Philips Hue Lighting - owners thread

[theboss]

frisbee said:

wjwren said:

Has anyone installed the inline switch? I have downloaded the manual but it seems vague as to how you connect it up love neutral etc. seems more geared towards American standard.

The switch module that you tuck in the back of a light switch?

I believe it joins the existing wires together so the light is permanently on, the switch module then connects to the switch and they act as a wireless Hue switch.

So will work with any wiring but needs Hue bulbs.

Indeed this is my understanding as well. I haven't gone for any myself because they use a lithium cell which might last years but I just don't like the idea of having to swap these out at some point.

There are battery free Zigbee switches you can use but these are fairly expensive and the idea with the Philips unit is that you can re-purpose existing ones or of course go back to the original fitment easily if desired.

I want to start buying more Hue but it's going to have to be a very piecemeal conversion given the number of fittings.

[wjwren]

Ok. I was hoping the normal switch would then just turn on in the hue app. Why didnnt they make it like that? Would of worked well

[theboss]

wjwren said:

Ok. I was hoping the normal switch would then just turn on in the hue app. Why didnnt they make it like that? Would of worked well

They might sell a few less bulbs though

[wjwren]

True. I'm going to have to wire the light into a plug socket and use a hue socket!

[wjwren]

Random question but within the Hue lights, is the hue controller part of the led driver or seperate? Ive seen a coule of Hue lights on ebay for parts and wondered if the led driver is sperate then I could take the 'hue' part out and use it with a normal light?

[Dibble]

Not strictly Hue (not remotely, even) - where can I get the cheapest bulbs that will work with Hive/Apple Home Kit?

I’ve got a Hive hub and two bulbs, which I got free about ten years ago when I was with British Gas. They’ve spent the best part of 7 or 8 years loitering in a storage box while I went through a couple of house moves. I plugged in the hub today, which connected and after a bit of a faff, I got one of the bulbs working, not just through the Hive hub, I also managed to connect it through my HomePod mini, so I’ve spent a disproportionate amount of time today saying “Siri, lounge light on. Siri, lounge light off. Siri, lounge light 10%/20%/30%….” You get the idea.

The other bulb does work, it’s just the fact I’ve only got one E27 light fitting at the moment. My long term plan is to get all my light fittings swapped from bayonet to E27 fittings and have a few more bulbs, but a quick Google/Amazon check shows they’re about a tenner a go and as I’m an adopted parsimonious northerner, I’d like to pay as little as possible, so where would people recommend? Obviously they need to work with Apple HomeKit.

My next want is to replace my utterly un-user friendly/non intuitive Honeywell CM727 boiler remote/thermostat with something I can get an app for. What am I looking at cost wise for this? I assume it needs an initial install and setup by a plumber/electrician? Again, what would people recommend? The simpler, the better.

[stevensdrs]

I bought some bayonet to e27 adaptors to solve the problem Dibble has. They work just fine.

[dmsims]

IMHO I would not be "investing" anything to do with Homekit (aka Betamax)

For the Stat: Hive or Evohome (some might also suggest Tado but that relies on the internet and has a subscription model for certain features)

Dibble said:

Not strictly Hue (not remotely, even) - where can I get the cheapest bulbs that will work with Hive/Apple Home Kit?

I’ve got a Hive hub and two bulbs, which I got free about ten years ago when I was with British Gas. They’ve spent the best part of 7 or 8 years loitering in a storage box while I went through a couple of house moves. I plugged in the hub today, which connected and after a bit of a faff, I got one of the bulbs working, not just through the Hive hub, I also managed to connect it through my HomePod mini, so I’ve spent a disproportionate amount of time today saying “Siri, lounge light on. Siri, lounge light off. Siri, lounge light 10%/20%/30%….” You get the idea.

The other bulb does work, it’s just the fact I’ve only got one E27 light fitting at the moment. My long term plan is to get all my light fittings swapped from bayonet to E27 fittings and have a few more bulbs, but a quick Google/Amazon check shows they’re about a tenner a go and as I’m an adopted parsimonious northerner, I’d like to pay as little as possible, so where would people recommend? Obviously they need to work with Apple HomeKit.

My next want is to replace my utterly un-user friendly/non intuitive Honeywell CM727 boiler remote/thermostat with something I can get an app for. What am I looking at cost wise for this? I assume it needs an initial install and setup by a plumber/electrician? Again, what would people recommend? The simpler, the better.

[number2]

stevensdrs said:

I bought some bayonet to e27 adaptors to solve the problem Dibble has. They work just fine.

Good idea - I've got some Hue bayonets that are now otherwise redundant.

In googling, I found this https://www.gov.uk/product-safety-alerts-reports-r... Ali Express specials so buy from a 'reputable' source... I'm going to buy from Amazon, they all come out the same factory I'm sure though...

[Dibble]

dmsims said:

I’ve already got an iPhone, iPad, MacBook, iPod, two HomePods, so it’s not like I’m investing anything other than using the Home App. I’ve managed to link the Hive hub into the Home app, so I’m guessing I won’t need another, I’ll just need to add any extra light bulbs to Hive/Home as and when I get them.

Is there something obvious I’m missing? Just saying “Don’t do xyz” without context/explanation isn’t trally that helpful.

[Dibble]

stevensdrs said:

I bought some bayonet to e27 adaptors to solve the problem Dibble has. They work just fine.

I’m changing light fittings as I go through the house decoration/renovation and I’d rather just have one type of bulb, hence the swap from bayonet to screw fitting.

[mr_tony]

Ok so,anyone got any ideas on how to,add bulbs that just can’t be found? I’ve got around 15 bulbs left to add to the house that regardless of what I do just don’t show up. I’m running 4 hue hubs, and none of them are overloaded (around 90 bulbs in total).

I’m trying to add via the app via search or by adding the individual bulb I’d code, but they just don’t show up even when I’m next to the bridge and the bulb is switched on right next to me.

Other bulbs on the same lighting chain do show up so it’s not interference etc. it’s just weird….

[UTH]

mr_tony said:

Ok so,anyone got any ideas on how to,add bulbs that just can’t be found? I’ve got around 15 bulbs left to add to the house that regardless of what I do just don’t show up. I’m running 4 hue hubs, and none of them are overloaded (around 90 bulbs in total).

I’m trying to add via the app via search or by adding the individual bulb I’d code, but they just don’t show up even when I’m next to the bridge and the bulb is switched on right next to me.

Other bulbs on the same lighting chain do show up so it’s not interference etc. it’s just weird….

So you've tried the option of adding via the serial number on the bulb? 95% of my bulbs all showed up easily, the two that didn't I went the serial number route and it worked, so outside of that no idea I'm afraid.

[BigBen]

UTH said:

mr_tony said:

Ok so,anyone got any ideas on how to,add bulbs that just can’t be found? I’ve got around 15 bulbs left to add to the house that regardless of what I do just don’t show up. I’m running 4 hue hubs, and none of them are overloaded (around 90 bulbs in total).

I’m trying to add via the app via search or by adding the individual bulb I’d code, but they just don’t show up even when I’m next to the bridge and the bulb is switched on right next to me.

Other bulbs on the same lighting chain do show up so it’s not interference etc. it’s just weird….

So you've tried the option of adding via the serial number on the bulb? 95% of my bulbs all showed up easily, the two that didn't I went the serial number route and it worked, so outside of that no idea I'm afraid.

I once found a third party app to find hue bulbs which worked when nothing else would. Sorry not to be more helpful other than letting you know such a thing exists

[mr_tony]

UTH said:

mr_tony said:

Ok so,anyone got any ideas on how to,add bulbs that just can’t be found? I’ve got around 15 bulbs left to add to the house that regardless of what I do just don’t show up. I’m running 4 hue hubs, and none of them are overloaded (around 90 bulbs in total).

I’m trying to add via the app via search or by adding the individual bulb I’d code, but they just don’t show up even when I’m next to the bridge and the bulb is switched on right next to me.

Other bulbs on the same lighting chain do show up so it’s not interference etc. it’s just weird….

So you've tried the option of adding via the serial number on the bulb? 95% of my bulbs all showed up easily, the two that didn't I went the serial number route and it worked, so outside of that no idea I'm afraid.

Yes, serial number just not playing ball. If it was just one bulb I’d put it down to a dud, but 15 of different types can’t be that…

[dapprman]

BigBen said:

I once found a third party app to find hue bulbs which worked when nothing else would. Sorry not to be more helpful other than letting you know such a thing exists

Might have been Hue Essentials ? While I use the regular Hue app I use HE if there are problems and also to configure switches (as it will let you have more options),

[BigBen]

dapprman said:

BigBen said:

I once found a third party app to find hue bulbs which worked when nothing else would. Sorry not to be more helpful other than letting you know such a thing exists

Might have been Hue Essentials ? While I use the regular Hue app I use HE if there are problems and also to configure switches (as it will let you have more options),

No it was much less mainstream than that and was a PITA to get running (it was written in Java and anti virus software wasn't keen). Hang on...

https://huetips.com/lamp-finder/ this was it. For me it wasn't easy to run but once I did it found some missing bulbs

[mr_tony]

Thanks folks - will have a go at both hue essential and the Java option at the weekend…

[UTH]

Last night I tried adding another automation to my system and it said my bridge was full! Deleted a few scenes and it saved it, but I'm guessing I'm at capacity for my bridge now? What do I do now? Does it require a second bridge being added into the system, or am I just at the limit of what a house can have?

[BigBen]

UTH said:

Last night I tried adding another automation to my system and it said my bridge was full! Deleted a few scenes and it saved it, but I'm guessing I'm at capacity for my bridge now? What do I do now? Does it require a second bridge being added into the system, or am I just at the limit of what a house can have?

You can add another bridge. Other options (I think) are a Samsung Smart Things Hub or a DIY bridge based on a Raspberry Pi.