How relevant is it to buy Sonoff devices in 2024?
One of the rapidly growing smart home systems is Sonoff. A free app for eWeLink devices is available. It can be installed on IOS and Android. There is also a web interface for easier control from a computer or laptop.
Most devices operate primarily on Wi-Fi. But also available on Zigbee, RF, Bluetooth, IR, LAN, RJ45, Onvif, RTSP protocols. The ecosystem stands out with an extensive number of devices covering almost every need. Unlike many other manufacturers Sonoff is the manufacturer and controls the quality of the devices themselves, it is more difficult to get to a fake. But, buying on Chinese marketplaces – remember, Wi-Fi and Zigbee devices can be produced in garages, and it is easy to install Sonoff firmware on them. Consequently, in pursuit of a cheaper price, you run the risk of buying an unoriginal and possibly life-threatening device. Our advice is to buy Sonoff from trusted suppliers. For example, in our store www.smarteg.lv.
Prices
Devices from Sonoff can be considered budget friendly. Compared with Tuya prices can be more expensive by 10-20%. Comparing the manufacturer’s quality guarantee, the price is quite justified. Individual devices can be even cheaper. In a word – Sonoff is a good, budget, widespread solution suitable to start building your smart home.
Usage Scenarios
- Lighting – the selection here is not as large as in the Tuya ecosystem, but all the necessities are available for full automation. For those who lack the standard Sonoff items, the assortment can be supplemented with third-party manufacturers and connected directly to the free eWeLink app
- Electrics – Sonoff can please with a very nice selection of thoughtfully designed mechanical switches. Now, Sonoff can be considered the only worthy competitor to Aqara switches
- Sensors – here we have a standard set of quality sensors. In most cases, wireless sensors are offered for motion, door opening, leakage – all of them are mostly battery operated
- Cameras – there are a dozen Wi-Fi cameras to choose from, with the ability to record in the cloud or on an SD card. It is also worth paying attention to the connection protocols Onvif and RTSP – they allow you to connect your smart camera to NVR/DVR and record directly to a hard disk, located somewhere in a secluded place
- Hubs and NSPanel – Sonoff was one of the first companies to produce wall panels for easier smart home management. The new NSPanel Pro models also both a multi-screen for controlling devices and a Zigbee/Wi-Fi hub for connecting devices directly to the NSPanel Pro. Simpler versions of the hubs are also available, without a screen. A selection of devices is available on our website
- Heating – new to the Sonoff ecosystem are thermostats for water and electric floors, as well as valves for radiators. The choice of designs and colors is not large, but all devices are made very stylish and high quality. Spoil the interior installed smart devices will not spoil the interior
- For the garden – also recently there are valves for water, available for different pipe diameters. Using smart valves from Sonoff you can easily and affordably install your smart irrigation system or secure your home from leaks (automatically shut off the water if there is a leak in the house / apartment)
Home Assistant
All Sonoff devices browse well in Home Assistant and have standard cards with out-of-the-box controls. We’ll cover the Home Assistant ecosystem in more detail in another of our articles.
iHost
New on the market from Sonoff is iHost. The idea is a friendlier counterpart to Home Assistant using Sonoff smart devices, but also with the ability to add other third parties like Tuya, Aqara, etc. The hub has its own Wi-Fi, Matter, Thread, Zigbee module and there is no need to plug in thumb drives, whistles or sticks to connect devices. As of early 2024, iHost has a very limited number of connectable devices. Third-party manufacturers, despite the developers’ claim, almost do not connect, and even if you managed to establish a connection – all devices appear as a switch. And I would like to point out – not all official Sonoff devices can be connected to iHost. Despite the huge disadvantages, we are waiting for the manufacturer to finalize the software and offer a really user-friendly solution.
Third parties
If we open the eWeLink app and go to the supported ecosystems section, we will see a dozen devices available for connection. But we would like to highlight the most important ones:
- Google Assistant, Alexa, Yandex Alice – it is probably not necessary to separately stop and talk about these voice assistants and the possibilities of expanding your ecosystem
- Philips HUE – a huge selection of lights, lamps and various electric switches to complement the lack of native devices in the Sonoff ecosystem
- SmartThings – Samsung’s smart home ecosystem solution, offers native integration with many Android devices at the operating system level
- Yeelight, Mi Home – Xiaomi came to our country much earlier than other smart home systems and as a result we have a huge number of available smart devices from this company on sale and in people’s hands. If you have various Xiaomi sensors, don’t worry, you will be able to synchronize your existing Xiaomi and Sonoff devices
- Huawei HiLink – despite the sanctions against Huawei, periodically very interesting devices appear on our market
Pros and cons
Traditionally, we’ll talk about the pros and cons of the Sonoff/eWeLink ecosystem, and the choice is yours.
Pros:
- Price
- Quality
- Beautiful and well-designed app
- Flexible automation
- Ability to connect third-party vendors
Cons:
- Limited number of devices
Sonoff devices can be purchased on our website www.smarteg.lv, a convenient filter on smart home ecosystems is available, as well as by phone +371 29816769 or by e-mail sales@smarteg.lv
