The problem of smart switches (and my attempts to solve it)

For a few years now, I have equipped my apartment with Hue bulbs and smart lamps, with centralized management by HomeKit. But I have a problem: the switches.

First of all, I do not want a solution that can only be used by voice or with a smartphone. For a fluid use, you need (in my opinion) physical switches. For the moment, I mainly use the Hue Dim Switch (the remote controls provided with a lot of bulbs and kits) and a Tap on a table. It's functional in the absolute, usable with HomeKit natively, but physically, I find it a little borderline. The physical feedback on the dimmers is average, as is the quality of manufacture of the buttons. And above all, there is an embarrassing problem: it doesn't really replace a switch.

Originally, I was moving to another solution, replacing the switches in place with connected versions. There are a lot of them directly compatible with HomeKit, but two problems arise quickly. The first is that smart switches often require three wires to operate, and recesses for conventional switches do not necessarily contain the neutral. This is a priori the reason why Eve does not sell her catch in France, for example. It can be retrieved from a socket or from the lamp itself, but it is not very practical. The second problem, which occurs, for example, with Legrand's solution, is more insidious. Wired switches that look like real switches.... work like real switches.

It sounds silly when you say it like that, but it's a problem. At home, I locked a switch, and taped the others. Because the switches physically cut the power - logical - and the Hue bulbs lose the connection. Legrand's smart switches are perfect for conventional bulbs: they allow you to control a bulb that is not connected. But with a light bulb that needs its energy source all the time (the Hue), it blocks. Because once the lamp is turned off, it cannot be turned on again by voice or with a smartphone. You have to go through the physical switch and adjust the bulbs to get the status they had before the power cut.

For the moment, my solution is a little intermediate and above all quite expensive. It goes through the Friends of Hue switches. Philips highlights some of them on its website, but there are a few others, including a clever system that combines a power socket and a switch. I tried the Vimar, which are on Amazon in France. I go through Amazon for a good reason: it's often a little cheaper, and the links I make here and on Twitter bring me enough to buy some material for the tests.

Friends of Hue switches are all quite similar: they offer switches that look like what you would find on a wall in a dwelling (not a remote control). They operate wirelessly and without batteries with EnOcean technology: the pressure on the switch, which must therefore be quite clear, provides the energy for the link. It's equivalent to the Philips Tap. Good news, it works with HomeKit, but you need a Philips Hue v2 bridge (the square). The Vimar switch (sold for about 70, it's expensive) has four positions and is fairly easy to attach. Inside the box is the module itself, as well as two supports, a square and a rectangular. Removable caches can be replaced by less classic tricks than white. Point to take into account, the rectangular support has an objectionable defect for some: the cover does not touch the wall. Once fixed on a wall, there is a small gap between the wall and the upper part of the switch, which is not present on the square model.

Installation in the application is simple: just follow the instructions, do not configure the switch in the application and go through HomeKit. During installation, it was recognized directly on the iPhone, but the switch did not record the commands. Once the Hue application was closed, the switch was reinstalled and HomeKit started on another device, it worked. The pressure on the buttons must be quite clear, with an audible click, but it is very fast. Much more, for example, than with Philips switches or (worse) an Eve Button. HomeKit simply offers four positions to manage.

This is the solution that I like most visually, but it keeps the flaw of quite a few others: if you want to put it in place of a switch already on the wall, you have to block it so that the Hue lamps remain permanently powered. And it's mostly pretty expensive, so. All Friends of Hue are worth at least 60 to 70, some much more.

The last solution, which I haven't tested, is Xiaomi Aqara smart wireless switch. The wireless version looks like conventional switches, operate wirelessly (but with a battery), and is HomeKit compatible. It is not too expensive (count 15 to 20 dollars) but it requires the installation of an additional gateway.

For the moment, as I am moving soon, I don't know yet what I will use. But I think we'll talk about it later.