In this guide, I’m going to show you how to add your Sonoff S31 Lite smart plug to Home Assistant. This plug uses the Zigbee protocol, so by default it can be picked up by Home Assistant.
I was able to pair mine using the Zigbee Home Automation (ZHA) integration from my Nortek zigbee/z-wave dongle.
What I really like about these smart plugs is that they are stackable; you can install two of them in one outlet. So, although I love my Securifi Peanut plugs (which do support energy monitoring by applying an OTA update), you can only use one of them per outlet which is a bummer.
- Interact with your devices via ZigBee Protocol:A compatible ZigBee hub is required to control this plug. Pair your plug to a compatible ZigBee hub such as SmartThings, or Amazon Echo Plus
- Smart Control: Use your smartphone to switch traditional lighting and appliances and put your appliances on a schedule
Do you need to flash Sonoff S31 with Tasmota?
No, you don’t need to flash the firmware of your Sonoff S31 Lite zigbee smart plug.
And actually, you can’t flash this Zigbee plug with Tasmota at all; you would need to have purchased the Sonoff S31 WIFI plug in order to flash it.
Does the Sonoff S31 support energy monitoring?
The Zigbee version (which is what I’m covering in this tutorial) does not support energy monitoring.
However, if you purchase the Sonoff S31 Lite wifi version, it can support it if you flash it with Tasmota firmware.
I tend to shy away from wifi devices whenever possible in my Home Assistant setup, so I won’t be showing you how to do that in this how-to guide. There’s plenty of posts on the Home Assistant Community Forums that will walk you through how to do that.
How To Pair Sonoff S31 Lite to Home Assistant
Assuming you already have Home Assistant up and running with ZHA running, it’s super easy to pair this device.
Just unbox it & plug it into a wall outlet.
You should see a blinking green light. This means it is ready to pair.
Next, launch your Home Assistant web interface.
From the sidebar, click Settings > Devices & Services > ZHA. Click on the devices.
Then click Add Device from the bottom right corner.
Finally, click and hold the power button for about 5-10 seconds. The power button is located on the right-hand side of the smart plug. You’ll hear a series of clicks during the pairing process.
It should only a few seconds for it to be detected by Home Assistant.
Once it’s detected, give it a useful name, assign it to a room, and you are good to go!
Wrapping Up
Hopefully this short guide helps you set up your Sonoff smart plug in Home Assistant in 2022!
Chances are you didn’t need a guide for this, but I figured I’d create a short one just in case this is the very first device you’ve ever added to Home Assistant.
My Favorite Home Assistant Devices
Below are some of the Home Assistant-compatible devices I personally use in my home. I highly recommend each of them.
- Zwave/Zigbee hub: Nortek GoControl HUSBZB-1
- Smart Plugs: Sonoff S31 Lite Zigbee
- Motion Sensors: Hue Indoor Motion
- Outdoor Camera: Amcrest IP5M Turret
- Robot Vacuum: Roborock S7
The full list of all Home Assistant compatible & recommended devices I use can be found on my Equipment List page.
What plug would you recommend for monitoring a dumb washing machine.
Unfortunately, when adding these plugs to HA ZHA, there is no “switch” entity. Thus, no way to control it from HA ZHA. Fortunately, I also have a Smartthings hub and added them to it and can access through HA with the Smartthings integration.
I use these sonoff plugs as switches daily. Use Call-Service “switch.toggle” for your buttons or automations.