Remote light switch

[Shryykjrg]

The light switch to our sitting room is behind the door. It doesn’t really bother us as we use lamps with smart bulbs on timers mostly however it really bothers our visitors who like to use the big light and it would be convenient to be able to switch the light on as you walk in to the room at times.

We don’t want use smart bulbs in this light ideally because it’s a chandelier so we’d have to link all 12 bulbs and have heard there are issues with this. Also if the wifi goes down it’s useful to have some normal
lights as the override is a bit temperamental.

We don’t want to chase out the walls or have a massive bit of trunking going from one side of the door to the other if we can avoid it.

So is there a switch that you can somehow link to the existing switch and then mount on the other wall? I’ve searched but it seems to mostly come up with smart options.

TIA

No Issue with multiple smart light bulbs. I have Philips hue in my house with about 40 smart bulbs linked to the hue bridge. Have had it years and it’s never missed a beat. It runs off its own zigbee network so separate to your WiFi and it’s very reliable. Would it really be the end of the world if once every couple of years it didn’t work anyway? Short of chasing out the walls etc what else can you do?

Could you change the direction of the door hinges? Seems less disruptive than a lot of the other options.

How often are these visitors there? Seems a lot of disruption if you’re happy with the set-up in your own home.

I have this issue as my bathroom light is on the hinge side of the door around the corner but you almost always go into the bathroom from the other side, has driven me nuts for years so have thought about this a lot!

One option is to have a pull cord fitted or as a electrician said to me recently a kinetic switch would work. It's like an extra switch that connects to the original one wirelessly.
Budget option is an extra battery powered motion sensor.
Can't be doing with smart bulbs and asking for the light to be switched on each time 😂

We do have multiple smart bulbs across the house already but I’ve heard there are sometimes problems linking multiple in one fitting to one switch meaning that they don’t always all come on.

The door has to open the way it does unfortunately.

I’m sure there is such a thing as a remote light switch that is linked to the existing switch rather than needing smart bulbs!

Kinetic switch might be what I’m thinking of…

It depends on where the neutral is. If there is a neutral at the switch, then you can get a cordless switch. You put the controller where the current switch is, and the remote (the cordless switch) wherever you want.

If you don't have the neutral there (likely) there are some that don't need the neutral, I don't know how well they work though, I've never tried one.

This problem usually always occurs when a door has been turned round from its original position.

quinetic switches are what you are thinking of. We have quite a few of them in our house.

The bad news - Some run dimmers and wireless receivers and they are an utter pain. You have to push the switch really hard, they are a spring loaded rocker switch and need a hefty sharp shove. The receivers have a three year warranty but several,have failed (£60 ea and and £60 labour to change them then you have to chase for a refund on parts only).

the good news - The wholesaler TLC are good to deal with but in hindsight I would never use these switches in a house. They are really good in the garage (keep a light fob in the car to turn the light on before I reverse into garage - a godsend.

the non dimming quinetic switches have been ok, if you only want a simple on off they are ok. Just avoid the dimming ones!

alternative is Govee bulbs which are brilliant but that means finding your phone to turn on or off which is a drag as well.

there are other wireless switches so I’d investigate those too.

Just thought I’d update in case anyone is looking for this in the future.
We got a kinetic switch as recommended by @Ollyboband @Plmnki . Thank you for being able to put a name to what I knew existed but couldn’t find!
Really easy to fit ourselves and (so far) has worked perfectly.
And no issues with old thick walls and dodgy wifi signal which would have been a problem with both chasing in a new switch and with a smart bulb.

Thanks @Shryykjrg

I want to change the direction of our bedroom door but all our internal walls are plastered brick and a nightmare to chase so this would be a good solution.

Now away to Google!