I tried a few different switch-brands until I hit upon the Lutron Caseta switches and I have never gone back. The Lutron switches always work, under every condition. All other switches that I tried were at one time or another "No response." Yes, I use the Lutron hub.

Apreciate the phrase "im gonna tell you everything I know..." vs the more popular and sensationalist "everything you need to know". Minor difference, but the former is more honest imo

Recently got into home assistant and home automation. I find your content informative and easily understandable. You got my sub mate

Very nice introducing explanation for beginners, but I would add one thing. Regarding neutral required yes or no, somewhere on 03:52. Yes, most of the houses have no neutral in switch junction box, but on the other hand, most of them have 3 line or 4 line cable from up junction box to switch junction box, where at least 1 wire is not connected to anything, so you can use that wire to bring neutral from up junction box to switch junction box (at least, this is the case here in Serbia). When house/apartment is building, electricians have no so much time to pull of the coat from cable and use exact number of lines/wires they needed. No, they are using 3 lines or 4 lines cables to connect up junction box with switch box, as I said before, so most of the time you have 1 free line. Even if this is not the case (I had one such an example in my new house), you can e.g. get 3 gang switch for 2 different ceiling lights. Then connect both ceilings to one gang, just to have physical switch for emergency case where you are toggling both, and rest two gangs you can use trough HA automation for ceiling 1 and ceiling 2 separately (of course you need smart bulbs for this as well).

I've used both sonoff and yagusmart switched (no neutral) and BOTH have pros and cons. One thing you don't mention is that if (when) your internet goes down the WiFi light in the switch flashes.... Annoyingly! Especially at night in a bedroom (I know from past experience). One way of getting rid of this is by using HA with tuya local (obviously your switches need to be Tuya compatible). Good video and thanks to your dad for the electrical help. As an electrician it's always worth asking for help. Electricity is a silent killer... It sits there not warning that it's going to bite and potentially kill.

Just as a note on the Capacitor for no neutral. Often this needs to be put across the load, not in the wall box. The theory is to provide leakage current to keep your no neutral switch working. Just wanted to mention that as this is the more common setup, rather than having the capacitor in the box. I use Aeotec Nano Dimmers, which are wired no neutral and they have the capacitor across the load. I quite likethese, although they are Z-Wave, as from the outside it still looks like your old standard switch, but on the inside it is a smart dimmer with power monitoring capabilities. Thanks for all the great infromation. I look forward to following your journey with your new home this year.

Excellent video that gives us that piece of critical info relating to the neutral wire being present or absent in your home wiring system... My home has no neutral wiring to the switches, can you recommend some zigbee or z wave switches that doesn't require the neutral that I can use?

Fantastic guide, thanks. What would I need to look out for if I wanted a switch that didn’t require home assistant? I use hue elsewhere, so maybe something that works with hue hub, or doesn’t require a hub at all?

I have LightwaveRF switches/dimmers in my house (no neutral), and while they look nice and work well enough you need to get the right LED bulbs to avoid flickering and poor transitions. They support Homekit though which is my primary platform. One frustration there is they can't be used as standalone switches in Homekit - you can only trigger via turning the light on/off itself (haven't looked into Homebridge/Homeassistant options yet).

Great presentation I am looking at ZigBee to mqtt switches that I can set up in home assistant. Any recommendations neutral required A

You got my sub, really Good explanation for everything

Very interesting and informative, thank you

Great video! I installed Inovelli Smart Dimmer Switches in my home. Absolutely love the switches, but the lighting in my home are the puck style led disk lights, which have a Triac dimmer in them and Inovelli switches don't support that. Bought the Aeotec bypass and they work a little, but have been burning out in a year. Anyone have any luck with a combo like that?

This helped me,hugelly,im a spark by trade,but av never used this gear before, my goid freinds health is getting,far worse,and were looking into this gear,im from the uk myself,,i found it very overwhelming ,but you sir,have made it easy to now,understand thanku loads

Nice video. You are talking about 4 switches that you have bought. What switch do you recommend? I need switches in a few places. One in the toilet. A 1gang that controls a zigbee light via HA. One 2gang on the first floor that controls the lights in te first floor and the stairs to the second floor. This light is also turned on and off downstairs and upstairs (2nd floor) so it’s a 3 way. I’m curious what switches you recommend. The existing smart switches I have only work with a unique app so it’s not compatible with homeassistant via zigbee.

Thanks for sharing. Btw, can smart switches controls inverter aircon unit? How does the wiring or connection worker? I have a 20amp Sp isolator for Panasonic system 3. ( 3 fan coil ) appreciate your help. Many thks

Exactly what i searching for

Great Video thanks, has anyone used\seen black glass fronted dimmers (No Neutral) for use with HA thanks

Dear sir thankyou do much indeed for your brilliant video,

I use the zigbee ZBMini behind my existing light switches for most my lights, but on rooms where I want the lights to dim, I use a light switch that came pre-flashed with tasmota that connects with wifi then use Home Assistant to control the lights. In both cases my Home Assistant application could explode and I'd still be able to turn my lights on and off which is kind of an important thing.

Hey, great video! Really good explanation for everything, although I’m curious what you do in areas where you choose to use smart lights, just turn them all on with your phone? Or do you have switches/buttons you use for those? Keep it up!

Good video. Here's some aspects you didn't cover: some smart switches replace the button itself. Others are kust installed behind it. Some smart switches are huge, others tiny. Compatibility with LED lights (many have trouble with LEDs... The ones that work best for me have a feature called zero point crossing or something like that). Also the ways it can work with bistable switches variés widely (with the best ones you can choose whether up=on&down=off or whether whenever you push the toggle it should switch the light)

I am using homematic smart switches. Plus side is they are working independently of any smart home solution. You always can turn light on and off. Same argument is also a down side since you cannot block or disable the switch if you'd like to. But they are very reliable and work great with home assistant over my homematic ip gateway.

If your switch gang doesn't have a neutral wire you install the smart switch in the fixture gang. The wiring example for no neutral is a bit misleading since both hot and neutral come in at the fixture gang and the hot is traveled to the switch and then returned to the light. So you install the switch in the light fixture and use the traveler to connect the switch terminals on the smart switch.

Great video! I’m like you, I use smart switches for ceiling lights and smart lights for decoration lights. I’m using Shelly pucks behind my regular switches to make them smart. They integrate beautifully with Home Assistant and also send events for single or long press. I use 2 gang switches even if there’s only one light because then I can use the second button for scenes. Shelly are using wifi which is the only negative thing I can say about them. But I have no issues with delays.

An IKEA Tradfri Bulb dims itself through Zigbee. What Switch do you need, if you want to dim that? Aren't traditional dimming switches just playing with the power supplied? That does not sound what a Tradfribulb needs? Or can it handle both actual power reduction or just simply an instruction through zigbee to dim? Also, do all zigbee switches act as a zigbee router, since they're on 230V permanently like light bulbs?

The only ones that fit in my apartment are Sonoff T3-US. I really dislike the feel of sensor buttons - but realistically, the switches are only there for programmatic access; no one ever touches them :) I really wish Sonoff made a model with properly clickable buttons in this form factor.

I am stuck using the Lutron Caseta dimmers. I live in a condo and there are no neutral wires in the switch boxes and no way to run a neutral. They work great and the little pico controllers let you make multi-way control. I have the hub and have it working with HA and has never given any problems. The only down side is that I can't to the multipress like on smart switches which I can install Tasmota. I am starting to see some ZigBee smart switches that do not require a neutral and might look into them for some locations.

An alternative to 2 or 3 way smart switches ist using a Shelly Switch device to control the existing dump switch.

Great Video Alan. I think the only thing that might have been nice to add would be the availability of (and any testing you might have done with) Thread connected devices. While their use is currently limited to Apple ecosystems, I expect that will change in the coming months. It is my plan to hold off on more light switches until I can get some running as Thread border routers.

May I ask what is the website that lists the different light switches you show in the beginning of the video. Thanks!

I have the old sonoff nspanel and its amazing. Flashing it with esphome was a game changer.

Another great video! Do you know if philips hue bulbs and led strips are compatible with dimmer switches?

So which zigbee smart switches do you use and how do you like them?

Great video. Quick question......I'm also in the the UK and also use home assistant. The few smart light switches I have are all WiFi and I'd like to swap the for Zigbee devices. Which ones do you use and where did you get them from? Cheers.

SONOFF mini zigbee is a great option of both worlds: manual using the old switch and logical using automation system

I have a traditional 1 gang 2 way. 2 wires in L, 1 wire in L1 1 wires in L1 I have a neutral wire smart 1 gang 2 ways use less wires. Can I just Dead end the xtra wires ? Does it mater which1s I dead-end if this is the case ? Any videos comparing the 2 ? Thanks

Athom makes smart switches and plugs that come preinstalled with Tasmota or ESPHome. Works great with Home Assistant. No lag.

I use Shelly devices behind my dumb switches and sockets in order to achieve a consistent look across all rooms and therefore higher acceptance and compatibility with guest and my partner. They offer a vast range of single relais, roller shutters and 2-gang relais, dimmers and LED controllers. But I have to admit that I've installed prosumer grade WiFi at home to manage the 25 devices and IP-adresses

Cloud u recommend a smart light switch or making a review videos on it will be great! Thanks

Hey guys, I'm looking for a dimmer switch that fades on and off when turning on or off. I want that little delay more so when turning the lights off. I have both live and a neutral power supply to the switches. There's two lights per room so a 2 gang switch. Any help is much appreciated.

Hi, as a new sub im really enjoyjng your channel, im in the process of completely renovating a house and running all new wires so will be making it smart as well. Lots of your videos are helping a lot Have you covered or can you confirm if a zigbee type light switch that goes through home assistant could also be controlled remotely, i.e switch the hall lights on when you are leaving work ? Thanks 😊

Thank Q for a great video. I have a triple switch in the hallwa one for porch light,one for halway light and third on is a 2 way switch for landing light. what automated smart switch can I replace it with? I have no neutral wire bhied the switch,,,,

Really helpful video thanks! Have you had any experience using Aqara wall switches or relays?

Great switch overview. I'm using HA and mostly ZigBee devices in my new home installation. Just installed a couple smart bulbs in my ceiling recessed lights and have a dumb switch. Learned quickly that is problematic, and need to find a smart(er) switch to hold power to those bulbs so I can control colors through HA. I want to retain a manual on/off and do not need switch dimming. I don't even need wifi or ZigBee control ... just the power pass-thru (I think). Am I on the right path, or missing something? Also any switch recommendations would be great!.. Thanks.

5:54 Slight correction, the capacitor has to be connected across the load so it is actually installed at the light fitting and not the junction box. Thanks for the video!

I used to think the same as you about WiFi switches. However in rooms where you use smart light bulbs to add the scene lighting. You do not want to end up with a scenario where your guest switch off the bulb. The Sonoff NS Panel and M5 switches can be flashed with esphome easily and can turn on/off/dim homeassistant smart bulbs. However during any outage can be programmed to turn on off the relay when your HA server is down/not responsive. This is something you cannot do with a ZigBee switch and because of this. Things like double tap/triple tap can all be processed internally on the switch reducing any lag

I have to say thus far I have had great luck with the Kasa TP-Link wifi based smart switches. I particularly like that their 3-way switch works with the other dumb switch perfectly so you only have to replace one of the switches! Hey how did you get your lights to dim and brighten when you paused your show on the TV? Would love to find a way to do this from my FireTV Cube.

really informative video but, I was wondering what the smart rotart dimmer swtich you have at 01:06 is? assumuing it is a smart switch that is

Zigbee Dimmer Switch Model GL86ZTD11 BSEED reliable keys, I only have a problem with the ZHA custom quirk.

Hi, good video there. When using zigbee switch, is it possible do decouple it's button from internal relay or is it binded together?

Thanks for your choice for our MOES product.Hope you can be one of our valued customers.😘

Great video. Also a tip when buying from chinese webshops : make sure the back of the switch is compatible for your house. In europe the back is mainly "round" , in China its a square. When buying a chinese switch it will not fit inside your wall most of the times when living in Europe.

Didn't hear you say anything about relays. Are they any good?

a question: You mentioned that in a switch you may have multiple switches (gangs), that then require multiple channel support from the relay. But how about if there are two or even three different physical switches that control the same light, or set of lights? Does this set any additional requirement for the relay itself?

I recentley upgraded my home network. I went for a cheaper option. I just live in one smal appartment, so i dont need a rack. But i always use cat6 cable on everything i can. My laptop and phone is the only thing i use Wi-Fi with. I had 2 8-port netgear prosafe plus GS108 + 1 gs105 switches. I got a used HP Procurve 1810g-24 (24 port manage gbit switch) cheap. My router is an old computer with an os called ipfire (almost the same as pfsense, but built on Debian). The router have been working for many years now and have old hardware. The switch i got has lifetime warranty. That made it Easy to use used hardware.

Which brand did you buy?

Can you recommend a dimmer model that works with a physical dimmer, please. It doesnt need to fit behind the faceplate, it's being installed into an access panel below with multiple modules. thx

Which smart switch would you recommend for smart bulbs? As a physical alternative control for the smart bulbs.

I’m interested in your comment about Shelly. They seem to have good products and pricing but in another video you mentioned Zigbee is better because it’s quicker and more reliable?

Could I also use these dimmers to dim / switch smart lights using homeassistant? I want to make my smart home more accessible and or still have manual control

In the UK, I'm finding it hard to find a Smart Zigbee switch that will fit in my switch box depth-wise. The Aqara and Moes ones have such a chunky back box which don't fit (after purchasing and attempting installs). Does anybody have any recommendations for slim Zigbee switch?

I use Tuya switches 1,2,3 gangs at home. I purchased them online in several batches. Every batch is different. Hopefully only one batch was bad quality, all others are ok.

I miss in this count, the possibility to make it smart in the background. When you socket is deep enough you can use your existing dumb switches and use them as normal and still can automate ist. e.g. with shelly

When I replaced all my incandescent bulbs with led (Hue) I removed all my physical switches with the intent to replace them with smart switches. Now, 5-6 years later we still only use the Hue dimmer switches that came with the bulbs :D And with over 95% of the lights being switched using automations even those get barely used.

Any idea how to get 2-way switching working in instalations w/o neutral, so it will work also when your smart home is down ? Based on Zigbee? There is not much to be found about it, so chance to be the first one 😀 I belive that in some countries it is called hotel-switching instead of 2-way.

That is a beautiful bathroom, Alan! KZfaq must be really paying well.

I want to be able to, when someone makes a booking into my Airbnb I want that booking to trigger the sauna to heat up and when the door opens for my virtual recording to treat them by there name can we do this ? How much to consult with me ?

Hi. What is the website that you have used to showcase the variety of switches?

What about Shelly… you didnt even mention them as a valid alternative

Another consideration re bulb vs switch is does your light fixture even take a bulb. We renovated a few years back and found that (other than very cheap and ugly fixtures) most stores don't really stock much if anything in the way of light fixtures that actually receive a light bulb. All of the light fixtures we installed feature integrated LEDs (ie if the light stops working I'll have to replace the whole fixture, but that hasn't been an issue as of yet). So in my house, its smart switch or bust for overhead lighting automation.

I bought Moes. Is it good?

Any ideas about the lifespan of this switch

Off topic, but have you had random trouble with wifi on ubuntu/NUC?

The Zooz switches I got are great though they took slightly more setup with my smartthings hub as the driver interface needed to be manually loaded, but it was pretty simple

Are there switches that can be on timers so when my alarm goes off at 400 all my lights go on so it's more of an incentive to get up

Can't tell you after having 70+ tasmota running wifi switches from different vendors I'll skip ZigBee and zwave. I prefer the speed redundant access points and local full control of all of the switch hardware that wifi switches running open source Tasmota firmware provide.

Candeo for dimmers and MoesGo for toggle switches. Both zigbee to home assistant

I live in the Netherlands (live, neutral and ground wires) and I've combined EcoDim Zigbee Dimmers (ECO-DIM.07 Zigbee Basic) with Home Assistant. Love them!

How can I use a no-neutral switch if I have a neutral wire?

I'm using WiZ Portable Smart Buttons and Smart bulbs 💡

I hate my ge zwave switches because they fail. I would really like a comprehensive video on all the capabilities of the Shelly relays.

What happened to "start the show"?

Would love to see a episode focused on dealing with Blind people, my mother went blind two years ago at age 70 and I am looking to tech to help her.

Here is the Top 5 of the best Smart home push buttons in the world: 5) Gira Push Button sensor 4 4) Jung LS Touch 3) Schneider KNX Push Button Flex 2) Siemens TC5 1) MDT Glas Push Button 2

the neutral wire requirement is the most important thing for smart switch !!!

Might have been more helpful if you’d shown or listed some of the products you were talking about especially as you are uk based. Other brits might be interested in purchasing those item.

only used 2. Aqara and shelly.

don't think i've ever seen a 2 way switch without a neutral.... haven't looked for a while though.

Just wanna leave a comment here: I bought a Sonoff switch RF only and it doesn't pair to anything and a also bought an universal remote control from Moes that goes offline all the time so it just doesn't work for anything. I'm rethinking if I go ahead with the automation or not.

You say you like Shelly and Zigbee. Does Shelly make Zigbee products?

Which switches do YOU use?

There is only one problem with my Cables... There are 4 Cables for the lever because I live in germany and everything is complicated

5:35 Looks like the electrician got lazy here, using blue (usually Neutral) as switched live :P

It’s not called a junction box. It’s called a back box. 6:10 I’m a electrician from the Uk.

I've lost track of the number of botched electrical jobs, so called "professionals" have done on properties I've lived in over the years. One wall socket sparked every time I plugged something into it until I turned off the power took it off the wall to find none of the power cables were securely tightened so every time I used the plug, the cables were connecting and disconnecting. Another house had every light switch using the same coloured cables for live, neutral and earth. The hall two way looked like spaghetti junction so I just put the face plate back on and never touched it again. In short if you are confident enough and know what your doing you'll probably do a better job than half the so called elections out there.

Decent video, especially for beginners. However, it's utterly baffling that you don't mention the new home automation protocol, Matter, at all. Frankly that one omission was almost enough for me to down vote the video. Completely inexcusable, especially for the target audience your seen to be aiming this video at.