Hi everyone, I wanted to share my recent experience installing a large number of Shelly Gen4 devices in my home. I’ve been absolutely thrilled with the performance and reliability of these devices, and thought I’d pass on some lessons learned in case anyone else is planning a similar setup.
The Setup
I recently purchased a 4-story house and decided to take the opportunity to fully automate it. My plan was to install Shelly 1 and 1PM units on all electrical outlets and power outlets, respectively, along with Shelly 2 or 2PM units for blind switches. I also planned to add Shelly Pro 3EM energy meters in each electrical board and Shelly BLU Motion sensors throughout the house. In total, I’m looking at around 250 devices!
WiFi Infrastructure
One of my biggest concerns was ensuring stable connectivity for all these devices. I decided to go with a trio of high-quality access points, one on each floor. My top picks were the TP-Link Deco BE25 and Ubiquiti U7 Pro, both of which reportedly support up to 150 and 300 clients per AP, respectively. I’m curious to hear if anyone has real-world experience with these numbers.
Device Placement
I’m experimenting with placing devices on both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequencies. My initial thought is to position devices closer to the AP on 5 GHz for faster speeds, while using 2.4 GHz for those further away to ensure more reliable connections. I’d love to hear if anyone has a different approach or has found one frequency to be more effective than the other.
Power Management
Another consideration was whether to use PM models across the board or rely on the Pro 3EM units for energy monitoring. I’ve decided to use PM models on outlets that power high-energy devices like kitchen appliances, while using non-PM units elsewhere. This seems to strike a good balance between monitoring granularity and cost efficiency.
Performance So Far
Early results have been promising. The Shelly devices are performing consistently well, and the integration with my existing smart home ecosystem has been seamless. The only minor hiccup I’ve encountered is occasional connectivity blips during peak usage times, but these have been rare and easily resolved with a quick restart.
Tips for Others
If you’re planning a large-scale installation, my advice would be:
- Plan your AP placement carefully: Coverage is key, especially in multi-story homes.
- Start small: Test your chosen AP and device configuration with a smaller setup before scaling up.
- Monitor performance: Use tools like the Shelly app or third-party monitoring solutions to keep an eye on device health and connectivity.
I’d love to hear from anyone who has experience with large-scale Shelly installations or has tips for optimizing performance. Drop a comment below and let’s share some knowledge!
Cheers,
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