I’m currently in the process of replacing all the light switches in my home with Matter-enabled smart switches—50 switches altogether. I caught these on sale for around $500 altogether. But there was another expense I hadn’t planned for, one that has ballooned the size of my budget.
Smart switches need wall plates
I’ve filled my house with TP-LINK Tapo switches. These are Matter-compatible light switches that operate over Wi-Fi. We've given the Tapo S505 high marks, and the Tapo S515 is the same product except compatible with 3-way configurations (where one light is controlled via multiple switches)
I’ve found these smart switches surprisingly easy to set up, very responsive, and, for the most part, exactly what I wanted from a smart switch. Each can be set up without downloading another app.
Thing is, each box comes with a wall plate intended for a single standalone switch. Unfortunately, that’s not how most of the switches in my home are set up. Most of my wall switches come in pairs of two, with some sets of three, and one row of four.
TP -Link Tapo S505 Smart Wi-Fi Light Switch
The Tapo Smart Wi-Fi Light Switch S505 enables control of lights and ceiling fans through the Tapo app, supports voice commands with Alexa or Google Assistant, and can be automated with Tapo sensors, without the need for an internet connection.
I’ve since learned that TP-Link doesn’t sell wall plates for such 2, 3, or 4-gang setups. On the positive side, Tapo switches are the same size as standard rocker switches, so I was easily able to go to Lowe’s and buy Eaton-branded wall plates that fit.
Don't expect third-party wall plates to match
While I’m happy to have found suitable options that fit, they don’t match the wall plates that my Tapo switches came with. These Eaton wall plates are flat with rounded square corners.
Tapo’s plates have more of a curve. Many customers won’t mind the difference, but it stands out to me, and I personally don’t want to invest this much time and money only to be left with a mix-matched setup. That means I’m left having to buy wall plates for all of my Tapo switches if I want them to match.
This can mean hundreds added to your budget
My home is a new build, but it has standard light switches with the cheapest wall plates. They’re not compatible with smart switches, which are all rocker-style. This is part of the reason I’m replacing nearly every switch with smart switches, because I have to replace most of the switches anyway.
Wallplates can cost more than you might think. Lowe’s sells 5-packs of Eaton wall plates designed for rocker switches, which hide the screws, for just under $20 a box. That’s around 25 wall plates for close to $100.
Larger wall plates are more expensive, costing around $10 or more for each 3 or 4-gang plate. Ten of those puts me back another $100. In short, I’ve spent 50% as much on wall plates as I did on the smart switches themselves!
I don’t doubt that I could probably find a cheaper option somewhere else. I liked how these wall plates looked, they’re in stock locally, and I can eat the added cost. In the end, I prefer these wall plates over Tapo’s, so I’ll ultimately be happier in the long run. Still, it’s something I wish I had considered going in, so I’m passing the information along. If you want to avoid this cost entirely, consider investing in smart relays instead of smart switches.
