How to Wire Shelly 1L without neutral and setup in Home Assistant

This video will show you how to wire the Shelly 1L with no neutral. We will unbox the Shelly 1L, wire it (without neutral), configure it and then set it up in home assistant.
Make your standard light switch smart in 10 mins!
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[@user-xw3fk5zt8i]

Thank you I had a shelly 1l and a bridge in the drawer for over a year. with your explanation I connected it within minutes.

[@sammarsh8023]

That's a super clear and helpful video. Thank you. Looking forward to the next one.

[@HomeSight]

Glad it was helpful!

[@chrisakrill7994]

Excellent video - just made wiring in and setting up my first Sheely product a doddle. Thanks very much.

[@HomeSight]

Glad to help!

[@chewitt86]

Genuinely glad you did this as I'm just about to buy a couple!

[@HomeSight]

No problem! I'm thinking of getting a bunch more!

[@jasonrobinson5264]

Amazing video! I have spent days recently trying to get my 1l to work and now seeing your video I know where I was going wrong. Can't wait to get home later and try it out.

[@HomeSight]

No worries. Glad it helped!

[@dane6497]

@@HomeSight any ideas on how to wire up a 1L in a ceiling rose with neutral? facebook.com/groups/ShellyIoTCommunitySupport/permalink/3448203005279039/

[@HomeSight]

Hi Dan, yes I’ve already started a video for that. You need to put some additional connections in as a standard rose doesn’t have enough connections. I’ll do a quick sketch and upload it.

[@dane6497]

@@HomeSight thank you. Eventually figured it out with some help from the Shelly Group (someone there knew). I just needed to connect one leg of the switch to SX and the other returning leg to SW1. Everything else was obvious. I didn't need additional connections.

[@sharktamer]

I was literally just pulling my hair out trying to figure out how to wire this the day before you uploaded. My problem was with the bypass, I couldn't figure out where in the circuit it was supposed to go and all these videos where they just have wires on a desk weren't helping. Yours is similar but the fact you actually had a ceiling rose and explained it in real life terms, really would have helped! In the end I didn't need the bypass anyway, I figure this must mean my lights draw enough power that it's not needed? Would really like to see at least one more video after you figure out anything else there is to figure out about the Shelly 1L.

[@HomeSight]

Hi, yes it sounds like the lights draw more than 20 watts so that would be enough to support the Shelly 1L without the bypass. Just think of the bypass as another bulb, in the circuit. You want it to be switched on/off in the same way as a bulb. I will be doing another video on how to setup with a neutral at the ceiling rose next. What else is it you’d want to know? How I use in home assistant, maybe node red? Thanks for watching!

[@josediogo7928]

Thnak you for your video, helped me to install my Shelly´s

[@HomeSight]

You’re welcome

[@rrrrrrrr290]

I have a few of these on order , so excellent video timing for me

[@HomeSight]

Hi Fred, thanks, I’m glad it helped!

[@rrrrrrrr290]

@@HomeSight do you know what would happen if you get the live conductor onto the "o" and the return in "L"

[@HomeSight]

Hi Fred, I’m not sure I totally understand the question?

[@OthmanAlikhan]

Thanks for the video =)

[@HomeSight]

You’re very welcome!

[@letsfixsomethingathome8536]

Great video. Just installed my Shelly 1L, and was pleasantly surprised with the, narrow size, and use of the Edge Switch behavior.. which turns my room appropriate on/off standard switch.. to a toggle state behavior... My Shelly 1 will not take this setting, (Web interface generates an error) and it continues to need to be flipped once additional to counter WiFi switching. There are still mystery settings, the documentation does not translate well to explain. My 150 year old house just should not have glowing touch pads...and the old two button mother of pearl switches are just too great grandparent. I did not need the bypass as each bulb in the old fixture was 25W, but picked one up to avoid shipping, if LEDs are in the future. Would definitely look to buy the 1L again.

[@HomeSight]

Thanks! I’m glad your installation went well. On your Shelly1 check the “power on state”, I would hazard a guess that it’s currently set to “switch”; change that to “on” or “off” and then change the switch type.

[@letsfixsomethingathome8536]

@@HomeSight Thanks that did it on Shelly1. Mysterious Shelly settings might be a good Video or FAQ.

[@HomeSight]

I thought it might, its just a conflict between the 2 settings. I think Shelly could have put a better explanation on the error, or they could auto change the other setting!

[@secretsquirrel87]

Awesome video, helpful as always! Are you planning any more videos with the Shelly switches? I just received a couple Shelly 2 dimmers and Shelly 2.5s and have been able to bring them into home assistant but I'm struggling with getting them working using either the HA automations or Node-red. Any chance you could put out a video using the Shelly node-red nodes (or just how to use them in general)? Cheers!

[@HomeSight]

Hi, I’ve already started on the Shelly dimmer 2, and will be doing a 2.5 as part of my garage door automation! I don’t use the specific Shelly node red nodes, I just treat them as entities with the call service node, treating dimmers as lights and Shelly 1s as switches.

[@palhod]

Great video! I have a small question, If I have a smart lamp that should be constantly powered on. Is there any way to convert Shelly 1L to wireless switch ? So it would be constantly powered but on change of switch will just perform some action and will not cut of the power from the circuit ?

[@philrcork]

So does the bypass end up drawing 20W minimum negating the efficiency benefit of low wattage LED bulbs?

[@matagou]

Very detailed video, thank you. I got one of this today and managed to do a mistake. I connected Neutral wire to the rightmost Sx pin on the device. Obviously it was a spark, momentary circuit breaker turned off and there's a damage on the Sx pin itself. However the device doesn't show on the Wi-Fi after that incident. I inspected the board after that for blown components but haven't found any. Still, the device doesn't connect to WiFi or create it's access point SSID. What should be checked next?

[@HomeSight]

Ah… once you let the “magic smoke out” I expect the device is fit for the bin… take it as a learning moment and buy another one (or two?).

[@caguzman59]

If you have two light switches with no neutral, how would you wire them to a Shelly 1L? I see that the light load goes to Shelly 1L O terminal for light #1. What about the light load for light #2? Where do you connected?

[@jonnyaykroyd]

Have you seen in the paper manual (not the online pdf) it also shows a two way switch wiring diagram set up, where the physical switching is done between to sw terminals and the O (output) terminal? I'm not entirely sure how this works but it must be some current sensing circuit on the SW terminals with the varying voltage on O (240v on, 0v off) and the current flowing through the bypass.

[@HomeSight]

Hi, I must admit, I didn’t try that, I only tried using the input as a switching voltage applied to sw1. That didn’t work....

[@unlock-er]

hi, is that just a normal 1 gang switch or an intermediate switch? thanks

[@TheOneUK1111]

Have you got a video on wiring a Shelly Dimmer 2 into a ceiling rose? I'll be putting a bigger light fitting around it, with plenty of room for the Shelly

[@HomeSight]

I have one which does show the connections of a ceiling rose, it is on a bench rather than actually at the rose, but the concept is there: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hpCvenqPptl7gbc

[@izinyoka45]

Great video! so if I understand correctly - if the button is set to 'Edge Switch' you can toggle the light state either with the physical switch or with software/HA ? E.G - light is on -> flick switch, light goes off -> toggle via HA, light comes back on. I.E I do not have to flick the physical switch back in order to switch on the light via HA?

[@HomeSight]

That’s absolutely right.

[@ec6741]

Thanks for this video I'm still confused by the bypass and the user guide that states "Shelly 1L re- quires at least 20W of power consumption". The shelly L has an internal power consumption of less than 1W. With the bypass connected on the light segment does this incur a continuous power consumption of 20W or is it just when the "O" output is live that a minimum load of 20W must be applied for the shelly to operate. Basically is it like powering a 20W bulb permanently or just when switched ON that the connected load must consume 20W minimum ?

[@jonobaker]

seems at 7:17 its in the part of the circuit thats only live when the bulb is on. so if the bulb is off the bypass is not live and not drawing 20w.

[@g13jon]

Nice video. Thankyou! . So helpful to see uk installation / demo. And physical connections alongside the theory. I’m considering getting the Shelly Dimmer 2 and seeing if I can figure out how to use it for a two way light system in my kitchen and in my dining room. Simon, do you know if the Shelly Dimmer 2 can be used to 2gang 2way? Or only 1gang 2way, and therefore I’ll need to buy two, one for each gang? Thanks

[@HomeSight]

Hi, you’ll be able to use exactly the same wiring as I show in the video if you’re not bothered about controlling the brightness from the switch. Personally, I use MK retractive (momentary) switches with my Shelly Dimmers so they can dimmed up/down from the wall.

[@g13jon]

@@HomeSight ah thanks for the reply. I’ve been wondering what type of switch to use for the best. Would be good to see which MK model you went for. Assume I’m going to need two Shelly dimmers? One for each lighting area? Not such thing as a 2 gang one for two way installs?

[@HomeSight]

Yes, you’ll need a dimmer per lighting circuit. www.cef.co.uk/catalogue/products/185118-10a-one-module-retractive-switch-white

[@g13jon]

@@HomeSight thanks so much. Really appreciate the advice there. Saved me a bit of trial and error with orders. 👍🏽👍🏽

[@HomeSight]

No worries.

[@lofty276]

What have Shelly replaced the 1L with now it's discontinued?

[@paulhyland3528]

Great video Simon, I'm about to design my new electrics for my house with a sparky mate, im going to be centralising all my smart switching in metal clad box not in the walls (just feels safer) I was looking into sonoff minis but were both concerned about sonoffs eu classification regarding BS7671. Have you had issues with electricians not wanting to sign off work with shellys though they seem to have more eu certification. My other sonoffs are all flashed with tasmota, do you see any advantage with mqtt over shellys stock firmware?? are they stable? Thanks keep up the great content Paul.

[@HomeSight]

Hi Paul, i spoke to a couple of sparkys and to be honest, it was out of their comfort zone... 1 friend, did get his head around it, but in all honesty, I had the work signed off first before fitting shellies etc. When a sparky completes their testing (I believe) they put 1000 v on the circuit, I’m not sure how the Shelly would react to this? Perhaps I will get a “sacrificial” Shelly 1, and a few other bits and do a video with a sparky testing them to see what happens?!

[@HomeSight]

And in response to your firmware question: I really don’t see any advantage over tasmotozing shellies, the native integration seems to work fine, and the MQTT certainly does work fine without skipping a beat (assuming decent WiFi?). I have a sonoff mini in running the garage lights which has tasmota, and to be honest I can’t really fault that either, since it’s always been pretty stable.

[@paulhyland3528]

Thanks for the reply Simon that's the conclusion we came to regarding testing without shellys in the loop and then making a note on the cert. I think ill just run them stock and see how they go thanks for the advice

[@tgnhouse]

Hi, thank you very much for your video. I’m having problems with shelly 1L because lights are always on. I saw that you commented this in your video when connecting the bypass but I still have some doubts, you connect the bypass between the Neutral and the Life that comes from the shelly 1L O “output” is that correct? Thank you

[@HomeSight]

Hi, you’re very welcome! I had my doubts too if I’m honest, but I have it wired on my desk here exactly as per the video and the Shelly remains controllable even when the light is off... I don’t profess to understand it, but I do know it works! Diagram is here too showing the ceiling rose: homesight.tech/?portfolio=how-to-wire-shelly-1l-without-neutral-and-configure-with-home-assistant . Hope this helps.

[@tgnhouse]

@@HomeSight thanks a lot

[@ankurarora7360]

Can you do a video with Shelly 1 with neutral support?

[@troyd-motorsport9933]

Awesome video thanks! Just a question, How'd you do the picture of your house with the light switches? That's pretty cool!

[@HomeSight]

Hi Troy, it’s quite a lot of work but here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rniseWmDoceFpJI

[@troyd-motorsport9933]

@@HomeSight thank you very much!

[@barrydonaldson]

Hey, great video. I bought one of these before I saw the load was only 4.1a. Is it okay to use it on a standard lighting circuit that has a 6a fuse?

[@HomeSight]

The 6a fuse doesn’t tell you what the load actually is. You’ll need to calculate or measure the actual load.

[@barrydonaldson]

@@HomeSight Agreed. However, what I'm asking is if there was a problem the 4.1a device would let the smoke out and not be protected by the circuit's RCD or whatever. Is that right?

[@qasim1517]

I’ve wired my Shelly 1L correctly, however the it seems to just stay on. And does not turn off (with the normal switch) and it won’t let me add the device at all. Can’t see it in the app or on the WiFi

[@tenelitebrains]

Hi Simon, great video. Do you think it would be possible to wire/configure these for use with smart bulbs through Home Assistant? I’m thinking I could wire the bulb to have permanent power but use the Shelly1L to send a change in state of my regular light switch to turn the bulb on/off. What do you think? Cheers

[@HomeSight]

Thank you! Yeah, that would work, but I am struggling to see why you would add a smart bulb to a smart relay...? You could have it permanently on, with the switch in “detach mode” which would allow you to use the signal for whatever you like!

[@tenelitebrains]

@@HomeSight thanks for the reply, that’s great. I’ve already got Hue bulbs and have been trying to think of a way to make my existing dumb switches smart. I’ve got a couple of the hue dimmers but they don’t fit in with the rest of the brushed steel switches and sockets

[@HomeSight]

Makes sense! Sounds like a good use case for them then!

[@nugget200]

Would it be possible to show us a demo of how you would do this installation if you had 2 switches controlling the same bulb as have that in lots of my rooms? :) Also if there is multiple bulbs does it matter which rose you put the bypass into?

[@HomeSight]

I was thinking about this the other day! Yeah sure!

[@nugget200]

@@HomeSight Really appreciate it! Seen a few diagrams but cant wrap my head around it :)

[@georgehavey]

It would be great to use a Shelly in 'detached' mode that falls back to 'edge' mode or 'toggle' if the network goes down. That way it could be paired with a a smart bulb to offer redundancy.

[@HomeSight]

That would be good, yeah!

[@MrZlot]

Awesome video, I would however have a few questions about the actual bypass connection. Is there any way I could drop you an email directly?

[@MrBobWareham]

It would have been good to see you take it apart to see the quality as people have had failures so is it quality or misuse? and watching you I see the wires on the bypass unit are multi-strand and the 1mm cable is solid core you should not mix the two as it will come loose as you found out!

[@HomeSight]

Hi, you are right they were stranded on the bypass. As I mentioned in the video, I probably wouldn’t fit quite like that in a real installation.

[@yellowboat8773]

Why don't you put the Shelley in the ceiling where the light is? Then you have access to the neutral and the switch wires?

[@TheOneUK1111]

Probably not enough space in a standard UK ceiling rose.

[@guillermogomezruiz]

Does it really matter that the brown goes on the L or is just your preference? I mean, as long as both wires go to L and 0? Thanks.

[@HomeSight]

I've always stuck with brown to L.. brown is of course Live in the UK. We have polarised plugs so L is always to L too though... i guess it's a british thing?

[@edwardmicallef8750]

Wired my Shelly 1L as explained in this excellent video. Shelly 1L is working perfectly through Shelly app but physical switch is no longer working. Any advice?

[@HomeSight]

What setting do you have the switch on? Is The switch just a normal light switch?

[@edwardmicallef8750]

@@HomeSight Thank you for your reply. The switch is now on edge to edge setting. I have also tried in toggle mode but the result is still the same. I have now tried to swap SW1 and Sx, that is, Sx now connected to COM on switch andvSW1 to L1, but all is still the same. Works perfectly on app and through Alexa but the physical switch is dead. The switch I am using is similar to the one used in your video. Thank you Update: Luckily I had two Shelly1L in the box. So I tried the second on another Light Switch and it worked perfectly, including the physical switch this time. Now I replaced it with the faulty one and it's working as it should. The only difference I made is that I haven't updated the firmware on the second Shelly1L. Could that be the reason? I have tried to factory reset the relay but that didn't rmake it evert to the original firmware. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[@HomeSight]

I would hope that the firmware update wouldn’t have broken it, it’s possible though… are you working the sx directly to sw1 or taking it from the live?

[@edwardmicallef8750]

@@HomeSight Sorry for the late reply. I have connected the COM (permanent Live) to L (on Shelly 1L) and L1 (switched Live) to O (on Shelly 1L). I have then connected two new wires to the switch . Sx to COM on switch and SW1 to L1 on switch..

[@mkwillis123]

If I have a neutral available at the switch, should I use it?

[@HomeSight]

Personally, I would, yes.

[@RogerStocker]

Hi Simon the most right connector isn't the number 0 (Zero) but the letter O=Out

[@HomeSight]

Ah! That makes sense!!! I assumed it was 1/0 I.e. on or off!

[@RogerStocker]

@@HomeSight You are not the only one 😉. I'm always looking forward to enjoy your next session. Enjoy new year's eve. And a healthy 2021 to you and your beloved ones.

[@HomeSight]

Thanks Roger, I wish you and yours a great 2021 too!

[@XStrikeSuper]

Which brand LED bulb did you use?

[@HomeSight]

I think that was a LAP from screwfix. Nothing fancy, just a normal bulb

[@andyrothy]

could you do a video on how to connect the shelly 1L inside the ceiling rose?

[@HomeSight]

Hi Andy, I’m not sure I could fit it into any of my ceiling roses. I have wired it in with short tails so it sits in the ceiling just outside the rose though. Would that work for you?

[@andyrothy]

@@HomeSight thatnks for the reply! yes that would be great. my issue is i have zero space behind the wall switch but lots of space in ceiliring rose. cheers

[@HomeSight]

Andy, does this video not show using it with a ceiling rose?!

[@andyrothy]

@@HomeSight looking for an idiots guide to ceiling rose only installation with no neutral. this shows it connected to wall switch and ceiling rose.

[@unlock-er]

Just followed this and unfortunately the light is still blinking even after putting capacitor on. Any ideas anyone?

[@cbaas91]

Man its possible to manage more than 1 location, for example i have 3 houses and i need to manage de one shelly of them at the same time with my cellphone connected to internet (WAN)???

[@HomeSight]

Do you mean to have the 1 app with multiple locations? If so, no I don’t think there is an easy way.

[@cbaas91]

@@HomeSight With the shared device option its possible.

[@BruhMan_5]

I have touch switches with no natural wire and tried to use the 2.5 and that didn't work. I'm hoping since this doesn't need a neutral wire my touch switches will work

[@HomeSight]

I’m not quite sure what you mean about your touch switches, although I would expect if they are active switches they will work in a similar way to the Shelly 1L and power themselves from the Live wire. I had some LightwaveRF which I believe worked in this way

[@BruhMan_5]

@@HomeSight I meant that when I connected my shelly 2.5 to my switch it stayed on despite the switch being pressed multiple times. My only conclusion would be that these touch switches are never truly "open" and so the Shelly unit always sees it as on. I can't think of a solution other than adding a third true open relay in between the switch and the shelly.

[@HomeSight]

I think your conclusion is right. You should test for continuity or maybe resistance across the switch when it is in both states.

[@nitinepica]

What is the bypass you used?

[@HomeSight]

It’s from Shelly themselves.

[@nitinepica]

@@HomeSight Oh, I can buy it directly from them? Or does it come in the box?

[@HomeSight]

Yes but from them, it doesn’t come with it, you need to add it, but from memory it was very cheap!

[@Kackspack0815]

Shelly 1L to control the light switch and takes the N of the socket of a light switch/socket combination module. That would be nice to see, because that’s exactly my situation… 😇☺️

[@HomeSight]

You’re taking the neutral from a socket and using that to power the shelly? Thats not a good idea, you need to use the live and neutral on the same circuit.

[@Kackspack0815]

@@HomeSight The plan was to bridge the N from the lower socket to the Shelly 1L behind the upper light switch. For L input of the Shelly 1L I wanted to use the L which goes into the light switch at the moment. Do you mean I should rather bridge the L input of the lower socket to the Shelly 1L L input?

[@HomeSight]

Hi, I’m struggling to understand why you would take anything from the lower socket if you are using this on a lighting circuit? Can you send a link to a wiring diagram?

[@chigsy]

Doesn't the Shelly turn off when the switch is off?

[@HomeSight]

It didn’t seem to in my testing... I will just double check though!

[@chigsy]

@@HomeSight when I was using the Fibaro gear I had to choose dimmers instead of relays / switches. Because once someone turns the switch off there is no power to the unit and it cannot be controlled remotely. That's why the neutral wire is required. I used dimmers with a momentary switch. It also allowed the switches to be used for other use cases e.g. one tap up = turn on light. Hold down the up switch = brightness up Double or triple click up could control other lights.

[@HomeSight]

I will check, but can always add the bypass on permanently, rather than on the switched output. The Shelly dimmers I use also use a momentary switch, they have 2 inputs so can dim up and down easily.

[@HomeSight]

Hi, apologies for taking longer than I would hope to come back to you. I can’t quite explain how... but it works... I have it wired exactly as per my video and it remains on! Those clever people at Shelly have some dark magic going on!!

[@Amaster786]

Is the circuit RCD protected?

[@HomeSight]

Yes

[@MrBobWareham]

A word for you DO NOT MIX MULTY STRAND WITH SOLID CORE WIRES and only use genuine Wago connectors not Chinese copies

[@HomeSight]

Hi Bob, you are absolutely right, you shouldn’t mix the two, however wagos are rated for solid, stranded and fine stranded connectors. These are certainly not copies and are genuine connectors.

[@daveofyorkshire301]

So you make the effort to cut energy usage with low power bulbs, and then waste power with a ballast just to provide additional power to this device? My bulbs run at between 6-12W, the whole point being to reduce energy consumption, now you add a energy drain with no practical purpose other than to raise usage above 20W... This does NOT seem a practical or reasonable approach to automation, and its wasteful, another 8-14W just thrown away, that another bulb, another light!!! and your doing that for every automated light, hardly efficient!

[@HomeSight]

I haven’t measured it (yet) but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t take it up to 20 watts, the Shelly certainly wouldn’t be drawing that much. I’m going to grab one on a min and see what it draws!

[@daveofyorkshire301]

@@HomeSight But you're adding a ballast resistor to force usage to that level, whether the device uses it or not, your wasting that energy... Energy enough to run another bulb! Wasteful...

[@HomeSight]

I don’t disagree, but I would be powering the device either way, so am already taking the hit to power the relay. I don’t believe it’s increasing the load more than powering the relay with a live and neutral in the “normal” way.

[@daveofyorkshire301]

@@HomeSight There are other ways, and other devices capable of turning lights on and off. Opening automatic doors and controlling higher current equipment. The issue here is NOT the energy required to run the device - every device requires power, the issue is that you are required to waste power to enable this device to function properly. Most people would consider it a design flaw.

[@HomeSight]

Hi Dave, I’ve just set myself up a little rig to try and test the additional current used from the bypass, but unfortunately the only meter I have here at home doesn’t measure Amps AC. I’ll have to wait till I get back to work to test properly and get the amperage used. I’m sorry; I still don’t follow your logic. I would agree it was a design flaw if it constantly pulled 20w, since that would clearly be more than the Shelly 1L would require, however, I don’t suppose that is the case.