The Shelly relay is the most versatile device in my smart home toolbox. But, how many things can you do with it around the smart home? The answer is more things than I have time to put in this article. However, I’ll let’s go over 10 DIY Shelly relay projects you might want to give a try!
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Table of Contents
What is a Shelly relay?
The Shelly relays are Wi-Fi (and sometimes Bluetooth) powered smart relays. They are versatile smart home devices that allow users to control the power supply to any appliance or lighting fixture remotely using a smartphone app or voice commands. They can be integrated into existing electrical installations without the need for additional wiring and offer features like scheduling, energy monitoring, and compatibility with popular smart home platforms like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
Different Shelly relays have different capabilities. Some can handle higher amps. Versions of them have multiple relays. Some can handle dimming while others can monitor power usage. The Shelly 1 and various versions of it are dry contact relays, whilst the other ones are all wet contact relays (here’s what that means).
One very key aspect of Shelly relays is that they can be controlled locally. Although they have a cloud infrastructure, you can completely skip using that (as I have done) and control the Shelly with full functionality on your local home network, This increases security, and allows your devices to work even when your Internet connection is down.
For some background on the various Shelly relay versions check out the following articles:
- Shelly Plus 1 Review: Better Than the Original?
- Shelly Mini Gen3 Reviews: How Do They Compare?
- Wiring the Shelly Plus 1 Relay
Now, let’s get to what you can do with them!
Make your light switch smart
Using a Shelly 1 relay to make my light switch smart was the first project I ever did using a Shelly relay. It has the advantage of being small enough to install behind your existing light switch. This means you don’t have to replace your existing light switch, and you can use pretty much any aesthetically pleasing light switch you’d like.
A smart light switch allows you to automate your lights based on presence, time, alarm system status, and other events. It is a basic but useful function for any smart home. I’ve had my Shelly relays automating my light switches for years, and they have been completely reliable.
Make your garage door opener smart
This is another Shelly relay project that I use every day. And, making your garage door smart with a Shelly relay is a surprisingly easy project to take on. Sure, you could buy a smart garage door opener or a premade solution, but the Shelly is probably less expensive, more reliable, and more likely to work without a cloud service. Plus it is probably just as easy if not easier to install.
Editor’s Note: If you are having problems with your garage opener range, this article about ferrite cores might help you.
Create a remote opener for your gate
Do you have an electronic gate to your home that is in reach of your Wi-Fi signal? If so, then you may be able to use a Shelly relay to open and close it remotely. This might be extremely useful when you have visitors or delivery drivers visit your home. You can also set a schedule of when the gate is normally open or close.
Here’s an example of how to wire your Shelly to your gate.
Make your bathroom fan smart
This project works just like wiring up a light switch if your bathroom fan has a switch connected to it. I’ve done this for one of my bathrooms for the following reasons:
- My children often leave the fan on forever but they don’t leave the light on when they leave the bathroom. I have an automation that turns the fan off 20 minutes after the bathroom light turns off and will turn off the fan no matter what after an hour.
- The only thing my kids forget to do more than turn the fan off is turn the fan on. The bathroom fan always turns on if the lights have been on for five minutes.
I could also put a humidity sensor in the bathroom and have that be the trigger for the fan turning on and off. That might be a future project.
Popular Shelly relays on Amazon
Monitor the power of your electrical devices
The Shelly PM lines of relays also measure and report how much power connected devices use. This can help you with your energy management, and it can save you money.
For example, you could have Shelly control an outlet that a vampire device like a coffee maker or a phone charger is plugged into. You set the Shelly relay to cut the power temporarily when the device is in idling mode (which can be determined by measuring the power usage) or during times of the day when you know those devices aren’t in use.
Dim your lights the smart way
The Shelly dimmer is the best smart dimmer I’ve owned. You can use the Shelly Dimmer 2 with a dimmer switch to lower and brighten your lights to your exact specificaiton.
One automation I use with my smart dimmer sets the morning brightness. No matter what level the light was left on during the day, in the early morning the dimness is set low so that my old eyes aren’t shocked in the morning by a bright light.
Automate your curtains and blinds
Shelly relays, especially the Shelly 2PM, can automate your blinds, roller shutters, curtains, and even sliding doors and awnings! Imagine being able to automatically close blinds and curtains when the outside or inside temperature is or is projected to be hot. Or waking up to the sun peaking through the slow rise of your blinds.
Curtains and blinds can work on the schedule you set.
Make your fireplace smart
Making my fireplace smart was initially a project I took on with some trepidation. Sure, it would be cool and useful to be able to control my fireplace with voice commands and coordinate its heating with my HVAC system. But, was it safe enough to be worth it?
After doing research about how gas fireplaces work I felt confident this was a project I could take on. Additionally, this project actually made my home safer. Using the Shelly automation I am now able to automatically shut off my fireplace if it has been on too long or if it gets too hot.
Editor’s Note: If you want a ready-made smart fireplace device, check out this article about some of the best out there.
Make your irrigation system smart
I had a smart irrigation system long before I even knew about Shelly relays. However, if I were building it today, I’d probably use Shelly relays. I could use multiple Shelly relays to control the different zones and easily program that into Home Assistant.
Having a smart irrigation system allows for more efficient and targeted control. For instance, you can add logic that says not to turn on irrigation if it is raining, has just rained, or is going to rain. Or, you can have the irrigation go longer on particularly hot days. All this is automatable and can be set it and forget it.
Make your garage door opener smart… again
Newer Chamberlain, LiftMaster, and Craftsman garage door openers all use the same Security +2.0 technology. Instead of just using a dry contact to open and close the garage, they use a circuit to send signals to the garage door. This disables my previous solution of wiring a smart relay in parallel to the button to open and close the garage.
You can still control these garage door openers using a Shelly relay and a remote.
Final thoughts
Smart relays are very versatile smart home toolkits. When you consider price, functionality, support, and reliability, Shelly relays are some of the best on the market. Do yourself a favor and implement one or seven of these ideas. Here are links to the ones I’ve implemented to get you started:
- The Shelly 1 Relay Can Make Any Light Switch Smart
- Creating a Smart Fireplace Switch With a Shelly Relay
- Smart Home Dimming with The Shelly Dimmer 2
- Make Your Own Smart Garage Door Opener for $15
- DIY Garage Door Opener w/ Security+ 2.0 GDOs
I’d love to hear about other uses for Shelly relays. Let me know how you are using them in the comments or on X (Twitter).
