possible replacements, and I like my life to be easy!

Single and Double gangs work with stock drivers :+1:

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Thanks

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Sorry to drag up an old topic, I am new to Hubitat and smart home integration, I have recently got my hub and I cannot get the Yagusmart 3 gang switch to stay connected. I have tried to install it with the generic switch driver and also the generic multi endpoint switch but it still seems to drop off after 2 mins. would anyone be able to point me in the right direction of getting this issue sold please?
Switch: Yagusmart 3 Gang Zigbee Switch with neutral