FINALLY! someone reviewing EU style switches

I use Shelly whenever I can, local control, use regular wall switches and regular bulbs. I have over 100 different wifi/zigbee devices around the house from all manufacturers and the only one that always works is the Shelly stuff. The relays are absolutely rock solid.

I lucked in on the Candeo as my first selection. It is exactly as described . Completely familiar to any member of the family or to guests. Really good tactile feel. No dropouts.

Thank you so much for this. Your requirements are more or less the same as mine. I was considering the Moes but you've opened my eyes to the Candeo. I think I'll end up getting those for the dimmable rooms.

I'm so glad I found this channel. We're currently building and I want easy smooth automation. I may be binging these videos

Great to see more UK content on this sort of thing. I went with a Shelley relay at the light fitting when I first started, because it meant keeping the existing switches and 2 way functionality. It's been flawless, though it doesn't solve the dimming problem of course. The Candeo look to be a good solution, if costly. I know that Scolmore Click (A huge brand in the electricial industry) are getting into the market with zigbee options too, so there may be more good choices in the future finally.

Very useful video. Anyone considering using automated lighting should see this first. Great job.

I'm so glad I didn't have to go through this process myself. Based on your review I can confidently say Aquara is the best for my home. Thanks for making this video! I'd love to see more comparisons of various smart home devices.

Great video, I'm loving this series. I suggest in the end a video with your partner talking about the smart home and how improved both your lives. 😊

Thanks for the grate info we are redoing the kitchen and living room and I now have a good understanding what switches to use

Fantastic video and perfectly timed as I’m hunting around for the perfect switch to couple with motion sensors. Good luck with the rest of your smart home

Was asking the same thing a couple of months ago, I found out that Legrand/Bticino switches were the best option for me. They also meet all of your criteria except they don’t report the power consumption and don’t offer 3-4 gangs. I have mixed both wired (no neutral) and wireless switches. It offers look and feel consistency across my home. The dimming will probably never be as good as the candeo one! Good luck on your journey and thanks for sharing

Endpoint, Router. Not sure why I assumed every Zigbee device was a router, but now that I know where to find this information, my troubleshooting abilities just went to the next level. Thank you so much!

that's a pretty decent review, thanks for making this, given me quite a head start on some of the decisions I need to make for myself

Thank you so much for this. I've been struggling to find smart switches with my requirements. The aqara looks like what I need.

This review is awesome. Analyses all that really matters.

Thank you for your video. The Aqara were exactly the kind of switch I was looking for, with their ability to decouple from my hue lights, but also offer the ability to use the same kinds of switches for lights I don't want or need to be smart themselves. Thank you! 👍

Your videos are helping me to improve my new home. 🎉🎉🎉

Looking forward to seeing this, I installed several Zemismart ZigBee and their hub. They work quite well, but not sure I should have chosen the touch versions.

Hi Alan. I enjoyed that video. I have 7 candeo units, i have them paired with momentary/ retractive switches which makes it super easy for manual control. A couple of the candeo units are the back box version sat in the ceiling rose and only taking input from the momentary switches. I also fitted the candeo units into chrome casing like the momentary so it all looks more premium.

Thanks for another awesome video. You have inspired a lot of my setup. I’m already set up with switches and yes I love the Candeo. I love that you can retrofit them to an existing plate. I replaced a 3 gang in the kitchen over a period of a few weeks and nobody noticed. For my non-dimmables I’m Shelly relays all the way leaving the standard light switches in place.

This is one of the best videos I've seen about smart home - well done, I really appreciate the detail! I'm waiting for a retrofit module with Thread Router capabilities to be released so that I can add it to my existing switches.

Aweseome work ! I have a couple of Aqara H1 wireless 2-gang switches and they look and feel great. You can create automations in HA that will dim or bright the lights by double clicking or holding down the buttons but it's less intuitive that a dial for sure.

Really liked the video an the detail you put into it. Thumbs up, good work!

Thank you for making this video. It’ll be an incredible resource for someone starting out.

Excellent video - look forward to the next one!

Excellent video. And it made me feel great about last week’s Candeo purchase! Reckon they’ll be getting a bit more of my money for other rooms now 😁

Incredibly helpful, thanks.

Thanks for this great video - really enjoyed your testing process and clear evaluation criteria (which happily mostly aligned with mine). Keep it up!

Thanks for the nice review, very clear and to the point with explanations.

Great video, very informative, as always! Thanks!

Thanks for recommendation of the candeo - such easy install

Also a big fan of the Candeo - it's the only smart switch I've found that doesn't look like a smart switch (at least for us in the UK), guests in our house don't even notice that it's any different!

Good video thank you. I got the Moes 3 gang.. and I totally agree with you about the cheapness of the build. I hate pressing them and have most scenes triggered elsewhere.. by a remote button pad, motion and presence sensors and voice controls. I'm still searching for a better switch

Really a great video. Also what a mesh network!! Chapeau!

Really useful video, thank you. Keep on Keepin' on!

Great video! Looking for a review of the sonoff switch modules and the Mercator Ikuu range of Zigbee switches.

I had the same question and found myself buying devices from the Plejd assortment. They are good looking, really smart and very easy to use and control in any scenario. You should try’em out.

I am very much enjoying the videos. I am construction my new retirement home and am facing all the same decisions. I did tell my electrician that there needs to be a neutral wire at every switch box so that will solve some of my possible issues. I am US based so my options are different. I too specifically want to avoid wifi switches. Perhaps those sonoff panels mighty be cool. thanks

Btw… the Aqara D1 is also available as three-gang. Thank you for the amazing review! I was also skeptic about the Moes three-gang touch and you expressed exactly my concerns

Thanks a lot! It helped very much. All of your videos about the new house!

That's some good work, you covered all the bases

Very thorough review! Still wrapping my head around a rack server for a smarthome, but ok. In the US, GE, Leveton, and Lutron are market leaders and readily available at big box stores.

I understand your rationale for choosing the 2 types of controls (switches & dimmers) and I generally agree with your criteria - but I'd add one: the selected controls should look consistent throughout the house (not necessarily exactly the same - but thematically matching). To me the very different look of the selected controls would be a no-no. Especially when mounted side by side - they just look far too different (the nature of the controls, the plate style, the visible fixing screws on one but not the other, rounded corners vs square). They look to be from two quite different eras.

Very comprehensive, nice video!

Great video, would love more like this!

Awesome video! My wife told me I could make ours a smart home but her older parents must be able to come in and operate things without any extra effort. I finally found the leviton z wave dimmer switches, R51-DZ6HD-1RZ. Only drawback is it requires a neutral line in the switch box and some older houses use a switch loop in the US.

Would definitely like to see a more indepth video on the sonoff smart touch screen/switch. I'm using some sonoff mini r2s in my home now for my christmas lights and looking at adding more throughout the house

I am just getting into smartening up my home and had some what similar requirements particularly for the minimum use of wifi in order to keep things local ( I expect us all to be disconnected from The grid for various reasons in the future) and I agree about the zigbee focus, one of the things you didn’t try and I am waiting on the delivery of some units to test are kinetic based rf switches from in my case Quinetic. As they can connect to the quinetic hub to give WiFi and therefore home assistant integration they serve for me the purpose of not having to channel out walls in areas where I want new two and three gang switches, the ability to not have anyone mess up the automated side of things by using a wall switch but giving Luddites the ability to seek out the familiar wall boxes to make light is a very nice to have conceptually, infact if this works I will put all the main power cut protected lights on to kinetic switches to ensure safe passage around the property in black out periods. Interested in any feedback from anyone already tried the quinetic also

Been getting a lot of good info from your channel, I wanted to send a thanks!

Aqara H1 is also my switch of choice. Tried couple of them and this one has definitely the best build quality and feel. The click is super satisfying and reassuring. It also supports single, double or triple click as well as separate hold and release. I'm using the battery versions because of the shallow switch boxes but so far I can't really complain. Other really solid switch is the one from IKEA (small dimmer switch). Very nice click, good response and build quality. And for the scenes I'm using Aqara OPPLE switches. They cost 15EUR each for 6 gang version which has 30 possible actions configurable! Build quality is not that great as IKEA, but still very nice.

great research , thanks for all these tips

This was precisely what I was looking for. It's a great detail - thanks. It's a shame we don't have the Aqara triple rocker in the EU; I need a 3-gang solution.

I'd love to see your take on the NS Panel!! I want to use them in my house for lighting, heating and blind control

Great effort Alan.

Great info, thank you! I use smart switches everywhere, *_except_* my home theater room. Any smart switch I've installed adds noticeable noise through my speakers, so I had to go with individual smart bulbs. Everytime someone turns off and on the dumb switch real fast, all my pairings get erased 😢.

I have a couple of the Candeo switches. I like that they look and act like a traditional dimmer. But I do find them a bit "sticky" when turning them on and off. They're also not great at reporting their on/off state. Don't know why, but they're the only ZigBee devices I have with that issue. (Another issue with smart GU10 bulbs, is they're usually taller than standard GU10 bulbs - which can be a problem with many fixtures. I learnt this the hard way.)

Great videos and thank you so much for your help to us !! 🤗

I love this review and it also highlights the issue with the UK based smart home options. Because I didn't want a mix match of different switches around my house, I ended up getting Lightwaverf switches and sockets. I know its not an option for you since it uses a hub, but if you already usea Broadlink RM4 Pro, you can integrate them there in HA.

Thanks a lot! this'll help me make my choices. Subbed due to this! keep it going mate!

Recently found this channel, really liking it 👍 Was hoping to see a review of Sonoff switches/NS Panel 😏

Hi, I’m from the U.S. and your Narration is FREAKIN’ & FRIGGIN AWESOME!!!… (You made me laugh multiple time’s, so i Subscribed AND Liked!!!)… When you used the “Word or Phrase” Friggin’ or Freakin’ THAT did it for me!!!… (Thought i was the ONLY one that ever used those (2) “Verbiage’s”) 😊

Great video again - looking forward to the next one

Great video. As always.

Awesome video, thanks for sharing

Man!!!! I wish my office / cave / own room looked organized like this. It's all over the place.

phenomenal video thank you 👍👍

Same situation as you. I bought a two way dimmable moes module and experienced the same inconsistency as you showed. Shame as they even have 4gang version, no dimming though, which could have been a an awesome thing. The aqara ones look great as long as you don't need to put two next to each other. They are slightly bigger than standard EU switches so you can't fit two together. As others have pouted out, sometimes a behind the plate module is better, as style of switches is important. Our house will have gray walls so dark switches with sharp corners would be prefered.

Brilliant video. Thank you.

You missed one important thing. Most cheap smart switches do not remember the last power state after a power cut. The default state is usually ON. Imagine in the middle of the night, all your lights are flashing after a power cut recovery. 😅 I have a couple of Mose switches. They don't remember the last state. I had to create manual power state reminders for each switch gang to prevent this issue. It was a pain. Now I always buy Aqara switches. They remember the last power state and are reliable.

Great review.

Nice! I agree with all of comments for all the products. I wish I see this video before I bought Lonsonho and Moes. Aqara is super cool for most of the cases, but I wanted them to be a routers. Thanks for sharing your experience

Thanks for another great comparison video! Please, do an NS panel video, it seems that the NS panel hardware and software have recently gone through some changes that make it simpler to get into HA.....?

Honestly, smart switches has been my worst nightmare trying to set things up at home due to incompatibility issues, thanks for this.

Great video Alan 👍 do give the varilight v-pro smart wifi switches a look. I use them without issues and have installed them for family , may not meet your extensive requirements but they do 3 and 4 gang versions as well and come packed with great features. Also able to handle many types of dimmable led lights, trailing/leading edge and dimmable led drivers without issues. No neutral wire required.

Great video!! I am having some difficulty getting things to work. I am trying to use lumary RGB recessed lights with smart switches that can dimm via HA, app, and physical dimmer switch. So far, no smart switch has worked..

Very useful video. I have used aqara switches at my house. They have 3 gangs and can be bought on many online platforms. I am struggling with a 3 gang switch which needs to be two way. I have a workaround with aqara relay switch

Amazing ! Thanks !

Hi awesome review on the switches. I been looking at the aqara H1 switches however they only come with white faceplates. By any chance if you know the aqara H1M would work just good as the H1 with home assistant, as H1M is only currently for china domestic market.

Thanks for this. Awesome channel! I need / want some Aqara switches now

Shelly has 4-gang ”switches”. It’s called i4. It’s just a controller though so you need to complement them with actual switches too. The switches can be mounted at the light instead of behind the buttons. If you don’t like Shelly’s own buttons you can use any other of your liking. Shelly does not require the cloud to speak to Home Assistant or to each other. Loved the video, though.

Very thorough video. Just went through a similar process myself and found Aqara to be very versatile, even reporting room temperature to within 1°C. My only criticism would be the decoupled switches can't bind directly to lights.

I can highly recommend the Aqara D1. WBKG26LM is the 3 gang version with all the features of the others you mention.

I've conducted tests on numerous smart switches and finally found the perfect fit for my home from a company called Bseed. Their Zigbee devices boast exceptional reliability and stability. While they may not be the most economical option, I prioritize quality above all else. In the Netherlands, it's been customary for quite some time to have sockets and switches with neutral wiring. Luckily, my house even had separate wiring for this purpose, with double boxes facilitating an easy setup. I believe the optimal approach is to utilize neutral wiring whenever possible; this ensures consistent performance from these devices. Bseed also offers models that don't require a neutral wire, but while they work fine, they lack routing capabilities. In such cases, using a bulb can serve as an alternative and even extend the signal range.😁😁😁

Great video. A few folks have mentioned but there is the option of using Localtuya or the newer Tuya Local integrations to control your Tuya wifi devices locally. They are still connected and sending updates to the cloud, so this is by no means a security measure, rather a way to improve the responsiveness of devices. I have several Treadlife wifi switches and several lights bulbs that I connect using Localtuya and it works great.

I was just researching yesterday and found "Friends of Hue" switched quite appealing. They are available in many designs and can even work on kinetic energy like EnOcean. They are expensive though. If there is enough space and wiring, I think I'll go with old-style switches and flush-mounted relais/dimmers.

I went with a H1 for a front outside light - great bit of kit, only ballache was replacing the back box

Amazing video!!! Thank you so much for your efforts. I’ve been looking at this exact subject for the past few weeks and it is such a shame that aqara switches can not dim. One brand I’ve been researching is lightwaverf, they seem quite good as well, though a little pricey

Great Video! I also have a candeo in my house and I had an issue with it at first not reporting its manually changed state via zigbee. Few emails with Candeo and I had a replacement on the way that has worked great for almost a year. I have just checked their website following this video and they have a 2 gang kit available now for £78. I've ordered it and will give it a shot!

Great video! I have been using lightwave smart switches and sockets for years now and they have been faultless, I know they aren’t Zigbee and they are a little expensive but when I compare them to all the others available these come out on top every time. Pick some up and give them your honest opinion, the other good thing is they’re a uk based firm from good old Birmingham!

Love the video and respect your choices of "must haves". But, I think the Shelly deserved a bit more love! Did you address the "must operate as a dumb switch" fully? My apologies if I missed it. That's just one of the (many) beauties of the Shelly. You don't have to use their fronts, you can use whatever faceplate you want. Having invested hugely in expensive brushed steel faceplates, it was a must for me. It ticks all the other boxes apart from the obvious inability to be a ZigBee router. You didn't mention voice integration potential? The Shelly will integrate to Alexa through HA and gives full dimming and switching capability by voice. In short, my missus didn't even know anything had changed. My old mum can come and use the switches, just as she has for the last 80+ years. Ironically, we now use the full functionality of the devices by voice. Never really having to touch the expensive, beautifully built faceplates! But they look good! And of course, if they décor ever changes, so can the faceplates. Finally, I'm no Shelly fanboy, just horses for courses. Their battery operated stuff has been desperately disappointing. Aqara and ZigBee rocks for that! With that in mind, I'd highly encourage people to watch the previous videos you've linked at the top BEFORE they watch this video. ATB.

Thank you! that was really informative, candeo for the win then. 👍

Enjoyed the video, I like all the switches in my house to look uniform as in my opinion gives a better look, think you would be better with the candeo module without the face place and then buy something like a MK grid faceplate for 3/4 gang to create your own, could be expensive though as each candeo module is 37.99

Great comparison! I have spent an extermely large time looking into smart dimmer switches to achieve 1 simple goal - to be able to have smart dimmer switch in a two way configuration. While Candeo can techinally do two way, one of those switches has to be a retractive switch which breaks the consitency across the house. The only switch that came close were the Aurora Aone smart dimmer (think the company has gone into adminstration) however even that will not work if you use it without their propriotory hub. While each dimmer can support native Z2M, theres no way to do 2 way without their hub (I bought it and tried!) Varilight also had 2 way dimmers with a master and slave dimmer however they did not work natively with HA and required the use of SUPLA. Ended up returning all the dimmers and currently just using dumb dimmers.

Thanks for the interesting video, which is not sponsored and therefore also guards against a "Fehlkauf", a misbuy. In an existing installation, Home automation is adding functionality while maintaining what everyone already knew, without causing surprises or problems they cannot solve themselves. I therefore use Shelly relays (decoupled) with Esphome - Home Assistant as a switch mounted behind the existing pushbuttons from the European suppliers so that the WAF remains guaranteed (Schneider, Legrand, Busch-Jaeger, Gira, Berker, BTicino, etc.). The switches all retain the appearance they always had and no one is surprised. What I have added is an NSPanel from Sonoff (integrated into HA) which I use more than my housemates who find that toy unnecessary despite the nice look.

Great video. What is your recommendation for the smart curtain motors? Ones which can move heavy curtains

I've been using Candeo - definitely the best I've tried (albeit from a limited pool!) You can also fit the Candeo modules into a fancier faceplate - I've got some fancy looking smart light switches now!

very useful video thank you. any of these particularly future proof with possible support for matter in the future? got a new house I'm planning to add in smart lights and automation, some wall switches are not where I want them to be so was thinking of how to sort individual scenarios out with smart devices. thank you doe any help!

What I would love to see are some reviews on electrical sockets. Trying to find a UK ZigBee socket with power monitoring that didn't look rubbish (but was in black), or cost a small mortgage, has been difficult/impossible. There are WiFi versions, but that is not what I'm after, and I didn't want the plug-in plugs either.

Nice video, have you consider adding surge protector device in your installations?