this post was submitted on 12 Jul 2023
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homeassistant
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Home Assistant is open source home automation that puts local control and privacy first. Powered by a worldwide community of tinkerers and DIY enthusiasts. Perfect to run on a Raspberry Pi or a local server. Available for free at home-assistant.io
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The wifi ones they sell at Costco, but re-flashed with Tasmota
The Feit ones, right? And what exactly is Tasmota?
https://circuitdigest.com/microcontroller-projects/what-is-tasmota-and-how-to-use-it-with-esp-01-to-control-smart-home-devices
I just learned about it and now I'm really interested in it as well
It's pretty awesome, actually. Most stuff in my house is gear that's been re-flashed to Tasmota, and for a decent period of time the "CE Smart" (plugs , outlets, dimmers, bulbs) branded stuff used Tuya chips which were pretty easy to flash. Costco sold these, but the guts have changed over time.
The older Tuya based stuff can be flashed OTA to Tasmota using a raspberry Pi and a special app, but meant of the newer ones use a different chipset that is no longer compatible (or at least last time I gave it a shot). Much newer stuff seems to have crappy realtek chips that won't take Tasmota, though I haven't picked up anything recently. Devices that still use an ESP82xx chipset were also flashable by serial connection soldered to the right leads (RX,TX,3.3v, ground and NO AC power).
About a year ago, HomeAssistant stopped working with straight MQTT based Tasmota after a certain version. Thankfully, there's actually a native Tasmota plugin now that actually works better for hardware running that particular variety of open-source firmware, and it's actually become a bit easier to use.
If anyone snags a compatible "CE Smart" dimmer and manages to flash it, I've still got a functional template and the command that makes it work nicely in dimmer mode.
My current project is actually to reflash a sonoff ceiling fan controller and get that integrated.
The 'platform' for the FEIT ones at costco are really well built. They make the Insteon units look like they were a one off hobby project. That's the part that has the power circuitry, screw terminals, etc. The wifi module used to be ESP based but they switched about a year ago to a newer BK723 chip, these can be reflashed with a 'OpenBeken', which is a newer project that has similar functionality to Tasmota but for these newer chips.
The only downside I've seen with these is OpenBeken is not as mature and the units 'hang' now and then requiring a power cycle (like 2-4 weeks). I have some of the older ESP based units that are otherwise identical and they never hang, this has been getting better with upgrades so likely will eventually be fixed.
If you are OK with soldering you can buy the ESP controller modules on Amazon for about $1 each and just replace them and run stock Tasmota (you have to unsolder the module to reflash it either way, so its not a big deal to just put a different one on). The module pinout and electrical interface are identical.
I can't find them in Costco's in Canada anymore... I'd buy a ton more if they were available. A pain to flash, but very worth it for the price
CE Smart branded ones. Tasmota is open source firmware that's compatible with home-assistant and can be flashed over various ESP or Tuya chips (see my longer answer to another post in this thread)
How difficult is it to reflash these devices to Tasmora? Do you have to crack it open? Do you have too wire it into the wall first?