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Funny you use light switches as an example because I have indeed spent some hours looking at light switch options. Decided not to blow a bunch of money on smart

Funny you use light switches as an example because I have indeed spent some hours looking at light switch options. Decided not to blow a bunch of money on smarthome stuff (yet…), but for anyone who likes to tinker with that kind of thing the Inovelli switches look pretty fun. Time well spent? Who knows. But I know more about smart light switches than I used to!

jrockway 3y ago
Something else I think about a lot. I have Lutron Caseta but would probably choose something Z-wave if I were starting from scratch today. Proprietary stuff is generally not as flexible as the more open-ecosystem stuff, but Caseta works perfectly with Home Assistant. The worst part of smart lights is how I've forgotten the tactile sensation when flipping a light switch. Sometimes I see regular light switches outside of my house and play with them, which probably makes me look like a psychopath with a mental age of 6. But so clicky!
- wlesieutre 3y ago
  Caseta is definitely the non-tinkerer's premium option, I have family members who have used it for years with no complaints. I don't like their weird button pads, but more recently they also come in a normal looking rocker version. Don't know how tactile it feels but I would bet nicer than the original Caseta controls. https://www.casetawireless.com/us/en/product/diva-smart-dimmer/homeowner https://www.casetawireless.com/us/en/product/diva-smart-dimm... Inovelli makes a Z-wave version (red series) as well as a Zigbee (blue series) which is supposed to support Thread/Matter eventually. Among other things, they can operate either as a switch to turn off a circuit, or in "smart bulb mode" where the circuit stays powered and on/off commands are sent to the bulb.
  - jrockway 3y ago
    Yeah, I have the rocker switches ("Diva") and they are not particularly tactile. To me the worst feature is that they aren't instant off when you press the off side of the rocker; there is like a 500ms ramp down time. This has no negative effect on my life, of course, but it does bug me. I bought this system before I knew that anything hacker-friendly even existed, so I'm always slightly disappointed, but at the same time... they work really well and I wouldn't replace them at this time. Also, no neutral wire required, which is quite convenient for my older electrical system. (My apartment was apparently completely remodeled in 2017. The electrical system is original to the 1950s building, though. Weird stuff. I'm very jealous of the smarthome YouTubers in their brand-new house with 200A electrical service and those blue plastic wall boxes.)

jrockway 3y ago

Something else I think about a lot. I have Lutron Caseta but would probably choose something Z-wave if I were starting from scratch today. Proprietary stuff is generally not as flexible as the more open-ecosystem stuff, but Caseta works perfectly with Home Assistant. The worst part of smart lights is how I've forgotten the tactile sensation when flipping a light switch. Sometimes I see regular light switches outside of my house and play with them, which probably makes me look like a psychopath with a mental age of 6. But so clicky!

wlesieutre 3y ago
Caseta is definitely the non-tinkerer's premium option, I have family members who have used it for years with no complaints. I don't like their weird button pads, but more recently they also come in a normal looking rocker version. Don't know how tactile it feels but I would bet nicer than the original Caseta controls. https://www.casetawireless.com/us/en/product/diva-smart-dimmer/homeowner https://www.casetawireless.com/us/en/product/diva-smart-dimm... Inovelli makes a Z-wave version (red series) as well as a Zigbee (blue series) which is supposed to support Thread/Matter eventually. Among other things, they can operate either as a switch to turn off a circuit, or in "smart bulb mode" where the circuit stays powered and on/off commands are sent to the bulb.
- jrockway 3y ago
  Yeah, I have the rocker switches ("Diva") and they are not particularly tactile. To me the worst feature is that they aren't instant off when you press the off side of the rocker; there is like a 500ms ramp down time. This has no negative effect on my life, of course, but it does bug me. I bought this system before I knew that anything hacker-friendly even existed, so I'm always slightly disappointed, but at the same time... they work really well and I wouldn't replace them at this time. Also, no neutral wire required, which is quite convenient for my older electrical system. (My apartment was apparently completely remodeled in 2017. The electrical system is original to the 1950s building, though. Weird stuff. I'm very jealous of the smarthome YouTubers in their brand-new house with 200A electrical service and those blue plastic wall boxes.)