Smart Light Bulbs Question

[paul.deitch]

Today I bought a couple of smart bulbs which dim and set everything up successfully.
Set them to dim, turned the power off and back on and the bulbs reset to max brightness every time.
This is the first Ihave played with smart bulbs and I find this irritating.
Are there any systems which do remember the last state or do I have to buy a dimmer which would mean cheaper bulbs?

[cml24]

Which bulbs have you got?

Hue bulbs allow you to set the default on state. Colour, brightness etc.

I find that really useful for things like the kitchen or hallway as I can flick the switch and get back to what I usually want.

[mw88]

Philips Hue bulbs will remember the previous state when powered off/on, but if you're turning them on/off with the switch it kind of defeats the purpose of smart bulbs.

With all my Hue stuff, the switches are never touched - It's all controlled by either by the sunset/sunrise settings, the app (Or HomeKit) or motion sensors.

[xeny]

paul.deitch said:

Set them to dim, turned the power off and back on and the bulbs reset to max brightness every time.
This is the first Ihave played with smart bulbs and I find this irritating.
Are there any systems which do remember the last state or do I have to buy a dimmer which would mean cheaper bulbs?

I suspect this is deliberate so you can actually get full light if your internal network or internet connection is down. Generally you never touch the power switch once you've installed smart bulbs.

[paul.deitch]

Thanks for the feedback. I can see now that I have a different mindset. In our house and since forever almost nothing is left with power when switched off. Only things that I can immediately think of that are left to run are fridge, boiler, alarm clock and router. Never leave TVs and steros on standby.

I bought a DIY store brand bulb but will investigate the Hue range tomorrow.

[ARHarh]

If you are switch lights on and off with wall switches, then smart bulbs are not the answer. A simple dimmer switch will work better, unless you get more technical and have smart switches as well.

A good smart home setup should be able to be operated as you would a normal house but also be able to use apps or voice control. No good having a visitor download an app to turn a light on.

[xeny]

paul.deitch said:

Thanks for the feedback. I can see now that I have a different mindset. In our house and since forever almost nothing is left with power when switched off. Only things that I can immediately think of that are left to run are fridge, boiler, alarm clock and router. Never leave TVs and steros on standby.

I bought a DIY store brand bulb but will investigate the Hue range tomorrow.

The Hue stuff behaves the way I described. From a safety perspective I think bulbs you can't turn on if there is an IT outage would probably be unacceptable. Don't forget there is the inevitable ARM CPU in each bulb, it has to boot on each power on.

As someone else said, you might find smart dimmer switches are the way to go, although a more awkward install.

[mw88]

paul.deitch said:

Thanks for the feedback. I can see now that I have a different mindset. In our house and since forever almost nothing is left with power when switched off. Only things that I can immediately think of that are left to run are fridge, boiler, alarm clock and router. Never leave TVs and steros on standby.

I bought a DIY store brand bulb but will investigate the Hue range tomorrow.

Hue will turn out to be ridiculously expensive if you just want something that dims.

[paul.deitch]

All useful info. Thanks. So I need some smart dimmers. Something I didn't know existed...
What's the consensus then on the best models?

[Dave Hedgehog]

mw88 said:

Philips Hue bulbs will remember the previous state when powered off/on, but if you're turning them on/off with the switch it kind of defeats the purpose of smart bulbs.

With all my Hue stuff, the switches are never touched - It's all controlled by either by the sunset/sunrise settings, the app (Or HomeKit) or motion sensors.

i have hue remotes in every room just above the power switch (you can get adapters to cover the switch)

you can set 5 programs of your design to cycle through and have multiple remotes on 1 light (landing) or group lights, so i have one remote for the main lights in the living room and one for all the surround ambient lighting

https://www.philips-hue.com/en-gb/explore-hue/how-...

[Dave Hedgehog]

xeny said:

Don't forget there is the inevitable ARM CPU in each bulb, it has to boot on each power on.

my hue bulbs respond within a second of being powered back on, even if they have been off for weeks

[aizvara]

xeny said:

The Hue stuff behaves the way I described. From a safety perspective I think bulbs you can't turn on if there is an IT outage would probably be unacceptable. Don't forget there is the inevitable ARM CPU in each bulb, it has to boot on each power on.

As someone else said, you might find smart dimmer switches are the way to go, although a more awkward install.

I turn on and off various lifx smart bulbs daily - they all turn on and resume the previous setting as immediately as any non-smart bulb in the house.

The only time they reset to max brightness is if you switch them on/off in a particular sequence, I think.

[dickymint]

mw88 said:

paul.deitch said:

Thanks for the feedback. I can see now that I have a different mindset. In our house and since forever almost nothing is left with power when switched off. Only things that I can immediately think of that are left to run are fridge, boiler, alarm clock and router. Never leave TVs and steros on standby.

I bought a DIY store brand bulb but will investigate the Hue range tomorrow.

Hue will turn out to be ridiculously expensive if you just want something that dims.

Not really if you just want the dimmer function then the dimmer switch is all you need and can control up to ten lamps. Can also be controlled with non Hue apps..........

https://www.the-ambient.com/how-to/set-up-philips-...