Sonoff Alternatives??
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nRiTeCh
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Now, that this topic has came up, I got few queries wrt my future plans.
Will open a thread then but for now roughly putting up my rough plans and ideas and according to the current technological responses may plan my implementation for the future..
How much will be the cost involved for a 3bhk house. Just an estimation as this is something I'm planning for my house in next may be in the year 2025 or so. Will keep 20% inflationary cost for next two yrs.
How to go about it?
Will open a thread then but for now roughly putting up my rough plans and ideas and according to the current technological responses may plan my implementation for the future..
- I need to fully automate every bit of electrical and electronics of my house like every point (lights), buttons etc.
- During construction/renovation, do we need install a parallel cat5 cable along the power lines or in the same boards?
- Instead of wired, cant everything be wireless as anyways its going to connect to the main router and repeaters.
- I want to install sensor system in my house to control all lights based on user activity by detection method, by time of the day (dimming/turn-off etc.) Every room bulb or at least the main light in every room will be sensor-based controlled.
- Can every point be wireless connected to individual switch buttons?
- I want this to be easily configurable from pc/phone app etc. and alter changes on the go like sensor control, timers etc.
- Last and most importantly, can this home automation be done completely by a single person (me) without involving any brand or 3rd party installation person (I prefer to do it on my own and learn form my mistakes/lessons and configure, play and explore)
How much will be the cost involved for a 3bhk house. Just an estimation as this is something I'm planning for my house in next may be in the year 2025 or so. Will keep 20% inflationary cost for next two yrs.
How to go about it?
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@nRiTeCh
That is quite a big project, and it will require a lot of planning, so make sure you document everything and plan everything before you start.
, overkill for the layman, but my Wifi NEVER drops to 99% strength.
www.sonoff.in
I researched for 1 year and tested so many devices before settling on Sonoff Mini for my smart home, I only control about 1/2 of the switches in my house, I want to control more but due to space restrictions, I am unable to do so. But those that I can control they work perfectly each time both through phone/pc and through Voice commands.
That is quite a big project, and it will require a lot of planning, so make sure you document everything and plan everything before you start.
Smart Switches work over Wifi or Bluetooth etc. so no need to install Cat5 or any cables along with power, also not recommended to run both electrical & ethernet parallel in the same conduit.
Yes! Everything is wireless so ensure that you have good WiFi throughout the house, get a Mesh WiFi that can cover your entire house, in my 3 BHK flat I have 4 Mesh Access points, 1 each room
, overkill for the layman, but my Wifi NEVER drops to 99% strength. This will require a lot of motion sensors, these have a range so placement will be key as well, you will have to strategically place them in each area where you'd want to control the lights. while scenes or automation can be controlled by software. Also, I think this is not necessary, the only place where you'd want motion sensors, IMHO, would be in bathrooms, everywhere else you can program or control through software.
Yes, sort of, have a look at this, the don't require any wires and can be stuck using double tape to a wall, you can use it to control other sonoff products like the Mini R3 smart switch.
SONOFF SwitchMan R5 Scene Controller with Battery 6-Key Free-Wiring eWeLink-Remote Control Works SONOFF M5/MINIR3 Smart Home
【Scene Control】All SONOFF devices can be controlled by setting the smart scenes when the internet connection is available. 【eWeLink-Remote Control】Control the device which has the eWeLink-Remote gateway feature even offline, 90M remote control without Network. 【Multi Trigger Ways】Trigger the...
www.sonoff.in
This wont be easy, This will require lot of testing and configuration and head banging to do, there is no plug and play solution out there, but if you get it all right, there will be nothing like it.
I researched for 1 year and tested so many devices before settling on Sonoff Mini for my smart home, I only control about 1/2 of the switches in my house, I want to control more but due to space restrictions, I am unable to do so. But those that I can control they work perfectly each time both through phone/pc and through Voice commands.
Pat
Follower
You don't need CAT6 cables. Most, if not all, of these home automation devices work through WiFi.
Regarding triggers:
1. Motion sensor: I am planning to do this as well. Will be getting Sonoff Zigbee devices for this purpose.
2. Time of day: Again, most home automation devices support scheduling, so this should not be an issue.
nRiTeCh
Navigator
Yeah! hence asking now itself to be prepared for the future..(2 yrs)
This will be mostly for washrooms (but will be done for all rooms) esp. at night when instead of tapping a button, just open the door and the lights glows and it will observe the activity/idling period and will go dim before eventually turning off. Again, when someone exists the toilet or any room and there's zero activity for lets say 2 mins or so, the lights go dim (based on time of the day as usually during daytime lights will stay off unless set any climatic sensor to sense room dullness (this again will go way too complex and is my last choice only when everything gets set pefect)
Basically, I'm looking for such condition/activity based apps/configuration stuff with 1 or 2 such sensors doing the job (not expecting 100% accuracy but nearabout 85%)
Same will try for fans.
I saw a YT video where on Sonoff swicth is tapped isnide a normal switch with L-in N-in and L-o N-o configs. Looks simple and straightaway. But have to go one point at a time where one can pair it as the installtion goes and label that point in the app for ease of identity.Yes, sort of, have a look at this, the don't require any wires and can be stuck using double tape to a wall, you can use it to control other sonoff products like the Mini R3 smart switch.
SONOFF SwitchMan R5 Scene Controller with Battery 6-Key Free-Wiring eWeLink-Remote Control Works SONOFF M5/MINIR3 Smart Home
【Scene Control】All SONOFF devices can be controlled by setting the smart scenes when the internet connection is available. 【eWeLink-Remote Control】Control the device which has the eWeLink-Remote gateway feature even offline, 90M remote control without Network. 【Multi Trigger Ways】Trigger the...
But wait, wheres earthing btw? So no earthing thing has to be connected to the wireless switch it seems as the physical switch takes care of that.
Ya, hence started off now to know the technology as by the time I actually plan to implement I should be ready with all the required KB.
Cool! Slowly try to automate every point..
In all I'm too much excited to automate my future home but dont know whats in store in next 2 yrs...what all's gonna popup in the market..
What if the physical switch burns at times of excess current? Does the SOnoff switch also burns/melts, blasts or how?
Can there's be a signal for such burns? ANy advanced swicth which can alert via app via any beeps/ringers just like we get for phone calls?
Just curious can we also track electricity consumption for every smart point?
Just doing my homeworks and gathering bits and pieces which is gonna count or pay at the execution time.
Cool! When you gonna start?
Yeah, for the bathroom the motion sensors would work great, but for other rooms not so much, let's say during afternoons when your parents or kids or guests want to rest in their respective rooms, if they lie motionless for a few minutes the sensors will kick in and turn stuff off like fans or lights if they are on, so they will have to keep making movements, or you will have to fiddle with motion sensors, turning then on and off depending on what the person is doing in the room, so not as ideal as the bathrooms. So that is why motion sensors don't work elsewhere, for lobbies or passages and bathrooms etc. sure you can use them.
Yes, the Sonoff only takes Line & Neutral no Ground, it doesn't require one. normally a switch for light doesn't have a ground connection anyways only a Fan or 3-pin socket has Ground connections, and for those scenarios, the ground is handled by the socket itself and doesn't go through the Sonoff switch.
Also, the physical switch doesn't burn that easily at least for lights and fans connections unless poorly wired, for AC or Geyser they do, but not for regular lights, If you are using Sonoff's your physical switch will never melt as the current going through to you physical switch will not be the same as when it's directly wired. but there is the possibility of Sonoff being damaged or burnt in that scenario where there is excess current going through, at this point, there is no possible sensor or monitoring that is available to provide an alert of a failing device.
For Electric consumption monitoring, you'll have to use something else than the Sonoff Mini's as they don't have monitoring for power consumption, you can look at Wipro's smart switch modules that can provide power monitoring, I think. Shelly is another great product that does power monitoring in a small package, but they are not easily available in India, but you can import them from Dubai. I would suggest instead of single point monitoring of each device in the house, which would increase your cost by a lot, you can opt for Sonoff's Smart Power Arrays that go in your mains for the house and is capable of monitoring the power for each room, https://sonoff.tech/product/diy-smart-switches/spm-main-spm-4relay/ usually each room should have 3 of these main, 1 for main lights, 1 for attached bathroom & geyser and 1 for AC. This will help with power monitoring, there are other solutions out there with respect to monitoring a single switch but none that are available at a sane price in India.
Pat
Follower
Already ordered Sonoff bridge, Wireless Switch (SNZB-01), Motion Sensor (SNZB-03) and Door Sensor (SNZB-04). Expecting delivery next week.
SkyWreak
Contributor
I have sonoff 4ch installed in my room for the smart switch duties its been working fine since 2018 , these were the most reliable smart switches i used.
I've modifies the sonoff switches with the modular bell switch and stripped the pcb out of the housing so that they fit inside the bord
I also installed homemate touch switches in jan 2023 but they are very unreliable just disconnect from wifi every now and then. If anyone knows solution to this please let me know.
I've modifies the sonoff switches with the modular bell switch and stripped the pcb out of the housing so that they fit inside the bord
I also installed homemate touch switches in jan 2023 but they are very unreliable just disconnect from wifi every now and then. If anyone knows solution to this please let me know.
email them with the qty needed they will give you some sort of discount based on how many items you need.
support@sonoff.in
Smartlife app is compatible with all Tuya smart devices (most ones on Amazon like Wipro, etc).
With sonoff, you can flash custom firmware to directly use with homassistant [https://www.home-assistant.io/getting-started].
Smart life uses chinese cloud as relay, so your Google Home/Alexa makes calls via chinese cloud (unless you set up local tuya instance - which is also free but you have to renew every year) so if internet is down, all your devices will become unavailable. With local cloud, you can control within your home without internet (local WiFi/LAN).
OK, so first advantage is no reliance on chinese servers and Tuya cloud! that's very good.
2nd part, once flashed with custom firmware do they work directly with homeassistant or again through homebridge?
3rd part, can we have the local cloud and connect from internet?
Thanks for the clarifying!
2nd part, once flashed with custom firmware do they work directly with homeassistant or again through homebridge?
3rd part, can we have the local cloud and connect from internet?
Thanks for the clarifying!
The way i have it, all my sonoff mini's are flashed with Tasmota and connected directly to Home Assistant, you don't need homebridge or Google Home for any connectivity between the HA and the sonoff's they function well together and switching devices or lights on and off is basically instant.
You can setup Cloudflared on HomeAssistant and have it accessible over the internet via its app on mobile. If you need HA to be accessible via Apple HomeKit or Google Home (or even Voice Assistant) then you need to do some extra steps and setup an free account in Google Cloud for API calls and what not. there was a great guide i followed when i set it up 3-4 years ago, haven't had to touch it even once since then.
am looking for some motion sensor-activated lights/controllers can anyone guide where I can find them? currently needed quantity is 5.
can get them imported from dubai or usa also.
can get them imported from dubai or usa also.
They can work directly with homeassistant. I personally haven't tried homebridge.
Yes you can. You can use TailScale for that (easy - limited to 3 users and 100 devices I think), or get static IP from your ISP and do some advanced config for port forwarding/reverse proxy.
MarioBros
Explorer
I dont know if this is the correct thread... found this 4 Gang Touch on Amazon which is Tasmota pre flashed and also supports matters... pricing is good and reviews are also good.
Will buy one this week and will report back about the quality of the switch... this is mainly for ones who are looking for smart switch Local control and also Home Assistant integration.
EZIE Wi-Fi Smart Home Automation Switch (TASMOTA | ESP32 | Opensource Driver | MATTER Experimental Support | Touch Switches with Adjustable backlit RGB) (4 Gang (White)) : Amazon.in: Home Improvement
Will buy one this week and will report back about the quality of the switch... this is mainly for ones who are looking for smart switch Local control and also Home Assistant integration.
EZIE Wi-Fi Smart Home Automation Switch (TASMOTA | ESP32 | Opensource Driver | MATTER Experimental Support | Touch Switches with Adjustable backlit RGB) (4 Gang (White)) : Amazon.in: Home Improvement
MarioBros
Explorer
there are lot of options now unlike before
there are multiple Tuya & Tasmota Touch switches on Amazon like the one in the link in my previous post
there is Sonoff MiniR2 which can be flashed with Tasmota
If you are looking for traditional switch, A youtuber built his own Tasmota based 4ch switch board project which he sells for 850rs,
4 Channel Wifi Smart Switch Module
- Tasmota pre-flashed
- Works directly on AC mains
- Supports Manual Wall Switches
- Easy Light or Temperature Sensor Connectivity.
- Easy Wifi Status LED Connectivity
- Onboard ESP12F Module
- Re-flashable using onboard Flash Headers
- Works with Home Assistant / Standalone
- Can handle upto 10A load per Channel