LED Coving Smart and Wife/Guest Friendly Options

Tate53

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Hello all, hoping for a bit of friendly advice if possible. I am at the early stages of starting a house refurb. I like many others before me no doubt want to make my house "smarter" with more tech etc. One part I am looking at is lighting. I am looking at using a mixture of led downlights in the middle of the ceiling (Philips Wizz or similar) along with coving with LED strips acting as uplighters around the perimeter of each room.

I am not looking to have the cheapest option available and would rather have quality that lasts instead of having units fail on me requiring replacement. Thanks to this forum, I have narrowed the led strips down to the 24 volt Hi Line 4 in 1 RGBW strips with suitable Watt power supply from the same site to suit the length (16, 15 and 10 metres in 3 separate bedrooms). I was then going to add a Shelly RGBW2 controller to each room to create the smart functionality. Controllable by me in the long run by an app or Google Assistant etc.

One issue I am trying to solve and need help with, is the need to have both smart functionality, but at the same time have them wife and/or guest friendly. While the Shelly RGBW will allow me to dim from the app, I would also like to have the ability to turn on/off and dim the led strips from a (Smart) Light switch in the room. I would prefer a smart dimming switch, as this will avoid the issue of the lights being turned off at the wall and being unable to be used by the app until someone turns the switch back on.

I am willing to have 2 separate smart light switches in each room for downlights and led strips. But I worry that this will not play nice with the Shelly controller. I have also seen the DMX single zone wall controller which looks nice, but again don't know if it will play nice with other items.

Has anyone had any experience before in doing this that keep SWMBO happy? Thanks in advance for any help people can give.
 
You can wire a standard switch into a Shelly RGBW 2 without it being smart .

It doesn’t isolate the module if turned off if wired correctly but still allows manual use
 
Thanks Seb, is there any way you know of, with or without the Shelly (or another controller) to make it in room dimmable? The scenario I am imagining is a guest thinks, "those uplighters are nice but are a bit bright how do I turn them down?" I dont really want them downloading an app, but at the same time, I want the app functionality because I am a nerd :)
 
Ah ok that makes sense, and then effectively I make the dumb switches smart with the shelly! That actually saves me a few quid after all. Thanks for your help Seb
 
Oh wait, I would assume that the shelly dimmer and shelly rgbw2 cant be used on the same led strip. Therefore I could only use this solution with a single colour led strip and not an RGBW version?
 
The dimmer is usually used with standard 240v white bulbs and the rgbw2 for 12/14v led strips or bulbs
 
Thanks Seb. I think I understand it. What I am after is the ability to dim the 24v led strip from the wall switch. And dim the 240v spot lights from a separate switch. While at the same time, having them all controllable by the Shelly(s). Using your advice above and the following article Dimmers & Shelly I think its possible.

If I buy 2 of these Retractive Switch and house both in one of these Faceplate I "should" be able to wire it up as follows:

Mains > 24 volt driver > retractive switch 1 > shelly rgbw2 > 24v led strip
Mains > retractive switch 2 > shelly dimmer2 > 240v smart spots

Reading the article, 1 short press on the switch should provide on/off function, while long press up or down will provide increase or decrease in brightness.

Makes sense in my head at the minute but feel free to shout if you spot some glaringly obvious mistakes.
 
I can’t see from the picture if it’s centre off retractive but you definitely have the right idea
 
Good call btw on the hi-line LEDs , I have been using them for about 4 years on my installs
 
Good call btw on the hi-line LEDs , I have been using them for about 4 years on my installs
Thanks Seb, I think it was from your recommendations on other posts that put me onto them. Im not really into saving a few quid if it means I have to replace them every year or two. Not woth the hassle, the 5 year warranty on their strips and drivers makes me feel a bit more confident.

I have ordered a test amount of the various components to put together a testing version of what I want to do to make sure it works before I start the main install.

Thanks for your help on this.
 

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