2019 Update: UK Battery operated dimmer switches?

First, from the “friends of hue” program…

These are battery free switches which operate on the kinetic energy from when you push the switch. So they don’t need batteries but they also are not wired to the Mains.

These are available in the EU from several different manufacturers including Busch, Niko, and Vimar. These tend to look great, but be expensive, usually around £55 Per switch. But many of those can control two separate groups of lights, so for some people that’s the equivalent of buying two switches.

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designed to be used with a hue bridge for devices controlled by that bridge

They will work perfectly with any smart bulbs which are operated via a Hue bridge. SmartThings won’t know that the switch exists, but it typically won’t matter, because it will pick up the status of the bulb itself in less than a minute.

Using directly with SmartThings

In some cases you may also be able to add the switch itself to smart things as a zigbee device, but it is going to depend on the zigbee channel that your hub is on. So this may work or may not.

There are many choices of style and colour for these, and they are made to the same dimensions as a standard UK light switch. So they will work well for some people.

Discussion thread

Discussion thread for further comments or questions on these devices: