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Recommendations for Zigbee Bulbs
(lemmy.world)
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this post was submitted on 28 Apr 2025
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I just want to kindly share experience: You might want to consider not making the bulbs smart but rather the wall switches. So you can still use the switch and also Automate it. If you should consider this, there are sonoff zigbee switches, but my experience with zigbee is not the best to be honest. I would rather recomment shelly wifi switches (IMO scaling and maintaining a smarthome wifi is much less pain and more reliable than zigbee.
I agree in principle but went with bulbs anyway because I have a lot three and four way switches and I don't get how to wire them.
I second the smart switch strategy, especially when using a fixture with several bulbs.
As for ZigBee however, I've been using Home Assistant Yellow with its built-in ZigBee radio and ZHA, and it's been flawless. Any issues I've have been a matter of reinforcing the network by adding a few smart plugs. I got over 60 devices hooked to it at the moment. Z-Wave has been just as problem-free. The really nice thing about having a Z-something network is the ability to use low power devices like battery powered sensors and switches/controls. Want a smart doorbell that plays a chime on all speakers and sends you a phone notification? Stick any ZigBee button to the outside of your door and program the automation. Its battery lasts two years.
Altough you are right about this and I do also still have a zigbee network for these purposes, I did observe range, repeater, and stability issues. For light bulbs, which are not battery powered, there are more options to consider :)
Great points. I have white a few smart switches through the house to control things both physically and via Home Assistant. Most of the other lights are wifi based and work mostly as expected with occasional drops (which can get annoying). Was wanting to experiment with ZigBee to see if it was more reliable, but it sounds like that might not be the case
I wanted to chime in and say I have had no issues with my ZigBee or Z-Wave networks (I run both) not being reliable in my house. I made sure I built out the mesh by installing devices close to my server closet where my ZigBee/Z-Wave receiver is and then out from there starting with powered devices that work as repeaters.
Some smart switches can also be configured to run in Smart Bulb mode, where they can be used to control a smart bulb without actually shutting off the power. You can also set up device groups to be able to control the device directly even if Home Assistant is down. I find that this gives me the best of both worlds, as I can do cool things like changing light color and intensity with automations while still having the ability to turn the light on/off if my server or WiFi network goes down.