Smart Bulbs or Smart Switches

[TWO2SEVEN]

I am getting started on my smart home journey. I have wanted the Hue system for a while and may get the starter kit this week.

However, most of the bulbs in my house are already LED so I am not sure what I will gain by going with the Hue setup.

My question to those who have done one or the other, or both, is which do you see as more useful, smart bulbs or smart switches?

I am thinking that for my built in lights (ceilings, fans, outdoor, etc) it might be more cost effective to go with new switches. Then, in things like lamps I could go with the Hue bulbs.

I do realize that the Hue bulbs can change colors and temperatures, which I find very cool, but it is not a feature that I will use all the time.

Any insight from those who use both?

Thanks!

 

[chuyn]

We use both for the same situations you listed. Not only more cost effective but less pain in the butt to use smart switches for the ceiling lights. Didn't want to install a bunch of extra remotes/switches for guests/kids to use the lights or risk having a switch turned off and lose control of the bulbs.

Pretty much every room in my house has a lamp or two other than the kitchen and dining room. So we've got Hue colour bulbs in the lamps and Lutron dimmers for ceiling lights. The kids have Hue Go's instead of a lamp, mainly for being tougher and fun to take around into a play fort or whatnot.

 

[steve knight]

remember you need the wiring for switches. I don't have the wiring and I did not want to spend a lot so Use all hue bulbs. I just have the lights on all the time till we leave or go to bed. but there are only two of us. but I can add a remote for around 20.00 but I have a smartthings hub for such things.

 

[TWO2SEVEN]

We are in a rental now so it may not be worth it to start changing out switches. I am going to start with the Hue starter kit and go from there.

 

[gsmornot]

remember you need the wiring for switches. I don't have the wiring and I did not want to spend a lot so Use all hue bulbs. I just have the lights on all the time till we leave or go to bed. but there are only two of us. but I can add a remote for around 20.00 but I have a smartthings hub for such things.

Are you talking about neutral? The Lutron Caseta dimmers don't require it.
[doublepost=1494878836][/doublepost]

I am getting started on my smart home journey. I have wanted the Hue system for a while and may get the starter kit this week.

However, most of the bulbs in my house are already LED so I am not sure what I will gain by going with the Hue setup.

My question to those who have done one or the other, or both, is which do you see as more useful, smart bulbs or smart switches?

I am thinking that for my built in lights (ceilings, fans, outdoor, etc) it might be more cost effective to go with new switches. Then, in things like lamps I could go with the Hue bulbs.

I do realize that the Hue bulbs can change colors and temperatures, which I find very cool, but it is not a feature that I will use all the time.

Any insight from those who use both?

Thanks!

Looks like you decided but we do here what you mentioned. We use Hue bulbs in the lamps and Lutron Caseta for the ceilings and outdoor fixtures. I plan to get a few Levition switches in the near future as well to see what I think and if I like them may swap out the Lutron. Only for the reason that Levition is who makes my regular switches so they would look the same. Lutron has been solid, more so than Hue and neither have been difficult to work with. My biggest issue when I have one is the Apple TV. After an update it seems to skip an automation or two for the first day after the update then it gets back to work.

 

[hokiepokie07]

I had Hue bulbs and Lutron Caseta switches. My can lights are Hue, and I installed the Lutron Connected Bulb remote and wired my bulbs to always be "on". I have the Hue sensor so when I enter a room the lights cut on. For my ceiling fan in my living room I installed the Caseta on/off switch and the Caseta dimmer for the bulbs in the ceiling fan. Hope this helps!

 

[appledumpling]

You mentioned the Hue bulbs specifically -- which I use as well -- so I'll use those in my examples:

For fixtures with more than one bulb, it may be more cost-effective to wire in a smart switch instead of using smart bulbs, and here's why...

In order to establish any sort of persistent control over smart bulbs (via either the Home app or the Hue app), you'll want to leave the on/off switch in the on position, and then use either the app(s) or a Hue wireless dimmer switch to turn the lights on/off. If you go with the latter option, you're looking at another $20-25 for the dimmer, at which point you might as well have wired in a smart switch for roughly the same cost. (Of course you could just use the traditional on/off switch... depends on how OCD you are.)

As far as smart switches go, whether you go with a simple on/off switch or a dimmer switch will depend on whether or not you have or plan to use dimmable bulbs (dimmable bulbs are a couple bucks more).

Lutron Caseta Smart On/Off Switch - https://www.amazon.com/Lutron-PD-6ANS-WH-Wireless-Multi-Location-Neutral/dp/B017LRCG38/

Lutron Caseta Smart Dimmer Switch - https://www.amazon.com/LUTRON-PD-6WCL-WH-Caseta-Wireless-Dimmer/dp/B00KLAXFQA/

 

[gsmornot]

You mentioned the Hue bulbs specifically -- which I use as well -- so I'll use those in my examples:

For fixtures with more than one bulb, it may be more cost-effective to wire in a smart switch instead of using smart bulbs, and here's why...

In order to establish any sort of persistent control over smart bulbs (via either the Home app or the Hue app), you'll want to leave the on/off switch in the on position, and then use either the app(s) or a Hue wireless dimmer switch to turn the lights on/off. If you go with the latter option, you're looking at another $20-25 for the dimmer, at which point you might as well have wired in a smart switch for roughly the same cost. (Of course you could just use the traditional on/off switch... depends on how OCD you are.)

As far as smart switches go, whether you go with a simple on/off switch or a dimmer switch will depend on whether or not you have or plan to use dimmable bulbs (dimmable bulbs are a couple bucks more).

Lutron Caseta Smart On/Off Switch - https://www.amazon.com/Lutron-PD-6ANS-WH-Wireless-Multi-Location-Neutral/dp/B017LRCG38/

Lutron Caseta Smart Dimmer Switch - https://www.amazon.com/LUTRON-PD-6WCL-WH-Caseta-Wireless-Dimmer/dp/B00KLAXFQA/

Not to mention, most of the hubs only support 50 devices. Load a couple fixtures with bulbs and space gets low quick.