homeassistant

I think as far as Zigbee support for a three way dimmer, you’re looking at the best option. I will also note that the dimmer on the Inovelli is amazing. It’s capable of setting my can light LEDs at a dimness setting I didn’t know was possible after using some standard Home Depot dumb dimmer switch.

Pricey, but worth it IMO.

What about just buying Matter Bulbs? Or supported WiFi Bulbs? I have 4 which work nicely! Aidot brand so it's not known brand but it was good priced. I know you said they were three way switches so that may matter if you are wanting to utilize the 3 way dimmer, but with HA, it should be easy to do!

This would also be depending on which lights you want to control, as some may not be controllable such as maybe the bathroom lights. As an apartment dweller who rents, I put mostly smart lights every where I could in my home so I can control which ones come on or off on a schedule. Change colors as well to help set the mood with my floor lamps etc..

Buy the innovelli switches.

I picked up a bunch of them for my home and it's been great.

You'll pay for them up front but at least you won't be replacing them in 6-12 months like some other vendors.

Edit to add: I'll note, the ones I have are zwave. If you want, they also have ones with motion sensors built in (they look the same). They're a bit more costly, but they can be useful for automations as they're basically motion/presence sensors built into the switch instead of requiring a second device to do it. It would be useful on hallways where the switch is in a good spot to pick up people in the hallway...

IDK. Use your imagination. With innovelli, the blue series is ZigBee, Red series is zwave. There's also a white series which is kind of neither, and both.

Good luck.

In case you don't feel like doing electrical work on some of them or find that the price of some of the options are too much, I wanted to suggest the ThirdReality Zigbee smart switch. They also sell them in four packs so you can save money. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0CRB18DHG?psc=1

Where it fits with your requirements:

• You can press it like a regular light switch (button-style) any time if you want to use it like a regular light switch
• Goes over an existing light switch. So, you don't need to deal with electrical stuff.
• • Can take them off the existing switch and flip the actual light switch manually if the whole smart switch fails
• • • It does take mild effort to snap the device off the wall, but you don't need a screwdriver, just your hands and determination
• Better price than what you linked, and sold in multi-packs for cost savings since it sounds like you want to buy a lot of switches

Where it may not fit:

• Maybe your wife will not think this looks like a light switch? Maybe show her one online first, or only buy one to show her.
• The aesthetics can look kind of weird depending on the existing light switch plates
• • Could make the aesthetics nicer by changing out the light switch plates to match the smart switch, which could be reasonably cheap
• Make sure it will fit all of your light switches. If you have non-standard sizes because the prior homeowners were free spirits, the device may not fit. They do have a kit to help with a small range of sizes.
• • I bought one first and tested it/measured it with all the light switches to make sure it fit first

Some info you did not ask for that may also be helpful to you/others:

ThirdReality suggests buying a hub with them but if you have a USB zigbee dongle you don't need it. Like this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0D737SJ5G?psc=1

I found the connection was a little inconsistent behind walls at first, but after adding a sufficiently thick USB extension cable to help lessen connection issues from interference they have worked really well. For longer distances/through lots of walls you may also want to have Zigbee smart plugs here and there/other Zigbee devices that plug into outlets that can repeat the signal and strengthen your connection.

This was not the thread I thought I was signing up for.

I haven't heard of any vibrators that connect to HA but I'm sure you could DIY one

I'm watching for these new Matter switches from GE that haven't been released yet.

https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/7/24338143/ge-cync-smart-switches-dimmers-matter-proseo-smart-shades-ces-2025-price-availability

I have tried every kind of switch, so trust me on this: go with z-wave.

• for 3-way replacements, get these. You may have to rewire the dumb second switch, but you won't have to replace it, because this switch works with dumb second switched. If you want to update the dumb switch, these are awesome simply because of how easy they are to install.
• This switch is fantastic for being able to pack a ton of functionality into a single switch, controlling non-switch-wired devices like smart lightbulbs, fireplaces, garage doors, and so on. There are a couple of HA templates that make programming easier. Not only are there a lot of buttons, but each can be programmed to respond to single, double, or triple clicks, or long-presses. You'll never use all of the functions.
• I got one of these as a controller and have not had any problems with it. It works well with zwave2js. I did try once to connect it to find ZigBee devices a previous owner left laying around, and never got them to work, but as I understand it Zigbees a big more flakey. I assume with enough diligence it'd be fine.

I really really like those Eva Logik switches. The fact that they work in 3-way configuration with existing switches makes things so much easier - and cheaper.

Look into the Aqara H1 suite of wall switches. They're fantastic!

if you already have smart lights:

Tuya have zigbee compatible 4way switches for like 8 bucks on AliExpress. The TS0044.

This is a great blueprint for it which makes programming the functions on a script a lot easier https://github.com/zpriddy/Home-Assistant/blob/d7940c3aba7e96aae8da53864022b37e09923ef7/ts0044_zigbee_remote.yaml

Since the blueprint is for that specific button I'd recommend getting that one. But they also have 3 way switches https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005178438396.html?productId=1005005178438396

I have a 3 ZigBee sonoff switches: https://www.zigbee2mqtt.io/devices/ZBMINIL2.html#sonoff-zbminil2

They are nice and don't require a neutral wire, you can't use these on 3 way switches but they are very nice and small. You then keep the aesthetic of whatever switch you use, paddle or flip switch.

The one thing I've noticed is that if you flip the switch on and off really quick about 3 times it disconnects from the mqtt server and needs to be repaired.

You could also go with a zwave or ZigBee inovelli switch which are nice but very expensive. They are very reliable and I have no complaints with the one zwave switch I have from them.

Not the most elegant solution but have you looked at Shelly devices? They are smart relays that connect to your switches in the wall. They connect via Wi-Fi, cloud optional. Newer ones are supposed to support things like Threads and Matter. What I love about them is that you can use any switch you want.

My house doesn't have a neutral wire any where. Any recommendations for my non-code-compliant self?

Zoos is good. I have a bunch of them.

Look into the GE Enbrigjten series of Z-wave dimmer switches & 3-poles. They're about half the price as what you linked, and use a more modern protocol stack. You'll need a Z-wave hub, but you can get a USB dongle for about the cost of one of the switches, and it will probably Al's include ZigBee on board as well.

GE makes dimmable 2-pole and 3-pole switches. The good thing about their 3-pole switches is you only need one smart switch for the branch, and can use companion switches to control the main smart switch over the traveler wire.

As always, pay attention to ALL smart switch literature and make sire you have a compatible load. Many switches require a neutral wire, and/or aren't compatible with halogen fixtures. The product literature should make it pretty clear.

I also use Minoston switches, which I believe are another brand of the GE switches.

I don't know if this is exact enough, but I use IKEA switches and IKEA or other ZigBee bulbs.

The switches looks like a different brand of paddle switches. They work like "dumb" paddle switches as a starting point, and then you build smartness on top of that.

If you do it right, they also work when internet is down and your server is crashed. Actually this is how they work out of the box. (I think the bridge must be powered on, but if you don't have power...)

Caseta switches can handle 3-pole switches in exactly the way you’ve described. You could even set them up with dimmers, pico remotes (and eliminate one of the switches). If you get the wireless bridge (now known as Smart Hub) you might be able to tie it into your HA depending on your ecosystem.

Just to play devil's advocate, why do you want to automate your lighting? I'd consider myself an advanced HA user (been using it since 2019 and have coded several custom integrations and built custom hardware) and never bothered with automating my home lighting. I'm always walking past the light switch as I enter or exit a room anyway, so it's not a big inconvenience.

The real wins I've gotten from HA are smarter home security (door locks/sensors/cameras etc), climate control, energy management, garden irrigation, and remote control of "dumb" devices like my garage door and motorised front gate.

Edit: thanks for the insights all! Seems having kids and older houses are common reasons for automating lighting.