HomeKit LED strips

[TVreporter]

Really want to take a stab at trying LED lights — would prefer ones HomeKit compatible to work with my HomePod mini.

My one question I have when glancing over setups from companies is — where are they putting the wire ends/plug-ins or adaptors?

I suggested to my wife to try some for the kitchen but she noted we only have a couple of outlets and it would probably require drilling holes in cupboards, etc.

I wanted to do one for her new television centre with glass doors but without drilling holes there's nowhere to string the lights.


So what are you folks using for strips? What advice do you have for a newbie?

 

[waw74]

especially since you have a HPmini, and can use thread, the Nanoleaf strip is an excellent and decently priced option.
it has white LEDs, which you want for the kitchen, Trying to mix white from RGB LEDs doesn't work well. Even though it is white, it's a very poor quality white and your food will not look right.
If you have a choice of RGB or just plain white, for task lighting always go with the white, For accent lighting RGB is normally fine.

And if you want to add to your system, there is also a regular screw in bulb in the same line.

The Nanoleaf strip has a "wall wart" plug, then about 6 feet of small cable. There are drawings will all the sizes on the page of specs, and a few pictures elsewhere on the site.
They have extension strips, both the regular and extension strips are 2 meters long, you can have up to 10 meters on a power supply (1 base + 4 extension), and if it's too long, the strips can be cut every 13 inches.

Smart Lighting | USA » Nanoleaf Essentials Smart Light Bulbs and LED Light Strips

Best Thread enabled wireless smart light bulbs and LED light strips for the smart home. Extremely easy to install and use. Color-changing & white tunable with Circadian Lighting feature. Control even when away from home. Use your voice or Nanoleaf app. Learn more »

nanoleaf.me

Thread is just a new type of radio, like wi-fi or bluetooth, it's designed to be very robust, as every device can act as a repeater. As devices are added or removed from the system, it will automatically reconfigure itself. It doesn't have the bandwidth that wifi does, but it's perfectly fine for home automation.
I think you don't have to do anything to enable thread, it should "just work"
here's a good explanation of thread if you want more info

Thread is really new, so not many devices are out yet, but that's changing rapidly. Currently the HPmini is the only "edge router" which is a device connects the thread network to your network. think of it like your regular router that connects your wifi to the rest of the world. You need at least one edge router in your system, if you have more they'll figure out how best to use themselves.
Nanoleaf and eve both have devices already released that work with thread,

 

[TVreporter]

especially since you have a HPmini, and can use thread, the Nanoleaf strip is an excellent and decently priced option.

Thanks for the post - and yes I've been eyeing Nanoleaf but their Canadian store has been out of stock since November. Nothing avaiable on Apple's store either. Even their bulbs are on back order delay until late March.

 

[TVreporter]

Was hoping for responses but things have gone quiet.

That said, I cannot find anyone with HomeKit compatible stock right now - it’s crazy and none of them indicate when they’ll get more.

 

[Rychiar]

keep checking apple. I was checking daily before I could finally order more nano leafs and every so often they're there

 

[TVreporter]

keep checking apple. I was checking daily before I could finally order more nano leafs and every so often they're there

Bulbs, strips or the panels? How do you like them?

 

[TVreporter]

On Apple Canadian store Nanoleaf starter kits strips are now available - I ordered a couple but delivery could be until month!

Loving the Nanoleaf two bulbs so far - more to add.

 

[TVreporter]

So for 2 weeks now I have been using 4 Nanoleaf bulbs and they’ve been great with the HP Mini - colors are a bit dimmer but the white setting can really light up a room.

Received two Nanoleaf strip starter kits today — not sure what the issue is but the HP Mini says it can’t access the strips. They do run on thread!

Yet I’m able to run both on HomeKit on my phone - colors are great and response is fast. I haven’t fastened them anywhere yet but did lay one along top of the kitchen cupboards as a test and it looks nice.

Only complaint is I wish they were longer - an extension kit is only an extra metre and pricey.

Anyone using strips?? What kind and where are you placing them?

 

[sclawis300]

I am using Feit 16' LED Strip lights from Costco. Picked up two on sale so not a bad price. They work ok. Not Homekit compatible but you can set up a shortcut and have siri turn them on and off so it is a decent workaround. The strips aren't sticking that great to the underside of my cabinets so I may have to go back in with some double sided tape at some point.

I named my shortcut "cabinets" and half the time when I say "hey siri, cabinets" she will respond with a list of places near me that sell cabinets. Oh well.

As far as the actual lights go they are ok. Colors are way off. Orange on the color wheel is basically green. Not sure what the problem is. They can sink to music so my kids enjoy doing a little disco dance party every now and then. They do have a separate white LED so that is nice. The app can group the strips together and 90% of the time they both react the same but once in a while I have to reactivate the shortcut to make them both turn on. Overall I would say I am pleased with the purchase.

 

[waw74]

the HP Mini says it can’t access the strips. They do run on thread!

That's nothing to do with thread.
the fact that they're responding fast is a pretty good sign that thread is up and running.

It's because siri on the HomePod is the "slow cousin", try unplugging the HomePod and plugging it back in again. If that doesn't work, restore to factory defaults and then set it up again.

before you do the factory default, you can also try rebooting your router, the hompod gets really weird with wifi sometimes, and a reset can help.


I've had commands fail time and time again on the HomePod, only to work correctly on the phone seconds later. She seems to process commands differently on different devices.
I have motorized shades. "set the window to 75" and similar wordings, repeatedly from the HomePod "I don't know what you mean" It has worked on the HomePod many many many times before.
the watch heard me one on of the requests, and triggered it from there.