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Since lockdown started, we've gradually converted most of our house to Hue. A key feature is that _all the light switches still work_. We just don't use them

Since lockdown started, we've gradually converted most of our house to Hue. A key feature is that _all the light switches still work_. We just don't use them all that much, unless something's failed. From reading Matthew Garrett's exploits, I'm pretty sure we don't want WiFi IoT devices. We have Hue switches next to the physical switches, which don't depend on WiFi being up; Smart control works with only local networking. Add more smartness for extra control (SmartThings, remote access, Google Assistant), but it's no less functional than a non-smart system when the smarts are offline. The killer feature for me is the ability to adjust the colour temperature and brightness of lights in each room -- I've got a 50W panel above my desk which makes my work-space brighter than it is outside at the moment (Edinburgh, UK, 1pm with rain) but automatically fades down to a warm, dim light as the evening progresses.

eyvindn 6y ago
Would you mind sharing what panel this is?
- andrewaylett 6y ago
  It's a Hue ceiling panel that I'm not sure they make any more. https://smile.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07FXT4XH6 https://smile.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07FXT4XH6
rkangel 6y ago
For those who don't have Hue, one nice feature of the design is that if the power to the bulb goes off and then back on the bulbs default to 'on'. This means that if you have a power cut, the lights come on automatically afterwards without the controllers being needed, which is useful at night so you don't have to wait for wifi. But it also means that you can turn them off and then on again at the normal light switch and they'll come on.
- Someone1234 6y ago
  > For those who don't have Hue, one nice feature of the design is that if the power to the bulb goes off and then back on the bulbs default to 'on'. After a recent update this is now also configurable. You can still have them default to full brightness, but also off or any other mode.
- jfk13 6y ago
  If I had a short power cut in the night and it resulted in all the lights coming on, I'd be pretty unhappy.... I'd rather just sleep through it.
  - rkangel 6y ago
    I don't have them in my bedroom, so that hadn't occurred to me. It's configurable though apparently.
rkangel 6y ago
My issue with Hue is brightness. I have swapped all the living room bulbs (3 lamps, 2 ceiling lights) for a mix of Hue Colour ambience and White Ambience, but it's only just about bright enough for when I want the room well lit. I'd love to put my office and some other rooms on Hue so I can tweak the colour temperature, but I've only got one ceiling pendant and it wouldn't be bright enough during the day.
- andrewaylett 6y ago
  We have multiple lamps in our living room. For the bedroom, which is also my WFH office, I've added a 100W LED that's intended for warehouse lighting but fits nicely on top of our Ikea uplighter. It's controlled by a Zigbee power socket, which means I can connect it to Hue as a "light" or SmartThings as a "switch" depending on which behaviour I want. It's not quite as smooth a transition as pure Hue, but it means I can add a _lot_ of brightness when I want it. The ceiling panel is really nice, and bright enough for the small area directly under it (which is my desk) but the rest of the room still seems a bit dim in comparison. Unfortunately the Hue app doesn't really know about lamp brightness -- if you ask for all lamps on really dim, and one lamp's not dimmable, it'll switch that one on anyway.

eyvindn 6y ago

Would you mind sharing what panel this is?

andrewaylett 6y ago
It's a Hue ceiling panel that I'm not sure they make any more. https://smile.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07FXT4XH6 https://smile.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07FXT4XH6

rkangel 6y ago

For those who don't have Hue, one nice feature of the design is that if the power to the bulb goes off and then back on the bulbs default to 'on'. This means that if you have a power cut, the lights come on automatically afterwards without the controllers being needed, which is useful at night so you don't have to wait for wifi. But it also means that you can turn them off and then on again at the normal light switch and they'll come on.

Someone1234 6y ago
> For those who don't have Hue, one nice feature of the design is that if the power to the bulb goes off and then back on the bulbs default to 'on'. After a recent update this is now also configurable. You can still have them default to full brightness, but also off or any other mode.
jfk13 6y ago
If I had a short power cut in the night and it resulted in all the lights coming on, I'd be pretty unhappy.... I'd rather just sleep through it.
- rkangel 6y ago
  I don't have them in my bedroom, so that hadn't occurred to me. It's configurable though apparently.

rkangel 6y ago

My issue with Hue is brightness. I have swapped all the living room bulbs (3 lamps, 2 ceiling lights) for a mix of Hue Colour ambience and White Ambience, but it's only just about bright enough for when I want the room well lit. I'd love to put my office and some other rooms on Hue so I can tweak the colour temperature, but I've only got one ceiling pendant and it wouldn't be bright enough during the day.

andrewaylett 6y ago
We have multiple lamps in our living room. For the bedroom, which is also my WFH office, I've added a 100W LED that's intended for warehouse lighting but fits nicely on top of our Ikea uplighter. It's controlled by a Zigbee power socket, which means I can connect it to Hue as a "light" or SmartThings as a "switch" depending on which behaviour I want. It's not quite as smooth a transition as pure Hue, but it means I can add a _lot_ of brightness when I want it. The ceiling panel is really nice, and bright enough for the small area directly under it (which is my desk) but the rest of the room still seems a bit dim in comparison. Unfortunately the Hue app doesn't really know about lamp brightness -- if you ask for all lamps on really dim, and one lamp's not dimmable, it'll switch that one on anyway.