Den Automation has gone titsup

[paulockenden]

According to The Register (who are usually right about these things), Den Automation has gone to the wall.

It's a shame - the products had a lot going for them. But I'm not surprised. Wearing my PC Pro hat I asked for review samples several times, but it seems they were afraid of the products getting mainstream attention other than places that only do 'skim the surface' reviews.

I hope someone else buys the IP, and gets the whole thing up and running again.

P.

[DBMandrake]

Never heard of them before! That's a shame.

I'm looking to replace a couple of outdoor light switches (which are inside the back porch) with smart switches that I can control with IFTTT but still have a physical button of some kind on the front as well. I see Den did one... Any recommendations of other brands that are suitable for UK switches ?

[Otto-Mate]

Yup, comments started appearing at the bottom of this post in October...

https://www.automatedhome.co.uk/new-...-switches.html

M.

[paulockenden]

They had good WAF (wife acceptance factor).

Or husband acceptance factor for one regular forum poster.

[DBMandrake]

So the alternatives now for UK wiring compatible smart light switches are......Lightwave ? and....... ??

[paulockenden]

I was never happy about how Den lights witches were wired. They used Earth as Neutral.

Other manufacturers *could* do that, but they don't. For good reason.

[DBMandrake]

Yes it's a bit naughty.... however lighting circuits aren't typically RCD protected and if its just a few milliamps it's probably not an issue in practice. And what's the alternative in a light switch back box with no neutral wire, which is the case in the vast majority of UK homes ?

[paulockenden]

Yeah, but Earth is there for safety. I wasn’t convinced that “there’s no alternative” was a good reason to use it for power.

I also suspect the switches would be destroyed next time an electrical inspection is done and a Megger shoves 500V between live and earth...

[toscal]

@DBMandrake have a look here.