Philips Hue FAQ

bk

ThisRegard wrote: »

So, eh, I know I want it because it's a gadget, but do I need it, would I use it?

Need it, of course not, nothing in Home Automation is really needed (other then for people with disabilities, that can be a different story).

However pretty much everyone who buys one or two, ends up going buying loads more afterwards and filling nearly their entire homes with them. I think that says a lot about how much people like it once they have a chance to use it. It quickly becomes an addiction! :eek:

Stoner

ThisRegard wrote:

So, eh, I know I want it because it's a gadget, but do I need it, would I use it?

It might be a Wii for some. But if you use it correctly it will add to things imo

Stoner

OU812 wrote:

€142 Vs €175 (approx) for three separate ones plus the possibility of being able to sell the hub for €20 or so. Enticing...

I'll buy a hub for 20 or so. I only want 4 BCs on it

OU812

Lads, the light strips have dropped from £69.99 to £52.50. Just snagged a pair for the kitchen (don't tell the wife).

drunkmonkey

Reductions on Very U.K. At the moment, gu10's and b22's white and colour 119

http://www.very.co.uk/philips-hue-white-and-colour-ambiance-gu10-led-starter-kit/1600034910.prd

Irish Gunner

Just reading about this and possible interested in them. However does the Hub have to be wired to the modem for it to work or is there another option of having the hub attached somewhere else?
So router is upstairs and I would have to add it to the Ethernet connection for it to work?

bk

Irish Gunner wrote: »

Just reading about this and possible interested in them. However does the Hub have to be wired to the modem for it to work or is there another option of having the hub attached somewhere else?
So router is upstairs and I would have to add it to the Ethernet connection for it to work?

Yes, it directs directly to the router by ethernet.

A work around would be to buy a wireless access point, this is a device which takes your wireless signal from your router and turns it into an ethernet for devices that are ethernet only.

Downsides are the extra cost and wifi is less reliable.

drunkmonkey

@bk all those HUE ceiling lights are gone off Amazon across Europe, looks discontinued.
Something funny going on. Was pre order, then out of stock and now unavailable from Amazon.
They've literally wiped it, doesn't come up in searches.

Roen

drunkmonkey wrote: »

@bk all those HUE ceiling lights are gone off Amazon across Europe, looks discontinued.
Something funny going on. Was pre order, then out of stock and now unavailable from Amazon.
They've literally wiped it, doesn't come up in searches.

Yeah, was just about to get a couple for the hall. No sign at all now.

drunkmonkey

Yea don't know what to do now, wanted 2 for 2 new rooms upstairs. Found them on a Uk website the other day, I'll have a look later on and see can I find them.

Picked up 2 nests protects cheap from Amazon warehouse the other night so going to stick one in the hall upstairs and downstairs to give light when you walk past, it's a nifty feature.

Roen

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Yea don't know what to do now, wanted 2 for 2 new rooms upstairs. Found them on a Uk website the other day, I'll have a look later on and see can I find them.

Picked up 2 nests protects cheap from Amazon warehouse the other night so going to stick one in the hall upstairs and downstairs to give light when you walk past, it's a nifty feature.

I have one Protect upstairs. The light off it is fairly dim, but I think you can make it brighter via settings.

Ordering another two next week. They are good alright.
It's a great pity you can't talk to them directly as they have a motion sensor and a light sensor as well as the obvious smoke and CO sensors inbuilt. If you could pull those out of the Nest you'd have a ready made little bundle of triggers.

drunkmonkey

Ahh there not so smart, thought I'd be able to set up some IFTTT with the motion sensor.
Not why I bought them but still : (

drunkmonkey

Is there such a thing as a smart rain/temp sensor, I've read articles where people use the weather forecast to tell the hue flash the lights if it's raining outside but I'm not sure how reliable that would be, I'd like to put a sensor outside so when it begins to rain the lights will flash in the kitchen to say bring the clothes in off the line.

OU812

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Picked up 2 nests protects cheap from Amazon warehouse the other night so going to stick one in the hall upstairs and downstairs to give light when you walk past, it's a nifty feature.

Got a link?

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Is there such a thing as a smart rain/temp sensor, I've read articles where people use the weather forecast to tell the hue flash the lights if it's raining outside but I'm not sure how reliable that would be, I'd like to put a sensor outside so when it begins to rain the lights will flash in the kitchen to say bring the clothes in off the line.

I believe the netatamo system will do that for you drunkmonkey

bk

drunkmonkey wrote: »

@bk all those HUE ceiling lights are gone off Amazon across Europe, looks discontinued.
Something funny going on. Was pre order, then out of stock and now unavailable from Amazon.
They've literally wiped it, doesn't come up in searches.

That is super weird! No idea what is going on there, I suppose we will just have to wait and see.

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Is there such a thing as a smart rain/temp sensor, I've read articles where people use the weather forecast to tell the hue flash the lights if it's raining outside but I'm not sure how reliable that would be, I'd like to put a sensor outside so when it begins to rain the lights will flash in the kitchen to say bring the clothes in off the line.

Smart weather sensors is actually what Netatmo started out doing, before moving onto Thermostats and security cameras too.

https://www.netatmo.com/product/weather/

I think you would need both the Weather Station and Rain Gauge unit to do what you describe above. Currently there is 20% off them on Amazon in the Black Friday Sales:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/b/ref=gbph_rlm_m-3_f314_9630d3f2?rh=i%3Aoutdoor%2Cn%3A11981777031&ie=UTF8&node=11981777031&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_p=89916f36-9265-46c5-90c0-ca0b9139f314&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-3&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=1953662031&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=175253GWAAHRF732TS2G

Note, I don't have these, so no guarantees, just what I've read about them.

Shred

B22 bulbs reduced to £29.99 on Amazon atm: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-Ambiance-Wireless-Lighting-Bayonet/dp/B01LVUZQNX/ref=sr_1_3?m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&s=lighting&ie=UTF8&qid=1479725969&sr=1-3

robindch

bk wrote: »

Yes, Philips makes a fantastic Hue smart switch which can control their lights. This switch can simply be stuck on your wall using sticky backs next to your old light switch. Yet the switch itself can detach from it's frame where it is held by magnets and carried around the room and used as a remote control. The switch has four buttons, on/off/dimmer up/dimmer down, however using the Philips Hue apps each button can be "programmed" to show different scenes on each button press, up to 5 different actions for each button! This makes for a highly effective, yet easy to use device.

I presume you're referring to this switch:



I don't agree that the switch is "fantastic" as it feels mushy and cheap, not to add that the switch part pops out too easily and can go walkabout.

Philips offer another switch unit which is this guy:



But this doesn't feel any better than the switch above. And since it depends on whatever energy it can recover from the mechanical action of being pressed, it seems to be permanently underpowered - on the one occasion I could get one of these little fellas working on my mesh, it registered perhaps one third of the button presses.

So I gave up and use the iPhone app instead and it's fine.

No doubt Philips or somebody else will build a proper switch at some point!

bk

robindch wrote: »

I presume you're referring to this switch:



I don't agree that the switch is "fantastic" as it feels mushy and cheap, not to add that the switch part pops out too easily and can go walkabout.

Yup and shrug, I think it is absolutely great!

Works perfect 100% of the time for me and has never popped out accidentally.

There is perhaps a little bit of give with it, it is a very different feeling to a traditional switch, but we have had zero issues using it in the dark same as a normal switch, but with far greater flexibility.

BTW I think some people have hacked other Zigbee switches to work with Hue, however it doesn't seem straight forward and I don't think the other switches are any better.

TheTubes

Cross post from the other hue thread

Philips Hue LightStrip 49.95 on amazon.de

164 for 3 delivered.

here

Roen

Anyone looking for a cheaper alternative to the Hue lightstrips should check this out.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wireless-electronic-ballast-interface-certified/dp/B00NMSQ4QQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479740755&sr=8-1&keywords=dresden+ballast

Works out of the box with Hue apparently from what I've read. You can then hook it up to your own led strips and control from the Hue app. It does need it's own power supply though so factor that into the cost.

**No direct personal experience**

drunkmonkey

Do all Zigbee work with HUE?

Roen

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Do all Zigbee work with HUE?

I don't think so, Zigbee is just the communication protocol. It's what gets sent via that protocol is what controls the Hue.

Think of it like sending a letter in an envelope, the envelope is the protocol, but the contents are what actually matter.

Grand if you send me an envelope with a nicely written letter in English in there, but if you send one in Japanese I won't have a clue what the instruction or message is.

That said I could be a mile out

BoardsMember

Looking at the Hue family, if I was to put spots in my kitchen I would be looking at BR30. Is that right?

If so, is it a standard light fitting that takes these? I posted elsewhere this useful link for the different bulb sizes: https://www.lightbulbs-direct.com/article/fittings-caps-and-bases/ but I don't see any "30" in this, which I would assume is what the BR30 refers to.

Also, I have E14 fittings on lamps where I want to put E27's. I know I can buy adaptors, but presumably it is possible to buy E27 fitting from electirc shop and re-wire?

AndyBoBandy

BoardsMember wrote: »

Looking at the Hue family, if I was to put spots in my kitchen I would be looking at BR30. Is that right?

No, BR30 Hue lights are U.S. only (110v) and as such, are not sold in Europe. You would want the Hue GU10 type of light/fitting

BoardsMember

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

No, BR30 Hue lights are U.S. only (110v) and as such, are not sold in Europe. You would want the Hue GU10 type of light/fitting

Thanks, just realised I was reading a US site when I came across the BR30.

Skerries

what app is the best for controlling Hue?

robindch

Skerries wrote: »

what app is the best for controlling Hue?

I use the normal Philips app - it works pretty fine and unlike some other IoT stuff, the house configuration is stored in its entirety on the Hue hub and is automatically available to each client device.

I've tried a few other apps, but they don't seem to offer much that's not already done adequately by the Philips app.

bk

I use the official Hue app, but I also use two other apps:

- Humote - Just for quick and easy access to lights and groups, very easy layout
- iConnectHue - Lots of advanced setup features that the official app doesn't support.

givecredit

Skerries wrote: »

what app is the best for controlling Hue?

On android I use the main app. I also use hue pro and all 4 hue for extra feature.

Shred

I mainly use the official app but also apple homekit; siri/touch brings some nice quick access features from the phone lock screen. I keep meaning to have a look at some of the other apps out there too though.