Can someone explain Shelly to me please

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I have a few Lightwave switches, but I’m looking to convert some light switches that don’t have LW using Shelly now, mainly to save money.

But they are confusing me, and I’ve looked at a few YouTube videos but haven’t found any that really explain them well.

Can anyone here answer these questions;

Is the 2.5 basically the one to get now rather than the 1?

Do they work with multi way switching? Does each light switch require one to be installed? So where in one room there’s two switches for the same light, is it like Lightwave where each switch needs one?

How do they work with multi gang switches? Does each button need its own Shelly relay, so 3 Shelly 3.5’s for a three gang switch?

In one room I have a 2 gang and a 3 gang, which control an outside light and two internal lights. The outside light is on the 3 gang and is not multi switched. Would it be easy enough to install one just to control the outside light?

Once installed, how does the physical switch operate? If it’s in the on position, and the Shelly is switched of remotely, what does flicking the switch back to off do? Anything? What happens if you then switch to the on position?

TIA.
 
I have a few Lightwave switches, but I’m looking to convert some light switches that don’t have LW using Shelly now, mainly to save money.

But they are confusing me, and I’ve looked at a few YouTube videos but haven’t found any that really explain them well.

Can anyone here answer these questions;

Is the 2.5 basically the one to get now rather than the 1?

The 2.5 is a dual relay , so it can control two lighting circuits

Do they work with multi way switching? Does each light switch require one to be installed? So where in one room there’s two switches for the same light, is it like Lightwave where each switch needs one?

yes they work with multi switching though only one required per circuit

How do they work with multi gang switches? Does each button need its own Shelly relay, so 3 Shelly 3.5’s for a three gang switch?

each button (light circuit ) needs a module so 2.5s would be for 2 circuits 2 gang
2.5 and 1 module for 3 circuits 3 gang

In one room I have a 2 gang and a 3 gang, which control an outside light and two internal lights. The outside light is on the 3 gang and is not multi switched. Would it be easy enough to install one just to control the outside light?

yes just use a 1 module for outside and a 2.5 for the other two circuits
 
In a nutshell.

Shelly 1 is the main version for single lights. It's a single relay.

Shelly 2.5 has two relays, so great for 2 gang switches. If you have 3 gang you'd need a Shelly 1 and a 2.5

They do work in multi-way switching but depending on how exactly your 2 or 3 way is wired the placement changes.

If you operate the relay remotely (via app or voice etc.) then the phyiscal switch would need to be turned on and off to turn the light off.
 
There's more differences that that, but that is the high level which is suitable for most.

If you want dimming, then the Shelly Dimmer 2 is what you need. If you don't have neutrals at the switch, then you can either put the relay behind the light fixure or use a Shelly 1L which uses a switched live and often a bypass module so the Shelly can always be powered.
 
Thanks chaps.

No dimming required. TBH, we almost never dim our LW’s, don’t see the point (we have lamps for softer lighting).

So let me get this straight - if the switch is in the off position, the Shelly can still turn the lights on and off? And visa versa?

If the lights are on via the Shelly, then the switched is moved to on from off, and back again, what happens? Nothing?

Also, if the 1L doesn’t require a nutural, why would you buy the 1?
 
Always better to use a neutral if you can , as otherwise the modules draw “vampire “ power

you should be able to control circuit by switch , app routine or voice and all should work regardless of what turned them on or off previously
 
Thanks chaps.

No dimming required. TBH, we almost never dim our LW’s, don’t see the point (we have lamps for softer lighting).

So let me get this straight - if the switch is in the off position, the Shelly can still turn the lights on and off? And visa versa?

If the lights are on via the Shelly, then the switched is moved to on from off, and back again, what happens? Nothing?

Also, if the 1L doesn’t require a nutural, why would you buy the 1?

The old physical switch gets connected to the Shelly 1. It just controls the relay but that can be overridden by the app.

If the lights are on but the switch is off then turning the switch on does nothing, until you turn if off again then it will turn the lights off.

The 1L is great if you don't have a neutral but if you do, the 1 is better. So if you have a neutral, use it.
 
The old physical switch gets connected to the Shelly 1. It just controls the relay but that can be overridden by the app.

If the lights are on but the switch is off then turning the switch on does nothing, until you turn if off again then it will turn the lights off.

that’s not the case with my set up
 
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I must say the Shelly app looks fantastic in all the screen shots I’ve seen. Is it as good as it looks?

On the whole, the more I look at Shelly, the more I like the look of it.
 
I must say the Shelly app looks fantastic in all the screen shots I’ve seen. Is it as good as it looks?

On the whole, the more I look at Shelly, the more I like the look of it.

It gets a good review over all. Tbh I rarely use it as I connect my Shelly's via MQTT to my Home Assistant.
 
Same here , I use my Shellys with Hubitat Elevation smart home controller but it should be a good place to start
 
Does the fact it’s behind the faceplate cause any issues with resets and switch WiFi networks etc? So you ever find yourself having to get to it again after installation?
 
Does the fact it’s behind the faceplate cause any issues with resets and switch WiFi networks etc? So you ever find yourself having to get to it again after installation?

Signal is affected, so you need to ensure you Wi-Fi is good. Resets involve turning the power off and on. I've only had to do it once and I just used the breaker to turn off the lighting circuit.
 
I think you can use the Shelly 2.5 for power sockets? So if you want a towel radiator to come on for 20 mins etc. Correct me if I am wrong!
 

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