TP-Link and Three way switches

[32259fl]

While this is not directly Sense related, I thought I would share it for those doing home automation. Most of us have three or four way switches in our home. When you buy a WiFi switch from TP-Link (HS-210) they sell them in pairs and tell you that you need to install one at each end of the circuit for them to work correctly. This is actually not true. I think they do this to either sell more switches or reduce tech support calls. If you determine which switch is the first in the circuit you can install your smart switch there and leave the dumb one at the other location and it will work perfectly. Same goes for four way applications. I know this because I have done it.

[sol]

I’m not planning to add such switches soon but thank you for the kindness of sharing this information. I hope that it’s helpful to others on this forum.

[32259fl]

TP-Link HS-210 3-way Wifi Switches

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These are great switches, work on a WiFi app and work with Amazon Alexa and Google assistant.B&H Photo is offering a two pack for only $44.99 after applying an instant 25%-off coupon and there is no shipping charge and no tax ouside NY. The link is below:

The only problem, is sometimes the link does not apply the coupon at the payment stage, if that happens just call them to place the order.

TP-Link says you need two in a 3-way circuit but that is not true if you install one in the first switch position on your circuit. I have several of these installed and highly recommend them.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1382083-REG/tp_link_hs210_kit_smart_wi_fi_light_switch.html/m/Y

[wiseman13]

@32259fl

says you need two in a 3-way circuit but that is not true if you install one in the first switch position on your circuit. I have several of these installed and highly recomme

Will Sense start to use information from these switches and other outlets to identify devices even if they do not provide power details?

[kevin1]

Probably not, at least in the medium term. I say that because on-off data doesn’t slot very well into the current Sense UI, unless it is processed into power data, the way it works in the Hue integration or the user-developed SenseLink for HomeAssistant hub.

Emulated Kasa integration Brings SenseLink to HomeAssistant

In Home Assistant 0.115 (beta version released today, final coming in 10 days) there is a new integration called “emulated_kasa” that can be used to expose devices to Sense using the SenseLink library. Some smart switches or lights will already report power usage to HomeAssistant, well now you can have HA report those to Sense to show undetected devices. It’s also possible if you have a simple device with a consistent power usage to specify that. Docs are here: Emulated Kasa - Home Assistant

[drjb]

I looked at those a while back and found them a bit pricey. Now, it seems the price has dropped substantially and that makes them a viable candidate. I opted to use those from Feit. They are normally $30 for a pack of 2, and were on sale for $20 few days back at Costco. They only come with the white faceplate and some people were able to flash with Tasmota and control them with local HomeAssistant/Openhab.

The one ‘warning’ however is, from my experience, is whenever amazon and other retailers offer such big discounts, it’s an indication that the item is about to be obsoleted and a new model will popup soon.

My intention is not to hijack this thread and/or move the discussion, but I thought it’s worthwhile sharing other options. Plus, the Feit switches can be used in single/3-way/4-way applications, but there are some restrictions for 4-ways. There is a ‘long’ discussion in openhab.org about such switches, for those curious.