Better Looking Switches

[joewilly1]

I'm doing a remodel and want to upgrade the look. Right now I use Z-Wave and UPB. Are there any nicer looking options available other than the standard plastic toggle with plastic plates? The Brilliant switches are nice looking but are wifi.

[fresnoboy]

It's expensive but works great - Lutron.

[JPElectron]

I have a few of these - pay attention to what the brilliant switch works with ... (P.S. not HomeSeer)

- Brilliant won't let you run your own HTML/browser on the screen, even though the keyboard popup on the device clearly looks like it's running Android
- Offers no way to control the light switch(s) load via HTTP/webhook/telnet/command-line, etc.
- There is a hidden option to enable SSH on the switch, but as of yet all I can do is connect to it with Putty and list some files, I am not a Linux genius, nor do I have enough time to redevelop their product into something useful for them.
- Integrated camera only works to see other Brilliant switches camera's or Ring *yuck* devices, and isn't available as a HTTP/MJPG/MP4 stream, nor can you add other HTTP/MJPG/MP4 streams from 3rd party IP cams on your network.
- Information on the company is sparse at best, suspect another California dot-bom looking to get acquired instead of building a real business... minimal support outside of selling their expensive switch, no 3rd party integrations/custom code/or hacking - which at the price of their switches you'd think they'd be doing anything they can to sell more of them.
- Switch seems to go full tits-up if it looses WiFi and/or Internet Access, annoying pops-up reads something to the effect of "Your switch has become a paperweight, but you can still control locally connected loads after pressing this button below to acknowledge how corporate America has deemed everything must be tied to a cloud service to work"
- If the switch reboots due to a power failure or you turning off the wrong breaker, upon startup if it can't find it's mothership in "the cloud" it's a paperweight until it can.

Still, I have *forced* integrations with Brilliant to work this way...

Version 1
- Name the Wemo Mini Plug something clever like "Close Garage Door"
- Brilliant discovers Wemo Mini Plug on the WiFi
- Make a Scene on the Brilliant that turns Wemo Mini Plug OFF
- HomeSeer detects Wemo Mini Plug going Off which triggers your Garage Door (via whatever existing HomeSeer logic you have to do so) after which HomeSeer immediately turns Wemo Mini Plug back On so it's ready for the next time you want to press that option on the Brilliant which turns if Off

Version 2
- Name the Wemo Mini Plug something clever like "Close Garage Door"
- Brilliant discovers Wemo Mini Plug on the WiFi
- Make a Scene on the Brilliant that turns Wemo Mini Plug ON
- Plug a 5v wall-wort transformer into Wemo Mini Plug
- Connect the 5v relay coil to the transformer, connect the relay contact closure in parallel with your garage door open/close button
- HomeSeer detects Wemo Mini Plug going On and then immediately turns Wemo Mini Plug back Off so it's ready for the next time you want to press that option on the Brilliant
- You've essentially made a very expensive momentary relay this way by cycling the Wemo Mini Plug back Off after it goes On

...I am dishearten that I had to waste a Wemo Mini Plug on this.
...I am dishearten that a $300+ light switch with a screen requires Internet Access.
...I am dishearten that a $300+ light switch with a screen has chosen a business model where they will only integrate with other Internet dependent IoT crapola made by "heads in the clouds" or is it asses? California companies where everyone has 200Mbps reliable Internet access and gets catered lunch at "work"


Also been looking at this:
https://www.tindie.com/products/luma...ide-assembled/
https://github.com/aderusha/HASwitchPlate
...but no easy HomeSeer integration unless I want to go down the MQTT rabbit hole and start writing someone else's code for them. Why this guy could not have made a touch menu that would just execute HTTP commands (to HomeSeer, or whatever) is beyond me. Writing a MQTT based thing is just all the rage I guess.


I have been toying with the idea of making a 3.5" touch screen + RasPi Zero that fits in the space of a single gang switch. Not sure I have enough customer demand for it, and questions remain the importance of making it A) 120V powered, WiFi, with option to control vs. dim a 120V load or B) POE powered, hard-wired Ethernet instead of WiFi and no local load control. Would buy option A in a heartbeat if someone made it, would favor making option B myself due to less liability and regulatory compliance steps needed than a 120V device.