Smart relays

Smart relays

Smart relays are modules that make a circuit you already have smart, from behind a light switch or inside the switchboard. You keep your switches and fittings, and add app, voice and automation control over Wi-Fi or Zigbee.

Smart relay, switch module or Wi-Fi relay?

They're all names for the same thing. Smart relay, smart relay switch, smart switch module and Wi-Fi relay module each describe a small device that switches a circuit you already have.

Why most of ours are Shelly

Most relays we stock are Shelly, because one range covers nearly every job: Mini modules for a crowded wall box, standard in-wall modules, and four-channel units for the switchboard. The Gen4 models add Zigbee and Matter to Wi-Fi. [Compare the Shelly relays](/brands/shelly/relays).

No neutral at the switch?

Most relays need a neutral wire at the switch to power themselves, and many older homes run the neutral to the light instead. If yours is one, the Shelly 1L and 2L Gen3 run on the active alone, with a Bypass fitted at the light.

Dry contact

A dry-contact relay's output carries no power. It closes a separate circuit, which is the signal a garage door opener, gate motor or heating controller expects on its button terminals.

Switches · 24 products Relays at Synced Australian stock
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Shelly 1 Gen4 Smart Relay
Shelly

1 Gen4 Smart Relay

  • 1 channel
  • Bluetooth Wi-Fi Zigbee Matter
$34.95
Shelly i4 Gen3
Shelly

i4 Gen3

  • 110–240 V
  • 4 inputs
  • Bluetooth Wi-Fi
$29.95
Buying guide · Smart relays

What is a smart relay?

A small module that makes a circuit you already have smart. Your wiring stays, and so do your switches and fittings.

A smart relay, also sold as a smart switch module, is a small device that connects into a circuit you already have. It can turn the power for that circuit on and off, so you can control it from an app. The wall switch still works as it did before, and now your phone, your voice or an automation can turn it on and off too.

The main reason to choose one is that you keep what you have. There's no new cabling, and your switches and light fittings stay, whether that's a heritage plate or downlights you already like. One relay switches every light on its circuit, so a room of six downlights needs one module rather than six smart downlights.

It is also a simple way to bring a circuit into a bigger smart home. A Wi-Fi relay joins your home network with no hub, and a Zigbee relay joins the hub you already run. Shelly relays connect to Home Assistant over your local network with no cloud in between, so your automations keep running if the internet drops.

A hand holding a white light switch plate away from the wall, with a smart relay wired into the box behind it
Behind the switch An in-wall smart switch module fits in the space behind the light switch you already have. It's the usual choice for lights, and anything else on a normal wall switch.
A row of Shelly Pro relays in red, black and blue clipped onto a DIN rail inside a switchboard
In the switchboard DIN rail smart relay switches sit inside your switchboard, so several circuits can be switched from one place without opening a wall. Some take a network cable, so they don't rely on Wi-Fi.
A ceiling-mounted garage door opener with its drive rail running back into the garage
On the circuit itself Pumps, gate motors and heaters often have no switch of their own. A Wi-Fi relay module wires straight into the circuit, and the app becomes the switch.

Which smart relay for which job?

Start with what you want to control, and the job decides the module. Every one below works as a Wi-Fi relay switch, so none of them needs a hub.

A light on a normal switch

The simplest smart lighting relay. Lighting draws very little, so the rating is rarely the problem. Space is. The Mini fits a crowded wall box that a standard module won't.

Smart relay questions

Can't find your question? Ask our Melbourne team

Yes. That is the point of a relay. It wires in behind the switch you already have, so the switch keeps working manually while the relay adds app and voice control. The wall plate does not change. If you want a new look or extra buttons, a smart light switch replaces the plate instead.

Most relays handle both. A standard relay pairs with a normal toggle switch, while many also support momentary or push-button switches through a setting in the app. Check the relay's listing if your switch is the press-and-release type, common on stairwells and some bedside controls.

No. A smart light switch replaces the plate on your wall with new buttons or a touch panel. A smart relay switch goes behind the switch you already have, so the plate stays and the circuit gains app and voice control. Choose a relay to keep the look of your wall, and a smart light switch when you want the plate itself to change.

It depends on the module. Across the current Gen4 in-wall range it is about 8 A on a mini, 16 A on a standard module, and 10 A per channel with 16 A across both on a two-channel module. For anything bigger, the Ogemray smart relay switches up to 25 A. Lighting circuits sit well under all of those. Where it matters is heating, pumps and motors: check the appliance plate for its rating, and remember an inductive load draws more on start-up than its label says. Every listing states the figure for that model. If the load is close to the limit, size up rather than run the relay at its ceiling.

For one or two circuits, a Wi-Fi relay is the quicker start. It joins your home network directly and needs nothing else. A Zigbee relay needs a hub or coordinator, and in return each mains-powered Zigbee device strengthens the network as you add it. For a whole-home retrofit, or if you already run Home Assistant or a Zigbee hub, Zigbee is worth it. The Gen4 Shelly relays have both, and switching one to Zigbee takes five presses of its button.

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