Home Automation

79 readers

2 users here now

Home automation is the residential extension of building automation.

It is automation of the home, housework or household activity.

Home automation may include centralized control of lighting, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), appliances, security locks of gates and doors and other systems, to provide improved convenience, comfort, energy efficiency and security.

Warning: Working with electricity can result in injury, property damage, or even death if it is not done properly. Please keep this in mind while assisting others. If you are not sure about what you are doing, hire a licensed professional.

Rules

No abusive behaviour. This is a forum for friendly discussion; personal attacks will not be tolerated and you will be banned without warning.
Referral/affiliate links are NOT ALLOWED!
NO POLITICS! There are plenty of other communities to discuss them; this is not one.
When posting project details must be included. Posting a video or image without detail will result in a removed post and may result in a ban.
Crowdfunding links are not allowed.
Reposts, low-effort content and karma farming may be removed at the discretion of the mods. Posters may be banned without warning.

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

communick@selfhosted.forum

Looking for a smart relay/smart switch with dimmer capabilities (multi-way switch configuration) (alien.top)

submitted 1 year ago by fredflintstone88@alien.top to c/homeautomation@selfhosted.forum

5 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I am looking for a smart solution to add dimming capabilities to our foyer lights that can be controlled by 3 on-off switches. Here are how they are wired, based on (somewhat extensive) tinkering with a multimeter. Overall, there seems to be a first switch that takes the live wire, and then traveler wires are used to transfer that live (based on switch position) to the downstream switches. I am almost certain that I have the neutral wire after the bulbs available in the gangbox of that last switch.

I prefer a smart dimmer relay over a switch because this way, I get to keep the existing look of the switch (I don't care much for the "dimmer" functionality on the switch itself, but on/off should work). If I do have to go with a switch, I would ideally just try to replace the middle switch because it's the only switch in its box, and then it can look a little different I guess.

So, what are my options? So far, I have tinkered in trying to get a Shelly Dimmer 2 working but with no luck. For additional reference info on my smart home - I am in the US, I use Home Assistant and have both Z-wave and Zigbee environments running.

https://preview.redd.it/tifru77b9swb1.png?width=2633&format=png&auto=webp&s=a35b5b04d3c940eddc3761dc4067b56f13b4ec69

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] Flashy_Loss_5976@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

A little more info now I've fully read your post: You have several options. If you have a permanent L and N at the light, you can just fit one Shelly there, and use the switch wire as a trigger.

If you only have a N at the light, and you only have an L at the first switch, you'll need 4x Shelly's. You'd join the L all the way to the lamp, and join the N all the way to the first switch. Then you'd have a permanent supply at each switch plus the light. Fit a Shelly behind each switch, and connect the switch to it's inputs. Fit a Shelly at the light, and connect the light to it's output.

Then you need to connect all Shellys together via wifi. You can either do this directly (device to device) or you can do it via the home wifi.

The function of each switch could be individually controlled, and the light can be switched on/off via app, timer, smart home system etc.