4 ms·

>what's your rationale for putting the "smarts" in the bulb and not the switch People are afraid of electricity and don't want to replace a switch. Anyone can

>what's your rationale for putting the "smarts" in the bulb and not the switch People are afraid of electricity and don't want to replace a switch. Anyone can replace a light bulb though, so it's default solution for the kind of person that doesn't own a screwdriver. It's definitely an inferior approach, but I suppose it fulfills the needs of a certain segment of the market.

waste_monk 7y ago
It's not just fear of electricity. Here in Australia you have to be a licensed electrician to perform any works, even to do something like replacing a lightswitch or running cable inside a wall (even running ethernet cable, although there are special low-voltage electrician's licenses for data cabling specialists that aren't as intensive as a "real" electrician's license) - unlicensed electrical work would void your insurance, make it difficult to sell your house (would need to be inspected, remediated and brought up to code if necessary, and signed off on by an appropriately licensed electrician), and could expose you to civil and even criminal liability (if your unlicensed electrical work harmed someone). I'm not a licensed electrician, so if I wanted to upgrade my house to smart switches I'd have to get someone in to do it. For most people here it's a lot easier to just screw in a bulb.
lonelappde 7y ago
But why not a smart socket (between power socket and bulb or device plug), then? We had those for decades before Philips Hue.
- icebraining 7y ago
  If you mean wall plug socket, it doesn't work for embedded light fixtures. As for bulb sockets, it's harder to make them small enough that the bulb won't protrude quite a bit, often ruining aesthetics. Plus, combining the two lets you have extra features, light RGB color control.
  - lonelappde 7y ago
    Most of a lightbulb is empty space. Sure, you'd need a new form factor lightbulb (bulb cover really, for an LED bulb) to be compatible with modular electronics. But those bulbs should be cheap and reusable.
    - icebraining 7y ago
      Seems that some people had the same idea: http://bsmartlamp.com/index_EN.html http://bsmartlamp.com/index_EN.html

waste_monk 7y ago

It's not just fear of electricity. Here in Australia you have to be a licensed electrician to perform any works, even to do something like replacing a lightswitch or running cable inside a wall (even running ethernet cable, although there are special low-voltage electrician's licenses for data cabling specialists that aren't as intensive as a "real" electrician's license) - unlicensed electrical work would void your insurance, make it difficult to sell your house (would need to be inspected, remediated and brought up to code if necessary, and signed off on by an appropriately licensed electrician), and could expose you to civil and even criminal liability (if your unlicensed electrical work harmed someone). I'm not a licensed electrician, so if I wanted to upgrade my house to smart switches I'd have to get someone in to do it. For most people here it's a lot easier to just screw in a bulb.

lonelappde 7y ago

But why not a smart socket (between power socket and bulb or device plug), then? We had those for decades before Philips Hue.

icebraining 7y ago
If you mean wall plug socket, it doesn't work for embedded light fixtures. As for bulb sockets, it's harder to make them small enough that the bulb won't protrude quite a bit, often ruining aesthetics. Plus, combining the two lets you have extra features, light RGB color control.
- lonelappde 7y ago
  Most of a lightbulb is empty space. Sure, you'd need a new form factor lightbulb (bulb cover really, for an LED bulb) to be compatible with modular electronics. But those bulbs should be cheap and reusable.
  - icebraining 7y ago
    Seems that some people had the same idea: http://bsmartlamp.com/index_EN.html http://bsmartlamp.com/index_EN.html