Wall-mounted smart switches and outlets for use in building wiring for load control, home automation, and/or security purposes

An electrical switch device for installation at an in-wall electrical box for control over one or more electrical loads of a building via electrical wiring of said building, the electrical switch device comprising:

• a switch module comprising a housing sized and shaped to fit at least partially within the in-wall electrical box, a plurality of electrically controlled switches carried by the housing, and a respective set of line and neutral contacts carried on the housing for each of said plurality of electrically controlled switches to enable connection of a different respective load circuit across each of said plurality of electrically controlled switches;
• a control panel mountable over an open front of the in-wall electrical box and the housing therein and having a user-interface to enable operation of said control panel by a user;
• and
• a connection connectable between the control panel and the switch module to enable transmission of signals from the control panel to the switch module, including control signals operable to control the plurality of electrically controlled switches of the switch module;
• wherein a front panel of the housing of the switch module has two sets of socket openings therein, each set of socket openings being laid out according to an electrical pin or blade layout of a standard electrical plug and the sets of line and neutral contacts includes a respective pair of line and neutral contacts positioned behind two openings of each of said two sets of socket openings so that insertion of pins or blades of a standard electrical plug into said two openings of either set of socket openings will connect said standard electrical plug to one of the plurality of electrically controlled switches.

An electrical switch device for installation at an in-wall electrical box for control over one or more electrical loads of a building via electrical wiring of said building, the electrical switch device comprising:

• a switch module comprising a housing sized and shaped to fit at least partially within the in-wall electrical box, a plurality of electrically controlled switches carried by the housing, and a respective set of line and neutral contacts carried on the housing for each of said plurality of electrically controlled switches to enable connection of a different respective load circuit across each of said plurality of electrically controlled switches;
• a control panel mountable over an open front of the in-wall electrical box and the housing therein and having a user-interface to enable operation of said control panel by a user;
• and
• a connection connectable between the control panel and the switch module to enable transmission of signals from the control panel to the switch module, including control signals operable to control the plurality of electrically controlled switches of the switch module;
• wherein the user interface of the control panel is at least partially defined at a front face of the control panel that faces away from the electrical box when mounted thereover, and comprises a display screen and a pair of touch panels respectively disposed opposite one another across the display screen, each touch panel being operable to control a respective one of the plurality of switches.

An electrical switch device for installation at an in-wall electrical box for control over one or more electrical loads of a building via electrical wiring of said building, the electrical switch device comprising:

• a switch module comprising a housing sized and shaped to fit at least partially within the in-wall electrical box, one or more electrically controlled switches carried by the housing, and a respective set of line and neutral contacts carried on the housing for each of said one or more electrically controlled switches to enable connection of a different respective load circuit across each of said one or more electrically controlled switches;
• a control panel mountable over an open front of the in-wall electrical box and the housing therein and having a user-interface to enable operation of said control panel by a user;
• and
• a connection connectable between the control panel and the switch module to enable transmission of signals from the control panel to the switch module, including control signals operable to control the one or more electrically controlled switches of the switch module;
• wherein the housing of the switch module is sized and shaped to place a majority of the housing inside the electrical box with a front portion of the housing jutting through the open front of the electrical box, the control panel comprises a recess in a rear face thereof that faces toward the electrical box when mounted thereover, and the recess in the rear face of the control panel is sized and shaped to matingly fit over the front portion of the housing that juts through the open front of the electrical box.

An electrical switch device for installation at an in-wall electrical box for control over one or more electrical loads of a building via electrical wiring of said building, the electrical switch device comprising:

• a switch module comprising a housing sized and shaped to fit at least partially within the in-wall electrical box, one or more electrically controlled switches carried by the housing, and a respective set of line and neutral contacts carried on the housing for each of said one or more electrically controlled switches to enable connection of a different respective load circuit across each of said one or more electrically controlled switches;
• a control panel mountable over an open front of the in-wall electrical box and the housing therein and having a user-interface to enable operation of said control panel by a user;
• and
• a connection connectable between the control panel and the switch module to enable transmission of signals from the control panel to the switch module, including control signals operable to control the one or more electrically controlled switches of the switch module;
• wherein the control panel comprises light sources operable to emit light from perimeter edges of the control panel to provide a wall illumination effect on a wall surface surrounding the control panel and the electrical box.

An electrical switch device for installation at an in-wall electrical box for control over one or more electrical loads of a building via electrical wiring of said building, the electrical switch device comprising:

• a switch module comprising a housing sized and shaped to fit at least partially within the in-wall electrical box, one or more electrically controlled switches carried by the housing, and a respective set of line and neutral contacts carried on the housing for each of said one or more electrically controlled switches to enable connection of a different respective load circuit across each of said one or more electrically controlled switches;
• a control panel mountable over an open front of the in-wall electrical box and the housing therein and having a user-interface to enable operation of said control panel by a user;
• and
• a connection connectable between the control panel and the switch module to enable transmission of signals from the control panel to the switch module, including control signals operable to control the one or more electrically controlled switches of the switch module;
• wherein the control panel comprises at least one sensor operable to detect home intrusion events, and wherein the control panel comprises a local processor and local non-transitory computer readable memory coupled thereto on which statements and instructions are stored for execution by the processor in order to process signals from said at least one sensor, and in response to a detected home intrusion event, activate a local camera on said control panel to record video and/or images of a local environment of the control panel, and activate at least one of the one or more electronically controlled switches.

A system comprising a plurality of electrical switch devices for installation at respective in-wall electrical boxes for control over electrical loads of a building via electrical wiring of said building, each electrical switch device comprising:

• a switch module comprising a housing sized and shaped to fit at least partially within the in-wall electrical box, a plurality of electrically controlled switches carried by the housing, and a respective set of line and neutral contacts carried on the housing for each of said plurality of electrically controlled switches to enable connection of a different respective load circuit across each of said plurality of electrically controlled switches;
• a control panel mountable over an open front of the in-wall electrical box and the housing therein and having a user-interface to enable operation of said control panel by a user;
• and
• a connection connectable between the control panel and the switch module to enable transmission of signals from the control panel to the switch module, including control signals operable to control the plurality of electrically controlled switches of the switch module;
• wherein each electrical switch device also comprises a power line communications transceiver carried by the housing and connected to power line connection terminals that are also carried by the housing to enable receipt and transmission of power line communications by each of the plurality of electrical switch devices, and wherein each electronically controlled switch in each electrical switch device has an address or identifier by which incoming power line communications received by the power line communications transceiver of said electrical switch can identify a one of said electronically controlled switches in said electrical switch device to which an incoming command is to be applied in order to have an effect on an electrical load that is coupled to said one of said electronically switches via the line and neutral contacts of said electrical switch device.