ctrlspace
// The workhorse of most Singapore builds

Aqara

A very broad Zigbee catalogue - switches, sensors, curtain motors, locks, buttons - at prices that make whole-home coverage realistic. It is the brand that appears in more of our installations than any other.

Why we use Aqara

  • The Zigbee devices pair directly with our own coordinator, so no Aqara hub and no Aqara cloud is involved.
  • The catalogue covers almost everything a Singapore home needs, from a two-dollar contact sensor to a full wall panel.
  • Sensor battery life is genuinely good - a year or two on a coin cell is normal.
  • Build quality and finish are well above the price, which matters for something on a wall in the living room.
  • The switch range includes no-neutral variants, which keeps older HDB flats in scope.

Where we do not, and why

  • Not every Aqara product is Zigbee. The cameras and some presence sensors are Wi-Fi and lean on Aqara's cloud, and we treat those separately.
  • Some older sensors use non-standard Zigbee clusters, so they behave slightly differently on a third-party coordinator than on an Aqara hub.
  • A handful of devices need an Aqara hub for their full feature set, which we will tell you before you buy.

Pros and cons at a glance

Pros
  • Huge catalogue at accessible prices
  • Works directly with a local Zigbee coordinator, no vendor hub or cloud
  • Excellent sensor battery life
  • Good physical build and finish
  • No-neutral switch options for older flats
Cons
  • Wi-Fi products in the range are cloud-dependent
  • Some older devices deviate from standard Zigbee behaviour
  • A few features are locked to the Aqara hub
  • Firmware updates via a third-party coordinator are limited

The technical position

Main protocol
Zigbee 3.0, with some Wi-Fi, Thread and Matter products
Local control
Yes for Zigbee devices, on our own coordinator
Vendor hub needed
No, for the Zigbee range
Home Assistant support
Excellent, via Zigbee2MQTT or ZHA
Singapore availability
Widely available

Where it fits in a CtrlSpace build

Aqara is usually the default for wall switches, contact sensors, motion sensors, temperature and humidity sensors, buttons and curtain motors. We pair them to our coordinator, never to an Aqara hub, so the devices answer to your system rather than to a vendor.

// Frequently asked

Aqara, answered plainly

Do I need an Aqara hub?

Not for the Zigbee range. Those devices pair directly with the Zigbee coordinator on your Home Assistant machine, which is both faster and one less cloud account. Some Wi-Fi products in the range are a different matter and we will say so before you buy.

Are Aqara switches available in a no-neutral version?

Yes, and that is one reason the brand suits older Singapore flats. No-neutral switches usually need a capacitor at the light fitting to stop LEDs glowing when off, and we fit those as part of the works.
// 9 more in this category

See others in switches, relays and sensors

Zigbee · Wi-Fi Sonoff Cheap, capable, and best used on your own terms Wi-Fi · Matter Shelly The most local-friendly relay on the market Zigbee · Wi-Fi Tuya / Smart Life Half the market, and two very different halves Zigbee ThirdReality Cheap Zigbee that mostly behaves Wi-Fi · ESPHome Athom Devices that ship already local Wi-Fi · ESPHome Everything Presence mmWave presence done properly Zigbee Schneider Electric Wiser Electrical-grade build, ecosystem strings attached Z-Wave Aeotec Solid Z-Wave, wrong side of the frequency map Z-Wave Fibaro Beautifully made, hard to justify here

Not sure what belongs in your home?

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