ᐅ Switches or push buttons in new construction with Shelly – planning fully smart or sticking to traditional?
Created on: 22 Apr 2026 08:04
F
FloSCFan
Hello everyone,
We are currently in the process of building a new house and are working on the electrical planning with the electrician. Now we need to decide where to install traditional switches and where to use push buttons.
The plan is to equip some lighting circuits with Shelly modules before moving in. In those cases, push buttons would be easy to use since the Shelly acts as a relay or control unit.
However, I have two basic questions:
1. Push button or traditional switch for smart lighting circuits?
It is often recommended to use push buttons for smart home solutions (because of scenes, multiple clicks, long presses, etc.).
My concern is that if the Shelly module fails, the push button might stop working entirely or only work with limitations. This would require immediate attention. A traditional switch might still offer some basic functionality depending on its setup.
2. Should everything be switched to push buttons and smart control?
Does it make sense to equip all lighting circuits with Shelly modules and install push buttons everywhere to keep the system uniform?
Or is this unnecessary, more expensive, and potentially more error-prone than needed, with smart controls better reserved only for areas where they provide real added value?
I would be interested in your experiences:
* What would you do in a new build today?
* Push buttons or switches for smart circuits?
* Standardize everything or make only selected areas smart?
* How important is system reliability and failure safety in everyday life?
Thank you very much for your insights.
We are currently in the process of building a new house and are working on the electrical planning with the electrician. Now we need to decide where to install traditional switches and where to use push buttons.
The plan is to equip some lighting circuits with Shelly modules before moving in. In those cases, push buttons would be easy to use since the Shelly acts as a relay or control unit.
However, I have two basic questions:
1. Push button or traditional switch for smart lighting circuits?
It is often recommended to use push buttons for smart home solutions (because of scenes, multiple clicks, long presses, etc.).
My concern is that if the Shelly module fails, the push button might stop working entirely or only work with limitations. This would require immediate attention. A traditional switch might still offer some basic functionality depending on its setup.
2. Should everything be switched to push buttons and smart control?
Does it make sense to equip all lighting circuits with Shelly modules and install push buttons everywhere to keep the system uniform?
Or is this unnecessary, more expensive, and potentially more error-prone than needed, with smart controls better reserved only for areas where they provide real added value?
I would be interested in your experiences:
* What would you do in a new build today?
* Push buttons or switches for smart circuits?
* Standardize everything or make only selected areas smart?
* How important is system reliability and failure safety in everyday life?
Thank you very much for your insights.
N
nordanney28 Apr 2026 09:27Sorry, then you need something like that.
M
MachsSelbst28 Apr 2026 09:53Not many manufacturers offer something like this...
The Gira 312600 is a push-button switch that, unlike the one from Jung, is still available for purchase.
The Gira 312600 is a push-button switch that, unlike the one from Jung, is still available for purchase.
N
nordanney28 Apr 2026 10:18MachsSelbst schrieb:
Not many manufacturers offer something like this... Busch-Jäger with rocker switches (standard switches that return to their original position—so they always stay in the same setting)
You already mentioned Gira (they work great, I had them myself in the last house—combined with the System 55 Esprit)
Merten is similar to Busch-Jäger (they use a small spring clip)
Berker also offers push-rocker switches similar to Gira
These are just the insert mechanisms. With the many different cover plates, there’s a large range of visual options.
But the original poster said they are set on Jung (for whatever reason).
M
MachsSelbst28 Apr 2026 10:34That is always the risk. It seems that the Jung model is being discontinued, and whether there will be a replacement, he will have to find out.
By the way, Busch-Jaeger calls it a pressure sequence switch.
I will keep my switches and handle it with edge evaluation... Pushbuttons for lighting in a single-family house give me the feeling of a stairwell or industrial building 😀
By the way, Busch-Jaeger calls it a pressure sequence switch.
I will keep my switches and handle it with edge evaluation... Pushbuttons for lighting in a single-family house give me the feeling of a stairwell or industrial building 😀
B
Bierwächter5 May 2026 19:45I can describe our situation for you. Our house is now built, but we’re not living in it yet, and I’m installing the smart home system myself.
At first, I wanted to have everything perfectly prepared during the selection process. I made notes and so on. But in the end, most of it wasn’t implemented because either the general contractor didn’t offer it or it became way too expensive.
I decided early on to go with Shelly devices. KNX was too expensive for me, and with Shelly, I can retrofit as I like and stay within the same system. I plan to use Home Assistant, which I can easily set up myself, and I can refine complex features over time. I don’t want to rely on someone else to configure things for me.
I initially wanted to have push-buttons installed because of the Shellys. The problem was that the general contractor would have installed relays, which I would then have to replace later. So we went with regular switches and I’ll add Shelly devices into the boxes later and swap the switches for push-buttons.
I wanted a star wiring system, all going to the technical room so I could house the Shellys there in the distribution panel. But that requires a lot of space in the distribution board, meaning a bigger panel and thus higher cost. Since our house is quite small (100m² (1,076 sq ft)), a bigger panel wouldn’t even fit without expanding the technical room, which would mean completely redesigning the house — very expensive and practically impossible with the floor plan. So all the preparation and planning turned out to be unrealistic in our case.
Still, I thought about how to prepare for some special features. For example, we’re installing LED strips recessed in tile profiles as shower lighting. These need to work with a Shelly AND a switch. For this, I have to build a small sub-distribution myself and needed an extra cable from the switch to that sub-distribution.
I also already chose which motion sensors to use, and placed power outlets at 1.6m (5 feet) height in every room where the sensor has the best field of view. Sometimes that wasn’t possible because of beams, so the outlet was installed in the ceiling instead.
I simulated Wi-Fi coverage and planned two network outlets in the ceiling where I’ll install access points to ensure flawless Wi-Fi.
I wanted to have the network installed in empty conduits, but my general contractor didn’t offer that at all. So I ended up installing the entire network cabling myself during the shell construction phase. The contractor prepared pull cords inside the walls for me.
I also made sure deep wall boxes (60mm (2.4 inches)) were used. But even then, there were one or two boxes that ended up too tight inside the wall because of stretched foil.
I had an empty conduit prepared for LAN to the doorbell because I want to install my own doorbell. However, I needed a two-pair cable and the conduit wasn’t big enough for that. With two people and a lot of force, we managed to push it through. But now it won’t come back out. Two pairs because I want to power the doorbell over PoE with one pair, and with the second pair, I want to capture a signal from the button, integrate it into Home Assistant via Shelly, and eventually receive a notification with a camera image on my desktop PC via Discord.
And there will certainly still be challenges when I install my Shellys and so on. I’ve already seen a few boxes during shell construction that will be extremely tight because cables are routed through there. So many Wago connectors and cables are already crammed in.
Think carefully about where you want special features that might really need preparation — like shower lighting or doorbell in my case.
Use deep boxes.
Plan access points.
At first, I wanted to have everything perfectly prepared during the selection process. I made notes and so on. But in the end, most of it wasn’t implemented because either the general contractor didn’t offer it or it became way too expensive.
I decided early on to go with Shelly devices. KNX was too expensive for me, and with Shelly, I can retrofit as I like and stay within the same system. I plan to use Home Assistant, which I can easily set up myself, and I can refine complex features over time. I don’t want to rely on someone else to configure things for me.
I initially wanted to have push-buttons installed because of the Shellys. The problem was that the general contractor would have installed relays, which I would then have to replace later. So we went with regular switches and I’ll add Shelly devices into the boxes later and swap the switches for push-buttons.
I wanted a star wiring system, all going to the technical room so I could house the Shellys there in the distribution panel. But that requires a lot of space in the distribution board, meaning a bigger panel and thus higher cost. Since our house is quite small (100m² (1,076 sq ft)), a bigger panel wouldn’t even fit without expanding the technical room, which would mean completely redesigning the house — very expensive and practically impossible with the floor plan. So all the preparation and planning turned out to be unrealistic in our case.
Still, I thought about how to prepare for some special features. For example, we’re installing LED strips recessed in tile profiles as shower lighting. These need to work with a Shelly AND a switch. For this, I have to build a small sub-distribution myself and needed an extra cable from the switch to that sub-distribution.
I also already chose which motion sensors to use, and placed power outlets at 1.6m (5 feet) height in every room where the sensor has the best field of view. Sometimes that wasn’t possible because of beams, so the outlet was installed in the ceiling instead.
I simulated Wi-Fi coverage and planned two network outlets in the ceiling where I’ll install access points to ensure flawless Wi-Fi.
I wanted to have the network installed in empty conduits, but my general contractor didn’t offer that at all. So I ended up installing the entire network cabling myself during the shell construction phase. The contractor prepared pull cords inside the walls for me.
I also made sure deep wall boxes (60mm (2.4 inches)) were used. But even then, there were one or two boxes that ended up too tight inside the wall because of stretched foil.
I had an empty conduit prepared for LAN to the doorbell because I want to install my own doorbell. However, I needed a two-pair cable and the conduit wasn’t big enough for that. With two people and a lot of force, we managed to push it through. But now it won’t come back out. Two pairs because I want to power the doorbell over PoE with one pair, and with the second pair, I want to capture a signal from the button, integrate it into Home Assistant via Shelly, and eventually receive a notification with a camera image on my desktop PC via Discord.
And there will certainly still be challenges when I install my Shellys and so on. I’ve already seen a few boxes during shell construction that will be extremely tight because cables are routed through there. So many Wago connectors and cables are already crammed in.
Think carefully about where you want special features that might really need preparation — like shower lighting or doorbell in my case.
Use deep boxes.
Plan access points.
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