At a look
Expert’s Rating
Pros
- Matter licensed
- Relatively clear room-facing design
- Quick onboarding and straightforward administration with the Tapo app
- Very low-priced
Cons
- Physical set up is a little more onerous than different units
- Requires a impartial wire
- Some slight hiccups throughout setup
Our Verdict
The Tapo S505D sensible dimmer is Matter licensed, which ensures compatibility with each main sensible dwelling ecosystem, and it actually received’t break the financial institution. On the opposite hand, it’s a quite simple single-pole machine that relies on the presence of a impartial wire within the field the place it’s put in.
Price When Reviewed
This worth will present the geolocated pricing textual content for product undefined
Best Pricing Today
Price When Reviewed
$12.99
Best Prices Today: Tapo Smart Wi-Fi Light Switch Dimmer S505D
In-wall sensible switches and dimmers are approaching commodity standing. To make an impression available on the market, the Tapo Smart Wi-Fi Dimmer (mannequin S505D) delivers Matter certification, a quite simple industrial design, and—above all—a dirt-cheap price ticket.
It’s a succesful sufficient product, though it doesn’t actually transfer the needle for the class. Buyers may also need to know that it is a single-pole machine that relies on the presence of a impartial wire within the electrical field the place it’s put in (not all dimmers require that). If you’re changing a 3-way dimmer, you need to contemplate the Tapo S515D Kit ($33 at Amazon), which features a companion dimmer; in any other case, you’ll want to leap by way of some further set up hoops that may take away the flexibility to manage that mild from a second location in your house.
With a avenue worth of lower than $15, it’s hardly an enormous funding to present this dimmer a strive.
Tapo does provide a wi-fi, battery-powered companion dimmer—the Tapo S200D (round $20 at Amazon)—that you could mount anyplace and get 3-way performance. But you’d additionally want one among Tapo’s sensible dwelling hubs for those who go that route.
Specifications
The Tapo S505D makes use of a mix of pigtail wires and screw terminals/clamps to hook up with your private home’s wiring. A impartial wire is required.
Christopher Null/Foundry
This single-pole sensible dimmer helps a most load of 300 watts of incandescent bulbs or 150 watts of LEDs. Fluorescent bulbs aren’t supported. Once put in, it connects to your 2.4GHz Wi-Fi community, eliminating the necessity for a wise dwelling hub (5GHz networks aren’t supported). As I’ve already talked about, it’s a Matter-certified machine, which suggests it may be included into Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, Google Home, Samsung SmartIssues and plenty of different sensible dwelling ecosystems. You may use the dimmer with IFTTT.
Its dependence on impartial wire would possibly complicate your set up, since there won’t be one in each field in your house, particularly if it’s older building.
Installation and setup
The Tapo S505D has a hybrid connector design, with pigtails for impartial and floor, whereas your private home’s load and line wires join by way of terminal clamps and screws. This design saves a little house contained in the field, because you solely want two wire nuts as a substitute of 4, as could be required for an all-pigtail design.
The Tapo S505D isn’t a small machine and we encountered some problem getting it and the wires stuffed again into the field.
Christopher Null/Foundry
On the opposite hand, this additionally makes for a considerably tougher bodily set up as a result of it may be a problem to push the road and cargo wires popping out of the wall by way of the again of the dimmer, below the clamps on the terminals on its left-hand facet after which tighten the screws to safe them.
After fastidiously straightening the road and cargo wires, which had beforehand been twisted inside wire nuts, I used to be in a position to get all the pieces related in about 10 minutes. I’ve discovered competing merchandise simpler to put in.
The unit just isn’t significantly small and jamming it again into the field took some effort. Once in place and with the included cowl plate hooked up, nevertheless, the completed design is enticing and never overly busy.
A sequence of LEDs signifies the extent of brightness for the related load.
Christopher Null/Foundry
Being a Matter machine, you’ll be able to onboard it both by way of the Tapo app or by scanning the Matter code (which is printed on the swap {hardware} with no QR code and supplied as a sticker with one). Setting up with the Tapo app is the really useful plan of action, partly as a result of the unit will seemingly want a firmware replace after set up (as mine did).
I didn’t encounter any points with onboarding, though the Tapo app can’t robotically determine which product you might be establishing. You should choose the precise and easy-to-forget mannequin quantity from a prolonged checklist, which is an pointless nuisance. The solely different situation I had throughout setup concerned the dimming calibration, which failed. Fortunately, it labored high quality after I had accomplished the remainder of the setup and visited the app’s settings menu.
Using the Tapo Smart Wi-Fi Light Switch Dimmer S505D
The Tapo S505D {hardware} is easy and intuitive. The massive rocker-style swap is a straightforward on/off toggle: One press turns both turns the sunshine on or off, relying on the state it’s in while you push it. Two smaller buttons above the toggle allow you to step by way of a sequence of brightness settings, one click on at a time. Alternately you’ll be able to maintain down the dimmer buttons for a considerably clean, dynamic dimming/brightening operation, however I discovered it rather a lot faster to simply faucet both button a couple of occasions to succeed in my desired brightness degree.
An LED embedded within the swap may be set to glow as a locator when the swap is within the off place, or you’ll be able to program it to glow solely at evening. You may flip this LED off altogether for those who contemplate it mild air pollution.
The Tapo app has all the fundamental options you’d anticipate finding for a wise dimmer.
Christopher Null/Foundry
The Tapo app is simple and unsurprising, with a important display screen that accommodates all of your Tapo units and lets you management energy on or off. Drill down into the element display screen and you’ll management brightness both with a 0-to-100 % slider or by way of 5 brightness presets that you simply configure.
Both a countdown timer and a easy scheduling system are included, as is an away mode taht which randomly turns the sunshine on and off throughout a time you specify to emulate the presence of individuals. The app additionally stories working time for the present day, the final week, and the final 30 days. I had no bother with any of the app’s options, and I discovered the swap absolutely aware of instructions.
Should you purchase the Tapo Smart Wi-Fi Light Switch Dimmer S505D?
With a avenue worth of lower than $15, it’s hardly an enormous funding to present this dimmer a strive for those who’re searching for a easy single-pole dimmer and there’s a impartial wire within the location you need to set up it. Users with extra bold sensible dwelling designs, nevertheless, will seemingly discover it to be too fundamental.
This evaluation is a part of TechHive’s in-depth protection of the best smart lighting controls.