Those are not switches. They are simply remotes to control HUE light bulbs. Allowing a remote to be mounted on a wall does not make it a switch.
Mike
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Philips Hue Reveals New Candle Light Bulb Coming to Europe in April and U.S. Later This Year
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Mike
Huh. This brings Hue lights to more places in the house, which is good, but if you had asked me and a bunch of other folks, what Hue really needs is some bulbs with more lumens, not less.
Mike, The remote can take a group of lights, e.g a bathroom and turn them all off at the same time. What kind of switch do you want?
The main problem I have is people who turn off the switch connected to the power cable, which makes the bulbs "No Response".
Given Philips want to sell the remotes / switches in a world market I can see why they don't make switches that replace the original / connect to the power cable, though it would be nice. The remotes do have an on and off button.
Also HomeKit and the Philips app will turn them on or off. With HomeKit you don't even need to unlock your phone.
The main problem I have is people who turn off the switch connected to the power cable, which makes the bulbs "No Response".
Given Philips want to sell the remotes / switches in a world market I can see why they don't make switches that replace the original / connect to the power cable, though it would be nice. The remotes do have an on and off button.
Also HomeKit and the Philips app will turn them on or off. With HomeKit you don't even need to unlock your phone.
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A few:
- A switch to control my pool light. No HUE option, naturally.
- A switch to control lights that need more brightness than that which HUE bulbs are currently available, such as my driveway spots.
- A switch to control the 34 backyard wall lights, that I will not need to dim/brighten and will never replace with HUE lightbulbs.
- A switch to control my garage fluorescents.
There are others but the above was easily doable with decades old X/10 system.
Mike
Is there a particular reason you want the switch to be Hue branded? Because there are a lot of options out there from other brands that are HomeKit/Alexa/etc compatible. Philips have never really made switches that I know of. Just bulbs. Other brands that make the switches, don't really make bulbs.
The basic white ones aren't cool white, they are 2700k. I use them in hallways (triggered by the motion sensor accessory) , they are very similar to incandescent lights.
http://www2.meethue.com/en-gb/productdetail/philips-hue-white-sk-a19#specifications
Buy a home kit enabled switch and use HomeKit to control everything?
Elgato have a new switch, which is HomeKit enabled which might work for your garage and pool. Worth looking at. Might have further uses too.
https://www.elgato.com/en/eve/eve-light-switch
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Main reason is because I am able to use Hue's bridge, and the Hue app. Last I tried Homekit didn't have that kind of flexibility. I also would need to use an ATV4 or my iPad if I want to be able to use it when away from home. The Hue app with bridge lets me use it away from home and it works on my iPhone, iPad, Android phone, and my wife's Android phone. It would be easier for me to just add a switch into that mix.
I'll probably just get a non-Hue switch and deal with it. I thought there was one that was supposed to be Hue compatible but I am not sure what came of it.
Mike
I don't really need that, and in fact have a few that I didn't even put anywhere. We just don't use wall switches much anymore for lights, since we can use voice, smartwatch, phones or tablet--and even then most are automated in some way. Well, aside from the switches that control lights I previously mentioned, where Hue bulbs won't work: those switches we still have to use.
Mike
I guess I am not making myself clear. I don't need a remote or switch for the Hue lights I already have. I can already control them without issue.
Mike
I just bought Hue lights for my living room and bedroom a week ago and I love them. Works great with Amazon Echo.
Well, that's one obstacle down for me. Next is price. I've got 7 ceiling fans in my house with 3 candle bulbs each. That's $840 to hook them up, and it doesn't even control the fan. I need some kind of switch that works with multi wall plates. Maybe I'll only put hue in the bedroom to do things like slowly fade in the morning. Hopefully they come out with cheaper white dimmer only versions.
Just saw they are only 40w equivalent. Pretty sure my LED candle bulbs are 60w equivalent. Hmmm…
Just saw they are only 40w equivalent. Pretty sure my LED candle bulbs are 60w equivalent. Hmmm…
In your original post you said you want Philips to make a switch to turn your current multiple lights simply on/off and they make two (the Hue Tap "Switch" and the Dimmer) - as others have mentioned. The Tap Switch, which was released three years ago, can control multiple lights and scenes with a single button. Anything else you can do in the app. Seems pretty clear to me.
FWIW, as of some recent update, the Hue Dimmer switches can now summon multiple scenes - in the Hue app you can select 5 scenes, the first press of "on" gets you the first scene, subsequent presses (within a short window) cycle through the other scenes. After a short timeout, the "on" button goes back to summoning the first scene again. If you didn't know to press "on" multiple times, it'd seem like a straightforward on/off/up/down switch. I find these extremely useful.
But, yeah, unless the OP just really likes the name "Hue" on things, look to the other companies producing HomeKit-enabled wall switches. I have Hue lights and several iDevices Switches (yes, they aren't wall switches, but bear with me, they control two lights that are essentially LED movie lights, which replaced a halogen torchiere for those occasions when I need/want terrifically bright light). HomeKit has no problems incorporating both the Hue lights and the iDevicesSwitch-controlled lights into the same scene.
The "Hue White Ambiance" bulbs (800 lumens, $30 retail), which have controllable color temperature and dimming, can go from 2200K to 6500K.
The "Hue White" bulbs (800 lumens, $15 retail), which have only dimming, are fixed at 2700K.
Given that the new bulb is 470 lumens for $40 retail, one would hope it'll have controllable color temperature.
Oh, the press release says:
"The Philips Hue candle light bulb is a 40W equivalent E14 – 470 lumen at 4000 kelvin – and is available in white ambiance, providing a broad spectrum of white light; or white and color ambiance, with a range of more than 16 million colors. Both bulbs feature deep dimming from warm white to cool daylight with a 2200k – 6500k color temperature range."
Oh good lord. Did you not read the many examples that I gave, which clearly will NOT work with that Hue switch.
I honestly don't see what is so hard about this to understand: I want Hue to make a switch. Not a remote that controls Hue lights. A switch that controls a circuit, just like an ordinary wall switch. A switch that actually replaces a wall switch, as in WIRED IN. Clear now??
Mike
Why does it have to be Hue? Lutron has their Caseta system with all sorts of wall switches, and there are many Z-Wave switches that will work with SmartThings. Hell, SmartThings will even integrate with the Hue bulbs you already have. And I believe both offer iOS and Android apps (I know SmartThings does, not sure if Lutron does Android). Lowes and Home Depot both carry the Lutron equipment, as well as GE branded switches that will work with SmartThings. You could be up and running with these today if you wanted, all that's needed is a trip to the hardware store and maybe Best Buy.
I'm using a mix of Hue bulbs in lamps and Lutron Caseta Wirless switches for ceiling / exterior lights. So far, I just have them both on an automated schedules through HomeKit, but the voice control works for both of them as well. The Lutron switches also work with Amazon's Alexa, so you have a lot of options to control them.
Replacing the wall switch is a much more economical way to automate your lights. Like most people have said, if you have a fixture with 4, 5, or 6 bulbs, that's a lot of money to spend on Hue bulbs.
Insteon also makes a hub controlled smart switch that works with HomeKit. I prefer the look of their switches over Lutron, but Lutron is more available where I live and that's what I started with.
I know what you're saying about how it would be nice if Phillips would make a Hue switch, so that you'd only have to use one app to control everything, but I think a Lutron hub and some switches would be the next best thing. HomeKit works well enough to provide voice command for both without having to worry about switching apps, and you can get creative to automate lights with schedules, scenes, motion sensor, etc.