I have looked and looked and found many half-solutions, but what I would love is some kind of magic hardware that can be wired into a standard bulb lamp with socket switch/chain to make it smart without the built-in switch breaking the smartness.
By breaking smartness I mean shutting off power to the smart device or shutting off power to the bulb so it can’t be remotely turned on. The latter is how most smart plugs work. The former is how most smart bulbs work.
I want something like a wire-in bulb socket like the one pictured but with the switch wired to a zigbee relay like a sonoff zbmini L2 so it registers simply as a toggle.
There are some small modules similar to this like the aforementioned sonoff zbmini l2 and those zigbee/wifi socket adapters so maybe I could hack something together.
or do I just gotta do a Kickstarter so everyone can enjoy this product?
Why won’t smart bulbs and receivers work? Such as Philips hue
without the built in switch breaking the smartness
You can’t have a dumb switch magically become smart just because you added another piece. You either need a lamp that is for a switched outlet, or modify an existing switch to no break the circuit
which is what I’ll likely try to hack together. the question is: can a standard bulb socket with switch be made into two separate things?
I feel like this needs a Shelly dimmer module and some modification to the original chain or switch mechanism. I have never used it so not 100% on how it works, but with two switch inputs maybe the step settings on the dumb lamp could be wired to 3 (both off, sw1 on, or sw2 on) or 4 (both off, both on, sw1 or sw2) distinct states and then program that to control set brightness levels.
I have spent some shower brain time thinking about this very idea. It may be useful to look at 3 way switch bulb sockets to see what else can be squeezed into the standard form factor. I agree with the goal of creating a “dumb human compatible smart lamp”.
Does your smart scenario have schedules and motion sensors?
You can use scheduling to clean up after your less attentive humans. Also, any LED replacement will mitigate bills to a degree.
You could wire in some kind of motion sensor or drop one near by to cause magic for the average humans in the place.
Since you’re a little stuck, keep in mind (my “professional” HVAC lessons learned advice here) that any elegant solution probably was overthought to hell and back or found by luck or even lucky trial and error.
I have actually built something like this.
I modeled a base (and 3D printed in ASA) that holds a Fibaro FGD-212 dimmer, and have that exact bulb fitting (but black) screwed into the base.
There’s a button on the front that is connected to S1 of the dimmer to be able to turn the light on from the base.
I did this YEARS ago so I would probably do it differently now, but maybe it gives you some inspiration.
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I smell what you’re cooking. did the switch on the socket do anything or was it just for show?
It could still be used to turn the light off and on, but it’s an actual switch cutting power to the light and isn’t operated by something smart
My dumb humans may tolerate something like this if I wire the socket to “always on”. I can just stick it to the side of the lamp/socket where it’s intuitive to press instead of the default lamp’s control.
I would use a dimmable smart bulb and leave the lamp on high and dim the bulb via Alexa/Siri/Google Home. If dimming isn’t essential, a smart plug would serve the same purpose.
I’m guessing using smart lights like Hue isn’t a solution you are looking for?
Im following! I have just replaced my wall switches to smart dimmers where both the wall switches work and the app too. I have yet to find a solution for cable switches for table and floor lights. Seems impossible to find something thats hue compatible.
I also don’t want to be reliant on my ZigBee network that might fail due to the bridge failing. It’s not like a lot of people say solved by explaining it to humans.
