5 ms·

What if wall switches were replaced by very simple phones...or even watches. It would effectively be running the one app all of the time, defaulted to the light

What if wall switches were replaced by very simple phones...or even watches. It would effectively be running the one app all of the time, defaulted to the lights in the room. There could even be some sort of hard-wire bus between this switch and the bulbs, to communicate through RF interference.

jmiserez 10y ago
Or just use something like the Philips Hue Tap [1], which sends an RF signal (ZigBee) solely using the energy from your button press (no batteries). [1] http://www2.meethue.com/en-us/productdetail/philips-hue-tap-switch http://www2.meethue.com/en-us/productdetail/philips-hue-tap-...
- post_break 10y ago
  I wish this would work with LIFX. I refuse to go to Hue but man I want a physical switch.
michaelbuckbee 10y ago
With the drastic price fall of Android tablets (mostly the Amazon Fire) - there have been a few enterprising people that have hacked them into basically being "smart switches" for their homes. The results are still a little too janky for my taste but the costs are getting there.
CaptSpify 10y ago
This is what I do. I use my old android phones, on a dedicated network. I'm also building a RPI kiosk to manage them
adrianN 10y ago
Since touch screen tend to break and are expensive to replace, I suggest that we instead use a simple button interface. I'm sure you could find some kind of USB button that you can hook up to the phone on your wall.
- fps 10y ago
  Zigbee hardware switch: $36 https://www.amazon.com/GE12722-Z-Wave-Wireless-Lighting-Control/dp/B0035YRCR2/ https://www.amazon.com/GE12722-Z-Wave-Wireless-Lighting-Cont... 7 inch touchscreen android tablet: $39 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CGSWYFM/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CGSWYFM/ The zigbee switch also has a relay in it, which is the majority of the cost, but if you're controlling a bulb with a built-in receiver, you're not using that relay. There really aren't much cheaper zigbee, zwave, wifi or bluetooth wall switches.

jmiserez 10y ago

Or just use something like the Philips Hue Tap [1], which sends an RF signal (ZigBee) solely using the energy from your button press (no batteries). [1] http://www2.meethue.com/en-us/productdetail/philips-hue-tap-switch http://www2.meethue.com/en-us/productdetail/philips-hue-tap-...

post_break 10y ago
I wish this would work with LIFX. I refuse to go to Hue but man I want a physical switch.

michaelbuckbee 10y ago

With the drastic price fall of Android tablets (mostly the Amazon Fire) - there have been a few enterprising people that have hacked them into basically being "smart switches" for their homes. The results are still a little too janky for my taste but the costs are getting there.

CaptSpify 10y ago

This is what I do. I use my old android phones, on a dedicated network. I'm also building a RPI kiosk to manage them

adrianN 10y ago

Since touch screen tend to break and are expensive to replace, I suggest that we instead use a simple button interface. I'm sure you could find some kind of USB button that you can hook up to the phone on your wall.

fps 10y ago
Zigbee hardware switch: $36 https://www.amazon.com/GE12722-Z-Wave-Wireless-Lighting-Control/dp/B0035YRCR2/ https://www.amazon.com/GE12722-Z-Wave-Wireless-Lighting-Cont... 7 inch touchscreen android tablet: $39 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CGSWYFM/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CGSWYFM/ The zigbee switch also has a relay in it, which is the majority of the cost, but if you're controlling a bulb with a built-in receiver, you're not using that relay. There really aren't much cheaper zigbee, zwave, wifi or bluetooth wall switches.