Light switch recommendations please

DrJohnZoidberg

DrJohnZoidberg

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Looking to go further down the home automation rabbit hole and start replacing some of my light switches.

They need to fit a 2x4 box, have physical switches (2 and 3 gang) and preferably be Zigbee compatible and work locally with HA.

What are my options here?
 
I pretty much got a **** load of these along with the backing plates they also sell the cover up the wall cavities which are more often than not just that millimetre too big.

isphome.co.za

Tuya Smart Light Switch - 4Ch White No-Neutral at 50% OFF - ISP Home

The Mvava wall switch is a smart wifi enabled replacement switch for your traditional "dumb" switch. Where other wifi switches typically require a Neutral wire as well, THIS SWITCH CAN BE INSTALLED WITHOUT A NEUTRAL WIRE.
isphome.co.za isphome.co.za

Opted for these so they are all uniform in design both where I needed to run neutrals and where I didn’t want to bother.

In most rooms I’ve installed it with 1 gang more than I need to run automations against those buttons.

Problem is we generally have the vertical US-style cavities in SA but with 220v, so we don’t have a lot of choice and the fancy EU ones don’t fit, unless you are very lucky with your current switches.
 
SauRoNZA said:
I pretty much got a **** load of these along with the backing plates they also sell the cover up the wall cavities which are more often than not just that millimetre too big.

isphome.co.za

Tuya Smart Light Switch - 4Ch White No-Neutral at 50% OFF - ISP Home

The Mvava wall switch is a smart wifi enabled replacement switch for your traditional "dumb" switch. Where other wifi switches typically require a Neutral wire as well, THIS SWITCH CAN BE INSTALLED WITHOUT A NEUTRAL WIRE.
isphome.co.za isphome.co.za

Opted for these so they are all uniform in design both where I needed to run neutrals and where I didn’t want to bother.

In most rooms I’ve installed it with 1 gang more than I need to run automations against those buttons.

Problem is we generally have the vertical US-style cavities in SA but with 220v, so we don’t have a lot of choice and the fancy EU ones don’t fit, unless you are very lucky with your current switches.
Click to expand...
How is the responsiveness on those touch buttons?
 
Quality is fine but not perfect.

One issue is that they flex quite a bit so you need to fiddle to get them flush but not over tightening them so the board flexes and the touch sensors don’t work properly.

Then you have like on my 4-gang here where the LED on the top-right isn’t quite lined up something and looks off colour.

ac4f741373d48bd72150315376971725.jpg


I also would have liked the 4-gang to all be in a row switch wise like the 1,2 and 3.

End of the day though let’s be honest we want to do this as cheaply as possible and nobody gave a damn about the cheap as chips SABS approved **** that was on the wall the last few years that barely worked and was noisy as hell too.

In a perfect world I would have loved the more tactile “toggle” style switches but at the end of the day nobody wants to pay for that.

3e57e51fd97e6df10881ee43a70f213e.jpg


Would have loved the Aqara switches but they just don’t fit and even if they did cost a fortune.
 
DrJohnZoidberg said:
Hehe, I don't. I'll rather get something a bit sturdier. Thanks for the info on these though, I at least know to avoid them :laugh:
Click to expand...

You’ll find pretty much all the non-toggle options are these out of the same factory under different brands.

Sonoff etc are all exactly the same as these.
 
I have the Sonoffs. Pretty sure they come from the same factory as the switches above. Tactile would be nice, but realistically. I very rarely every touch a light switch. The switch that I use by far the most is one that's MQTT bound to opening my garage. Always by way more gangs vs what you need as those can be used to run scrips/scenes etc.
 
I've been contemplating just getting some Shelly relays and some momentary-type dumb switches. The only switches like this I could find are a bit cheap and plastic too though.
 
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