The Lanbon L8 series is a collection of smart home devices sold by Shenzhen Lanbon Hi-Tech Co. Ltd
They have several in their series:
Lanbon L8 - their newest series of products Their LCD touch screen devices use ESP32 for their detachable front-plate controller The LCD touch screen plates seem to have the same hardware with different firmware depending on the relays attached to the back.
The L8 series LCD touch screen products include four different SKUs that I know of (it's hard to tell what is there or what they do, and the confusion is exacerbated since the packaging doesn't explain or differentiate the technical features, firmware differences, and some others still marketed on-line can already be end-of-life or basically different marketing names for the same devices)
Firmware variations:
- without homekit
- with homekit
There may be firmware variations on whether you need it to be compatible with Apple homekit or without, but AFAIK the hardware is the same (I'm guessing a reflash to any of the firmware can change the functionality accordingly)
Plate size variations:
- US
- UK/EU (86mm x 86mm)
When in doubt, chat directly to a salesperson for the Lanbon store in Alibaba to see if it is fit for your purpose
Variants:
-
Smart switch / 5 model in one
SKU: L8-HS Rated power: 200W Connections: N L L1 L2 L3 Features 3-gang light switch relays - L8-HS (1/2/3GANG light switch) Rated Load: 200W/GANG(single switch) Load type: incandescent lamp, energy saving lamp, fluorescent - L8-HS (scene switch) MAX scene: 3 - L8-HS (curtain switch) Rated Load :200W Loat type: horizontal curtain motor/vertical - L8-HS (LCD 1gang switch) Rated load: 16A -
Dimmer switch
SKU: L8-HD Rated power: 100W Connections: N L L1 Features a 1-gang light dimmer which varies the voltage -
Boiler switch
SKU: L8-HB Rated load: 16A Load type: various brand water heater Features a 1-gang switch with a 16-A rating for high-load devices, such as water heaters -
Air Conditioner switch / Thermostat switch
SKU: L8-HT24 Voltage: 24V ( Yes, 24V! ) Connections: C R G Y W ( See: https://findanyanswer.com/how-does-a-24-volt-thermostat-work ) Controller for HVAC/air conditioners/heaters
My particular interest in it came upon discovering the Open HA switchplate project by Fvanroie, which provides a great way to customize the hardware and integrate it into HomeAssistant.
I backed up the firmware of some of the Lanbon L8 am using by following BlakAdder's guide here: https://blakadder.com/lanbon-L8-custom-firmware/
For the dimmer plate, the behavior of the GPIO pins seem to have a different effect for my plate. I can't find a mood light GPIO pin, instead most GPIO pins sometimes affect the backlight level instead, including GPIO pins that worked as the relay and mood light pins on the switch plate. For instance, adding a slider to GPIO pins 12,13,26,27,32,33 all seem to result in the changing of the LCD backlight. Additionally the LCD backlight does not turn off automatically, the LCD stays on indefinitely.