Light switches that can be paired together wirelessly

[risquare]

I have 3 simple light switches now each controlling a single light fixture. Wiring them together is not possible. Looking for new light switches that "talk" to each other and when I flip one of them the other two act the same way. This is in a house that is not under HS3 control. So looking for a stand alone solution.

[simplextech]

I have 3 simple light switches now each controlling a single light fixture. Wiring them together is not possible. Looking for new light switches that "talk" to each other and when I flip one of them the other two act the same way. This is in a house that is not under HS3 control. So looking for a stand alone solution.

Standalone would be Insteon switches.

[Black Cat]

Stand Alone can be WiFi, as long as you have a data connection you can group and associate them.
If you don;t have data then you can look at RF433 solutions.

[Uncle Michael]

Standalone would be Insteon switches.

Or UPB.

While linking is easy to do with a capable system, the infrastructure to implement such a system will require some effort and will not be inexpensive.

[drhtmal]

WS-200 using group 2 association should do this. The whole reason for adding the group 2 association was so the dimmers and switches in multi-way configurations, (i.e. 3-way,4-way, etc) would still work if the HS3 controller was down. You would probably need a controller to set this up. As mentioned it would be a little costly.

[simplextech]

You buy 3 insteon switches and configure the links local. No controller necessary. I think you can do the exact same with UPB but not sure as I've never messed with UPB.

[risquare]

Thanks to all who responded. I'd be more interested to do the trick with WiFi switches if possible. Yes, there is WiFi network in the house.

[Uncle Michael]

Using UPB might be easier than I expected. Take a look at PCS Lighting's SimpleWorx switches. It looks like you can do it with just three switches (~$50-60 each). No other hardware required. . . .As long as the task doesn't "evolve" into a full automation project.
http://www.pcslighting.com/simplewor...echnical-specs
https://www.newegg.com/p/09H-00PU-00034

[risquare]

Thanks Uncle Michael As I said WiFi would be my first choice. I've abandoned power line control technology aka X10 altogether about 10 years ago. It feels odd going back to it.

[Uncle Michael]

I think characterizing UPB as "going back" is misleading. It's like saying going to WiFi is "going back" to using radio. Going from X10 to UPB is more like going from short-wave to LTE.

UPB has it's strengths and weaknesses, but in my experience it's more reliable than WiFi. Note, I'm not in a position to know how SimpleWorx will perform in your situation, and it's not the full-featured UPB system I'm accustomed to and I have no personal experience with it, but it's pretty likely to be a reliable way to do what you propose. (I do similar linking with UPB routinely.)

[Pete]

In a perfect world of automation switches it has been the low voltage "wire" interconnectivity that was used for "sure bet" automation. Next starting in the 1970's was the use of powerline technology using the electrical wires in your home or any home as a mechanism of transport. UPB tweaked powerline technology to becoming very functional. I am at 100% these days using my UPB switches. Here too have always linked my UPB switches and they always have functioned fine with or without software / hardware controllers.

The UPB wall switches that are in place will most likely outlast me.

In the 2000's we started to see propietary wireless automation technologies like Zigbee and ZWave. (and WiFi). And a hybrid wireless / powerline technology - Insteon.

I am liking the new WiFi switches mostly because they use a common language (MQTT) today. That and they now little computers with their own CPU / memory and run embedded tiny footprint software. This is very different then ZWave or Zigbee. These features allow for use independant of a controller interface. IE: I configured my under / over the Kitchen cabinet LED lights to follow a scheduled that is part of the OS of said device and just a menu item in the web interface. I never have initially liked or depended on WiFi use for automation. I like too that the newer WAP's can have multiple SSIDs (say one dedicated to automated switches) and even separate VLANs.

[upstatemike]

My takeaway from this discussion is:

1 Insteon looks like the simplest way to accomplish this and truly has no reliance on other hardware.

2 UPB is more reliable than Insteon and almost as simple to set up. I'm pretty sure you can buy sets of 2 or three switches already paired but they are truly stand-alone in that they cannot be used in a larger UPB installation or managed with an automation system. Conventional UPB switches can be automated but you will need software and a hardware interface to get them programmed.

3 WS-200 Z-Wave switches will be reliable if you have no RF issues but they definitely depend on using a central controller for setup. After setup there is no further dependency on anything else being online.

4 Wi-Fi via MQTT might work but I don't know if you can say the setup is simple and it has a dependency on an always-on central controller (your router). When things go bad on your network for reasons not related to Home Automation its nice to still be able to control the lights while you sort it all out.

This is how I would rank them based on what has been said so far.

[Pete]

Updated my above post to include Insteon.

I was an early adoptee of Insteon during the "salad" days of firmware tinkering replacing most of my X10 switches with Insteon switches.

[simplextech]

My takeaway from this discussion is:

1 Insteon looks like the simplest way to accomplish this and truly has no reliance on other hardware.

2 UPB is more reliable than Insteon and almost as simple to set up. I'm pretty sure you can buy sets of 2 or three switches already paired but they are truly stand-alone in that they cannot be used in a larger UPB installation or managed with an automation system. Conventional UPB switches can be automated but you will need software and a hardware interface to get them programmed.

3 WS-200 Z-Wave switches will be reliable if you have no RF issues but they definitely depend on using a central controller for setup. After setup there is no further dependency on anything else being online.

4 Wi-Fi via MQTT might work but I don't know if you can say the setup is simple and it has a dependency on an always-on central controller (your router). When things go bad on your network for reasons not related to Home Automation its nice to still be able to control the lights while you sort it all out.

This is how I would rank them based on what has been said so far.

I replaced all of my Z-Wave switches with Insteon and so far I've had no problems at all with the Insteon switches. The new hardware has been very reliable. I fried a Fanlinc with too many LiFX bulbs... who would have thought

Having the links in place where remotes just work and 3-way just works even when things are "down" is very nice to have.