Smart lightbulbs, Hue etc

[TrueBlou]

Hey Siri dim the lights
Or on my Harmony remote I simply press the dim the light button.
Or use my mobile phone
Or indeed take the remote dimmer from its holder

So many options, which is good....

That it is, but you forgot about the Apple Watch too

Taking the dimmer from the holder over to the sofa will be really handy for exactly that.

At least til another HomePod magically appears in the lounge....

Oh my god is your HomePod having a baby too? So’s mine, now I just have to figure out how to break the news to the wife

 

[cjbryce]

Yeah - I think I've had my epiphany moment with it all. Have looked at Hue in the past, and just not bothered, thinking its just as much of a faff to reach for a phone. I did wonder if I might have an uphill battle with it, but my wife thinks the whole being able to with the hall lights off upstairs things is fantastic.

As you say, a lot of it the convenience, but already with it set up like that in the hall, it seems one of those things that once you have that convenience you wouldn't choose to go back.

Its disappointing how expensive the colour GU10 bulbs are though - £50 a pop, and I don't see any two or three packs. We have 17 of the buggers in our house. So my in for a penny, in for a pound thing might need a rethink! Although they are £35 with Amazon Prime just now, so might be time for a trial of that, if I can sort it out with a different email address from last time!

You sometimes get special deals on Amazon and believe it or not Argos - three packs of Hue bulbs with a dimmer switch or tap switch for about the price of two bulbs and the switch. On Amazon you do have to find these offers by clicking on the individual bulb types and seeing if there's anything there.

 

[cyb3rdud3]

Agree, I keep on expanding and waiting on the special deals as there are significant savings...

In the UK I also use a Belgium website https://www.dmlights.co.uk I've found them fantastic. We've got some other modern lights and also like Hue pendants and there are significant savings even including the international shipping compared to buying them in the UK.

The pendants are support quality, really well made, integrate lovely. The spotlight rails are very similar, include the GU10 bulbs and dimmer, real solid manufacturing, and great value for money when you consider what it included. Naturally only if you like the styling.

 

[groovyf]

I see Amazon have the Hue colour bulbs at £35... https://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-Ambience-Wireless-Lighting-Colours/dp/B01LVXIM42

 

[johngordon]

You sometimes get special deals on Amazon and believe it or not Argos - three packs of Hue bulbs with a dimmer switch or tap switch for about the price of two bulbs and the switch. On Amazon you do have to find these offers by clicking on the individual bulb types and seeing if there's anything there.

I'll keep an eye out - the best I saw was the started pack, which worked out a little bit cheaper than three bulbs + a dimmer switch.
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That it is, but you forgot about the Apple Watch too
Oh my god is your HomePod having a baby too? So’s mine, now I just have to figure out how to break the news to the wife

I think so - I am in the fortunate position of having a wee bit of inheritance money just now, so its well timed. The first HP was a birthday present to myself. Although music is a big part of our house, and is almost always except later in the evening if we're watching tv.

I work from home, and listen on my iMac in my little spare bedroom office. But a HP on the desk would be nice....

And one in the lounge would be good. We don't tend too listen to music in there, but that's more out of lack of convenience since we had the little Sony thing in the kitchen. Its now on a bookcase in there. Even though its not that big, with the two speakers its hard not to imagine a HP in its place. Sounds better, less space, looks better and will have Siri / HomeKit.

With AM / HP / Siri / HomeKit it just feels like everything has kind of come together and able to do pretty much everything and very easily.

 

[TrueBlou]

I'll keep an eye out - the best I saw was the started pack, which worked out a little bit cheaper than three bulbs + a dimmer switch.
[doublepost=1518774217][/doublepost]

I think so - I am in the fortunate position of having a wee bit of inheritance money just now, so its well timed. The first HP was a birthday present to myself. Although music is a big part of our house, and is almost always except later in the evening if we're watching tv.

I work from home, and listen on my iMac in my little spare bedroom office. But a HP on the desk would be nice....

And one in the lounge would be good. We don't tend too listen to music in there, but that's more out of lack of convenience since we had the little Sony thing in the kitchen. Its now on a bookcase in there. Even though its not that big, with the two speakers its hard not to imagine a HP in its place. Sounds better, less space, looks better and will have Siri / HomeKit.

With AM / HP / Siri / HomeKit it just feels like everything has kind of come together and able to do pretty much everything and very easily.

Sorry for your loss, it’s never easy. Well, I’m being presumptuous and assuming that’s why the inheritance. But anyway, I know just how you feel, Music is important to us too. Probably me more than the wife, she enjoys it but couldn’t tell AC/DC from ZZ Top

Like you I work from home and listen on my iMac all day. It’s fine, but I’m thinking a HomePod on the shelf would be a nice addition to my room. I just have to figure out a way around my declaration to the wife the other night when I said, I bloody well could go 6 months without buying a gadget..... Stupid boy that I am, I should know better than that

 

[MiamiC70]

My whole apartment is now HomeKit enabled using Hue, Schlage, Ecobee, and iHome devices and the HomePod works great as a hub.

 

[johngordon]

Sorry for your loss, it’s never easy. Well, I’m being presumptuous and assuming that’s why the inheritance. But anyway, I know just how you feel, Music is important to us too. Probably me more than the wife, she enjoys it but couldn’t tell AC/DC from ZZ Top

Like you I work from home and listen on my iMac all day. It’s fine, but I’m thinking a HomePod on the shelf would be a nice addition to my room. I just have to figure out a way around my declaration to the wife the other night when I said, I bloody well could go 6 months without buying a gadget..... Stupid boy that I am, I should know better than that

Thanks - it’s been a rough couple of years. My Dad died summer 2016, and my Mum died 13 months later.

Guess we’re quite similar with the music in the house. It’s on all the time, either in the kitchen, my little office or the spare bedroom where my wife has a desk too. She’s taken to the HomePod and Siri well though, and is liking how easy it is to find a few podcasts she’s listened to occasionally.

I think HomePods would be a good addition to any room. And hey - a speaker might not even be a gadget.

Back on topic, these bulbs are getting carried away. Hall is done, and two LIFX ones arrived today for the lounge. In hindsight the Hue’s might have been better with the switches, but have just got some GU10s for three pendant things in a cluster from the ceiling - be good if they work OK with the dimming.

 

[CPTmom2wp]

My whole apartment is now HomeKit enabled using Hue, Schlage, Ecobee, and iHome devices and the HomePod works great as a hub.

Congratulations! I have the same brands in my house. I enjoy new tech, but really thought that HomeKit would be mostly for fun, add little to my life, or worse, be more work to use than doing things the "old way". While I still can't justify this gear as necessary, I'm finding new ways to make life easier, free up time time that used to be spent creating lists/notes; computer searches for information; finding/listening to music or podcasts; turning off/on/dimming lights, and now, with 2 HP,'s, can do all of these things, all over the house with a quality speaker. Our home feels more natural and integrated; part of our lives we can enjoy together, rather than having to choose from listening to music on a phone or isolating oneself with headphones/AirPods or going to the dedicated television viewing area where the quality sound system is located.

 

[johngordon]

Am really liking these now that they're set up. I had ordered a couple of LIFX bulbs for lamps in the lounge that I didn't think would work with the Hue dimmer switches, but you can use HomeKit to set any HK accessory with the switch.

And it turns out to be really handy with HK and Hue letting you set up the switches differently. So in the hall, we have it set with the top button for multiple presses to set different brightnesses, and still have the two middle ones for dimming up and down.

But in the lounge it made more sense to have the top switch to switch on ceiling pendants, plus a couple of lamps. Second button does the pendants only, third button does the lamps only.

Have run into an admittedly money saving problem - the spots in the kitchen aren't GU10s, they're similar, but just have a couple of small pins that plug into a little socket. So they might not be replaceable with smart bulbs.

Also, its a shame I can only find candle type bulbs with the smaller screw, which fit our spots in the bathroom, so they would stick out a bit.

 

[CPTmom2wp]

I have not replaced the smaller base, candle type bulbs into the fixtures in our house due to cost. Outdoor lights x5 fixtures x 4 bulbs=20 bulbs and Indoor lights have 24 bulbs total in various fixtures. 44 Hue candle bulbs x $30ea. = OMG!! Hopefully, Philips will come out with some sort of bulk sale pricing or drastically come down in price at some point. Otherwise, we will continue to use the Switch =$0/Free for those particular fixtures.

 

[bruinsrme]

I have a few Hue lights and really like them. I only have one coloured bulb though (bought on a one day Amazon offer; they’re way too speedy otherwise!) but the white ambiance bulbs are great.

My thermostat is Nest though (as is the smoke/CO detector) and while I’d quite like to control it via Siri, I’m okay with using the app. It was chosen because it’s incredibly intuitive for my elderly mother to turn up or down even with arthritic hands and she can actually read the target temperature without a magnifying glass (she’s severely sight impaired). Of the options we saw, Nest won hands down.

Same situation with the nest. Great thermostat and the app couldn’t be any more straight forward.

 

[cyb3rdud3]

I have not replaced the smaller base, candle type bulbs into the fixtures in our house due to cost. Outdoor lights x5 fixtures x 4 bulbs=20 bulbs and Indoor lights have 24 bulbs total in various fixtures. 44 Hue candle bulbs x $30ea. = OMG!! Hopefully, Philips will come out with some sort of bulk sale pricing or drastically come down in price at some point. Otherwise, we will continue to use the Switch =$0/Free for those particular fixtures.

You could try Ikea if you want cheap

 

[MacintoshDan]

I prefer LIFX because their full size bulb is 75 watt, the Hue bulbs are only 60 watt. I could see me using a combination of both eventually since they are all HomeKit compatible.

 

[CPTmom2wp]

You could try Ikea if you want cheap

Expensive/Cheap is relative, dependent on a personal assessment of price vs. value. Like many on this forum, I value the quality of Apple and the HUE HomeKit interface. I would rather save for what I want or wait for a better price than settle for inferior quality. If Ikea was an option, I would use it

 

[cyb3rdud3]

Expensive/Cheap is relative, dependent on a personal assessment of price vs. value. Like many on this forum, I value the quality of Apple and the HUE HomeKit interface. I would rather save for what I want or wait for a better price than settle for inferior quality. If Ikea was an option, I would use it

Ikea links in and is compatible apparently so....I didn't like the quality of the light so have gone full in with Philips Hue. I'm at 40 plus lights now and still 7 rooms to go We'll update them when we redecorate...

 

[MiamiC70]

I prefer LIFX because their full size bulb is 75 watt, the Hue bulbs are only 60 watt. I could see me using a combination of both eventually since they are all HomeKit compatible.

Too bad the LIFX constantly disconnect, reset and generally don’t work very well.

 

[CPTmom2wp]

Ikea links in and is compatible apparently so....I didn't like the quality of the light so have gone full in with Philips Hue. I'm at 40 plus lights now and still 7 rooms to go We'll update them when we redecorate...

Apologies , I had no idea that the IKEA suggestion was not "tongue in cheek".

I have ,probably, 25 of the A19's and 9 of the BR30's with some color and some white ambiance. I prefer to stay with the Philips for a number of reasons, but mostly b/c I have had really good experiences with Philips products. I also think that given the estimated lifespan of these bulbs, I want to stay with a company that is at the forefront of development of this technology and the one that continues to add to the product line for compatibility and variety in different types of bulbs. Once we have maxed out the A 19's and the BR30's we want to replace some older incandescent rope lights along the baseboards with the Hue strip lights and only then will probably give in and start on the E12's and GU10's. If we move, however, I might have to return the fixtures back to standard bulbs and take Hue with us!

 

[MacintoshDan]

Too bad the LIFX constantly disconnect, reset and generally don’t work very well.

I have not had any issues with my one bulb as of now. I have a pretty decent FiOS wifi gateway that is in the middle top floor of the house, the bulb at the end of the house on the second floor.

 

[vegastime]

Too bad the LIFX constantly disconnect, reset and generally don’t work very well.

I use both Hue and LIFX and also like LIFIX better because they are brighter.

Have three of the LIFIX and have never had one of them disconnect. I did read that this was a problem at one time. I have updated the firmware a couple of times since I have had them.

 

[MartyCan]

Pretty much yes.

Hue sell remote dimmer switches, but the original main wall switch needs to be on.

The alternative is to replace the switch with a smart switch and then keep using a normal bulb.

The idea of hue is to avoid electrical work in your home.

Wish they would make Hue controllable switched to retrofit in existing wal switches.

 

[CPTmom2wp]

Wish they would make Hue controllable switched to retrofit in existing wal switches.

You can switch Hue bulbs on/off with your regular light switch. You can also dim them with your regular light switch dimmer. However, you cannot take advantage of the white gradations in the Ambiance bulbs or colors unless you use the Hue app or HomeKit on your phone or iPad, with the light switch in the "on" position.

 

[wesley96]

You can also dim them with your regular light switch dimmer.

Are you sure about this? Circuitry inside the Hue bulbs apparently require full voltage to properly operate.

https://www.apple.com/shop/question...ntrolled-by-a-dimmer-switch/QCPU4C4A29HPP2XAP

It's not just Hue. Smart light bulbs in general don't play well with regular dimmer switches because they are electrical appliances requiring constant voltage. If you have proof that you can control brightness of Hue bulbs with regular dimmer switches, then I'd love to see it because it does indeed provide more options for operation.

 

[MartyCan]

You can switch Hue bulbs on/off with your regular light switch. You can also dim them with your regular light switch dimmer. However, you cannot take advantage of the white gradations in the Ambiance bulbs or colors unless you use the Hue app or HomeKit on your phone or iPad, with the light switch in the "on" position.

Sorry, that was not what I was asking. I would like a Hue switch that I can hardwire into various places in my home to dim or switch regular built in light fixtures.

 

[CPTmom2wp]

Are you sure about this? Circuitry inside the Hue bulbs apparently require full voltage to properly operate.

https://www.apple.com/shop/question...ntrolled-by-a-dimmer-switch/QCPU4C4A29HPP2XAP

It's not just Hue. Smart light bulbs in general don't play well with regular dimmer switches because they are electrical appliances requiring constant voltage. If you have proof that you can control brightness of Hue bulbs with regular dimmer switches, then I'd love to see it because it does indeed provide more options for operation.

Yes, I have all Lutron Diva dimmers in my home, and can use them with the HUE bulbs I have replaced ceiling fixtures, both BR30 (cans) and GU10 (spots) and use the A19's in over mirror fixtures. I will say that the A19's I am not as happy with , as dimming these are not smooth, and can result in the lights turning off at 50-75% dim. If I used the switches very much instead of just asking Siri to set them at 20,40,50,100%...., it might be annoying. But it works well enough that I wouldn't replace the regular switch. I idon't have any table lamps that have dimmers, so cannot speak to that. They are all just on or off with the wall switch and I use Siri to set their level of brightness.
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Sorry, that was not what I was asking. I would like a Hue switch that I can hardwire into various places in my home to dim or switch regular built in light fixtures.

Sorry........Are you wanting to have something hardwired in the event that your network/internet might not always be available?