I’ve been diving into the world of smart lighting lately, and I wanted to share my experience with setting up a Tasmota-enabled smart switch. For those who might not be familiar, Tasmota is an open-source firmware that can turn a wide range of devices into smart home gadgets, and it’s been a game-changer for me.
The Setup
I started with a basic 3-way light switch setup, which I knew could be a bit tricky. I decided to use one smart switch running Tasmota and leave the other as a dumb switch. The goal was to control the lights remotely while still maintaining the ability to flip the dumb switch physically. Initially, things worked mechanically, but the remote control was a bit of a headache.
The Challenge
The issue arose with how the Tasmota switch handles its relays. Since it uses two relays to complete the circuit, controlling it through Home Assistant (HA) or voice assistants wasn’t straightforward. When the dumb switch was on, it flipped the state of the relay I was using for remote control, causing confusion in HA. This meant that HA would see the lights as on when they were physically off, and vice versa.
The Solution
After some research and trial and error, I found a workaround using a virtual switch in HA. The virtual switch acts as an intermediary, sending commands to Tasmota regardless of the relay positions. To handle the state discrepancies when the dumb switch was used, I set up a few rules:
- Monitor Relay Positions: I created a rule to watch for changes in the relay positions and adjust the virtual switch accordingly.
- Delay Mechanism: Added a 1-second delay to prevent the virtual switch from immediately reacting to relay changes, which could cause unintended toggles.
- Virtual Switch Dashboard: Only the virtual switch appears on my dashboard, ensuring a seamless remote control experience.
This setup has been running smoothly for over 12 hours now, and I can confidently say it’s a reliable solution. The virtual switch integration with voice assistants has been a huge plus, making daily use incredibly convenient.
Additional Notes
One thing I found particularly helpful was the use of the Tasmota Web UI to manage the relays. It provided a clear view of both relays and made troubleshooting much easier. For anyone looking to achieve a similar setup, I highly recommend exploring the virtual switch option and setting up rules to handle state changes.
If anyone has further insights or alternative solutions, I’d love to hear them! Happy tinkering!