Sonoff Alternatives??

napstersquest

napstersquest

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I am planning to automate and smartify a few things at my home, starting from light switches.

I see the Smarteefi switch modules that go behind the switch panel have good ratings, however, I don't want to use their app. I want them to be controlled via HASS instance locally.

I can't find much info about this while searching, has anyone had any experience with Smarteefi switches/boards with HomeAssistant?

Are there any cheaper/similar alternatives to Sonoff?

I might also consider fully DIY route if I find a noob-friendly guide. Plan to add AC control via IR Blasters, Geysers via 16A smart switches, Fan regulators via Smarteefi boards.

Edit: It seems the Smarteefi boards, even though they use ESP, won't work with HASS unless I configure spoofing packets.
Their support team confirmed the same (that they won't work).
 
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Any reason for not wanting to use Sonoffs? Sonoff has a big line up of smart switches and the most if not all can be flashed with Tasmota or EspHome. Tasmota and Esphome have easy integrations with HASS.
 
My entire house is filled with over 30 Sonoff Mini's, which have been running for the past 1 year without any issues, please don't use any other knockoff brands, you should use either Sonoff or Shelly but shelly's are a rare find in India unless you have someone coming from the UAE then you can get some in bulk but within India use Sonoff.
I have tasmotized my Sonoff Mini's and use it with Home Assistant.
Let me know what price you are getting the Sonoff for, I can help with that.
 
I see sonoff minis at 650/node, not less than that. For some 20-25 devices, that's around 13-15K. Hence the reluctance to buy them and so looking for cheaper alternatives.

I just went ahead and ordered custom PCBs and components for 10 quantities of 4-channel modules which I am planning to retrofit. These will have NodeMCU ESP8266 with multiplexer boards for 4 switches each, temp-humidity sensor, motion sensor and two more sensors should I need them. All of that for around ₹8000 (total 40 switches and up to 40 digital / analog sensors).

Yeah it's a lot of work, would take more than a month to deploy, but I am willing to learn along the way.
 
napstersquest said:
I see sonoff minis at 650/node, not less than that. For some 20-25 devices, that's around 13-15K. Hence the reluctance to buy them and so looking for cheaper alternatives.

I just went ahead and ordered custom PCBs and components for 10 quantities of 4-channel modules which I am planning to retrofit. These will have NodeMCU ESP8266 with multiplexer boards for 4 switches each, temp-humidity sensor, motion sensor and two more sensors should I need them. All of that for around ₹8000 (total 40 switches and up to 40 digital / analog sensors).

Yeah it's a lot of work, would take more than a month to deploy, but I am willing to learn along the way.
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I got mine at discount, i think mine were around 550 per unit.
Good luck building your own genuinely, it would be a great feeling if you accomplish it all, its all diy anyways, so does not matter, but i would not trust something i made myself powering up my house as the chances and risk of fire and safety is way too high! Then again I dont trust a Chinese company either.
Do share photos of it for inspiration once done
 
aasimenator said:
I got mine at discount, i think mine were around 550 per unit.
Good luck building your own genuinely, it would be a great feeling if you accomplish it all, its all diy anyways, so does not matter, but i would not trust something i made myself powering up my house as the chances and risk of fire and safety is way too high! Then again I dont trust a Chinese company either.
Do share photos of it for inspiration once done
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Almost there! Waiting for the ESP8266 NodeMCU 12e to arrive today.
PS: Hopefully I won't start a fire!
 

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napstersquest said:
Almost there! Waiting for the ESP8266 NodeMCU 12e to arrive today.
PS: Hopefully I won't start a fire!
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do you think this will fit inside an electrical box? I don't think it will be on any standard-size boxes other than those that are larger in size like an 8 x 8 modular box, a standard 4 modular box is only 6-inch x 3 inch
 
@napstersquest How did this project go? I am in the same situation currently as you and looking at alternatives that work with HomeAssistant. Would appreciate an update and guidance on how this has been working for you.
 
Pat said:
@napstersquest How did this project go? I am in the same situation currently as you and looking at alternatives that work with HomeAssistant. Would appreciate an update and guidance on how this has been working for you.
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Have a look at app name 'SmartLife'. Brand name: Leccy & Genisis. Their touch switches and IR blasters are really nice. Good thing is that they make switches as per different lock types. Like goldmedal, anchor roma, legrand. You just have to talk n specify your requirement before making a purchase.
 
I think currently Sonoff's is the only good choice here that works with HomeAssistant and is available abundantly in India.
There are good Wipro Smart Switch Modules but I am not sure if they work well with HomeAssistant, last time I looked into it they were not yet compatible, but don't know if that has changed. If they are compatible then I believe it would be a good alternative to Sonoff.
A Sonoff Mini R2 can only do 1 switch at a time and is sold on Amazon for Rs. 1000/- while the Wipro Smart Switch Module can do 4 and are available for Rs. 1500 on Amazon.
 
sato1986 said:
Have a look at app name 'SmartLife'. Brand name: Leccy & Genisis. Their touch switches and IR blasters are really nice. Good thing is that they make switches as per different lock types. Like goldmedal, anchor roma, legrand. You just have to talk n specify your requirement before making a purchase.
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Do these devices work with HomeAssistant?
aasimenator said:
I think currently Sonoff's is the only good choice here that works with HomeAssistant and is available abundantly in India.
There are good Wipro Smart Switch Modules but I am not sure if they work well with HomeAssistant, last time I looked into it they were not yet compatible, but don't know if that has changed. If they are compatible then I believe it would be a good alternative to Sonoff.
A Sonoff Mini R2 can only do 1 switch at a time and is sold on Amazon for Rs. 1000/- while the Wipro Smart Switch Module can do 4 and are available for Rs. 1500 on Amazon.
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Yes, the cost difference is too big to ignore, especially when considering a big house with a lot of devices to be supported. Would be wonderful to know if a Smarteefi or Wipro module is compatible with HomeAssistant.

Also exploring the idea of HomeBridge - I believe it has plugins for smarteefi.
 
sato1986 said:
Have a look at app name 'SmartLife'. Brand name: Leccy & Genisis. Their touch switches and IR blasters are really nice. Good thing is that they make switches as per different lock types. Like goldmedal, anchor roma, legrand. You just have to talk n specify your requirement before making a purchase.
Click to expand...
They are just Chinese knock off's, just like any other non-major brands available here: e.g., see the below images, Valencia might be a different model but the first and the last image are exactly the same. one is from L&G's website and the other from AliExpress, Good luck getting any kind of service out of them after a couple of years.
1689135632551.png

Pat said:
Would be wonderful to know if a Smarteefi or Wipro module is compatible with HomeAssistant.
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Well, buy one and test it out. From what I've read the Wipro devices are nothing but TuyaSmart devices, and if that is the case for the smart switch module as well, you should be able to flash Tasmota on it and add it to HA quite easily.
 
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aasimenator said:
From what I've read the Wipro devices are nothing but TuyaSmart devices, and if that is the case for the smart switch module as well, you should be able to flash Tasmota on it and add it to HA quite easily.
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Pat said:
Do these devices work with HomeAssistant?
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Only problem is, newer Tuya devices do not support tasmota with their new chips. Their power monitoring smart socket is compatible (Wipro 16A Power Monitoring Plug (DS11160)). Check at https://templates.blakadder.com/in.html
(Also keep reading for an alternative way)

Pat said:
@napstersquest How did this project go? I am in the same situation currently as you and looking at alternatives that work with HomeAssistant. Would appreciate an update and guidance on how this has been working for you.
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It went well. However, the PCB I designed, I forgot to account for switch state. (It does not consider physical switch state, just OR-s or AND-s the physical and PCB switch). So Either I can keep physical switches ON and turn on/off using app, or keep them in parallel and turn on using any, turn off using exact same.
Could not find any open-source PCB design with these considerations, and my house purchase had stalled (SBI loan process). I finally got possession last week, and plan to move in 2 months

Meanwhile, many switch hubs have seen price cuts, and even though most new tuya devices don't support tasmota, they do support tuya local (basically instead of connecting to tuya cloud and control via SmartLife app, it will connect to local instance of tuya which runs inside homeassistant). Tuya local is not free forever though. So still in dilemma. Will update once I make a decision. https://github.com/rospogrigio/localtuya

Some Tinxy nodes are compatible with HASS. As they are based on ESP chips (not all, please check tinxy forums). I am not sure about Smarteefi.
 
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There is a Tuya Local Integration with HACS for HA, in development so should have support soon. but I believe its only for Tuya Wifi devices not Zigbee etc.
 
I spoke with the Tinxy customer support and also checked their forums. Looks like Tinxy switches do have beta support for HASS. I have ordered 1 Smarteefi switch (to try HomeBridge) and will be ordering 1 Tinxy switch (to try HASS). Based on my experiments, I will take a call on which switches to use for the entire setup.
 
Pat said:
I spoke with the Tinxy customer support and also checked their forums. Looks like Tinxy switches do have beta support for HASS. I have ordered 1 Smarteefi switch (to try HomeBridge) and will be ordering 1 Tinxy switch (to try HASS). Based on my experiments, I will take a call on which switches to use for the entire setup.
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Thanks, your findings will surely help all of us make better decisions.
the tinxy guy seems very helpful whemevrr I try to contact them, and seems to care about the customers (and not just force everyone to use their cloud service)
 
Only tried with their 4 node retrofit switch. I am exclusively setting up my house with retrofit switches (of different node sizes) so should be good for me!
 
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