Philips Hue Lighting - owners thread

[C2Red]

threadlock said:

BigBen said:

you can make your own Hue compatible light strips with a few bits from AliExpress and a bit of buggering around. I made a 5m strip for around £20 iirc and it looks as good as the real thing.

Thanks for the suggestion - that idea has occurred to me in the past but I've tried non-Hue light strips and bulbs before and although they do work they're just not as good as the real thing.

For example I've got two Innr multicolour E27 bulbs. When they're dimmed or turned off they react more slowly than the Hue bulbs in the same zone, and they change brightness in visible steps. I've got two 4m Innr light strips. At the end of every evening all 19 Zigbee bulbs/strips in our house are set to start dimming over 30 minutes and then turn off. One of the Innr strips goes suddenly from its default bright blue to bright red, then changes over 2 minutes to white, then starts dimming. Sometimes the Innr bulbs don't react to a room-change instruction. I can't set what they do when they're turned off and back on at the switch. Etc etc.

IMHO the cheaper options aren't worth the saving. The Hue just works perfectly.

Have you tried the Gledopto range, their not too shabby as a lightstrip and Hue compatible
I’ve used them a bit, quite like them, all from Aliexpress

[threadlock]

C2Red said:

Have you tried the Gledopto range, their not too shabby as a lightstrip and Hue compatible
I’ve used them a bit, quite like them, all from Aliexpress

I've just had a look at Gledopto's Aliexpress site to try and find what I need. The Aliexpress site reminds me of the clusterfk that is Lings Cars.
It seems they only sell individual components? I just don't have the time to try and understand their product range and which things work together at the moment. Once I've installed my kitchen and I get to that stage maybe I'll be in the mood but not right now. I don't need extra problems to solve

[dickymint]

threadlock said:

C2Red said:

Have you tried the Gledopto range, their not too shabby as a lightstrip and Hue compatible
I’ve used them a bit, quite like them, all from Aliexpress

I've just had a look at Gledopto's Aliexpress site to try and find what I need. The Aliexpress site reminds me of the clusterfk that is Lings Cars.
It seems they only sell individual components? I just don't have the time to try and understand their product range and which things work together at the moment. Once I've installed my kitchen and I get to that stage maybe I'll be in the mood but not right now. I don't need extra problems to solve

Just buy Hue and have done with it.

[BigBen]

dickymint said:

threadlock said:

C2Red said:

Have you tried the Gledopto range, their not too shabby as a lightstrip and Hue compatible
I’ve used them a bit, quite like them, all from Aliexpress

I've just had a look at Gledopto's Aliexpress site to try and find what I need. The Aliexpress site reminds me of the clusterfk that is Lings Cars.
It seems they only sell individual components? I just don't have the time to try and understand their product range and which things work together at the moment. Once I've installed my kitchen and I get to that stage maybe I'll be in the mood but not right now. I don't need extra problems to solve

Just buy Hue and have done with it.

Yep. You have to buy the light strip, controller and power supply separately so it is very much a DIY option. You save money but lose out in convenience.

[Chilly for June]

Keen to get Philip's Hue in the home but the starter pack comes with E27 screw in bulbs. I really wanted to use it with lamp in the hall and in the living room but these both seem to be E14 bulbs.

Does anyone have any experience of using the bulbs with an adaptor to make the 27 fit the 14 slot?

Is the starter pack from Currys on sale for £60 good value or I'm I better buying the bridge and bulbs seperate?

Thanks.

[C2Red]

BigBen said:

dickymint said:

threadlock said:

C2Red said:

Have you tried the Gledopto range, their not too shabby as a lightstrip and Hue compatible
I’ve used them a bit, quite like them, all from Aliexpress

I've just had a look at Gledopto's Aliexpress site to try and find what I need. The Aliexpress site reminds me of the clusterfk that is Lings Cars.
It seems they only sell individual components? I just don't have the time to try and understand their product range and which things work together at the moment. Once I've installed my kitchen and I get to that stage maybe I'll be in the mood but not right now. I don't need extra problems to solve

Just buy Hue and have done with it.

Yep. You have to buy the light strip, controller and power supply separately so it is very much a DIY option. You save money but lose out in convenience.

True-ish; they also do 5v usb lightstrips, which obviously you can use in a variety of different situations.

[threadlock]

dickymint said:

Just buy Hue and have done with it.

Hence:

threadlock said:

Any of you know of a good (i.e. cheaper) source for Lightstrips? I need two plus an extension. Most places with stock are £70+ and most places priced at £60 or better are out of stock. I know, I know: supply/demand etc. but just thought I'd ask :-)

[dmsims]

threadlock said:

I've just had a look at Gledopto's Aliexpress site to try and find what I need. The Aliexpress site reminds me of the clusterfk that is Lings Cars.
It seems they only sell individual components? I just don't have the time to try and understand their product range and which things work together at the moment. Once I've installed my kitchen and I get to that stage maybe I'll be in the mood but not right now. I don't need extra problems to solve

LMGTFY

https://www.instructables.com/id/Gledopto-Cheap-Ph...

[dapprman]

Chilly for June said:

Keen to get Philip's Hue in the home but the starter pack comes with E27 screw in bulbs. I really wanted to use it with lamp in the hall and in the living room but these both seem to be E14 bulbs.

Does anyone have any experience of using the bulbs with an adaptor to make the 27 fit the 14 slot?

Is the starter pack from Currys on sale for £60 good value or I'm I better buying the bridge and bulbs seperate?

Thanks.

As far as I'm aware the starter kits are only available for B22 and E27 fittings and the hub can be quit expensive by itself. The way I've bought mine has been to add what I'm interested in to my Amazon basket and wait until they are reduced enough. Not paid close to full price for any of my bits.

[threadlock]

dmsims said:

LMGTFY

https://www.instructables.com/id/Gledopto-Cheap-Ph...

Hey I appreciate your help, genuinely, but...
1ID or 2ID drivers? Not sure which I need or why.
Only one power supply per customer per order. (I need two.)
Delivery "guaranteed" by 19th September.
Customs/import taxes to pay on arrival, presumably.

All that to save max £50 for 1 x 2m and 1 x 3m light strips.

For me, Hue is worth the difference in performance (but thank you for GTFM)

[dmsims]

Decription says:

"RGBW/RGB+CCT Controller :1ID, will show 1ID in the APP; Easy to manage the lights. Can control the Color light (RGB) or white light separately.

RGBW/RGB+CCT Controller :2IDs,will show 2IDs in the App, work as 2 lights(RGB+White light). Color light （RGB) can work with white light together or separately. 2IDs Controller only works with H*u*e."

Pay the price for Hue then (Hue is made in China)

[shep1001]

For the past couple of mornings at the same time, all the Hue lights have switched themselves on. Anybody know what causes this? We have returned home before to find all the lights on too but this has seemed to be a one off event .

[zedx19]

shep1001 said:

For the past couple of mornings at the same time, all the Hue lights have switched themselves on. Anybody know what causes this? We have returned home before to find all the lights on too but this has seemed to be a one off event .

I've had this sometimes when there's been a power cut.

[shep1001]

zedx19 said:

I've had this sometimes when there's been a power cut.

Yes, the default setting for the lights can be set to 'on' following a power outage but there is nothing to suggest the power went off. It happened at the same time yesterday & today which would be rather odd for a power cut.

[BigBen]

threadlock said:

For me, Hue is worth the difference in performance (but thank you for GTFM)

It is well worth it if plug and play is your aim. In terms of actual performance, particularly for a longer strip the non Hue ones will probably be better as you can use a much bigger power supply so can run brighter.

[dickymint]

BigBen said:

threadlock said:

For me, Hue is worth the difference in performance (but thank you for GTFM)

It is well worth it if plug and play is your aim. In terms of actual performance, particularly for a longer strip the non Hue ones will probably be better as you can use a much bigger power supply so can run brighter.

And possibly knacker the lamps quicker?

[BigBen]

dickymint said:

BigBen said:

threadlock said:

For me, Hue is worth the difference in performance (but thank you for GTFM)

It is well worth it if plug and play is your aim. In terms of actual performance, particularly for a longer strip the non Hue ones will probably be better as you can use a much bigger power supply so can run brighter.

And possibly knacker the lamps quicker?

Unlikely. I had read that a Hue strip + extension is on the limit of the standard power supply so you get dimmer lights than running just the strip.

[dickymint]

BigBen said:

dickymint said:

BigBen said:

threadlock said:

For me, Hue is worth the difference in performance (but thank you for GTFM)

It is well worth it if plug and play is your aim. In terms of actual performance, particularly for a longer strip the non Hue ones will probably be better as you can use a much bigger power supply so can run brighter.

And possibly knacker the lamps quicker?

Unlikely. I had read that a Hue strip + extension is on the limit of the standard power supply so you get dimmer lights than running just the strip.

Cheers for that. I’m happy with the strip + extension. I’m all for DIY also but the kicker for me as regards the one proposed above is that it’s not recognised by Hue Sync.....I love a good disco in the kitchen

[Hobnobgti]

Having some trouble lately with devices at the back of the house. I have two E27 lights outdoors, plus the Welcome floodlight, plus an indoor switch and outdoor sensor. All are occasionally having trouble communicating with the Hue bridge, despite no previous problems. Unfortunately I can't move the bridge to a different location.

I understand the devices can communicate back to the bridge via other Hue stuff. As such if I replace a random bulb in between with a Hue one, should that act as a 'bridge' between everything and fix my problems? Anyone done this before for this situation?

[BigBen]

dickymint said:

Cheers for that. I’m happy with the strip + extension. I’m all for DIY also but the kicker for me as regards the one proposed above is that it’s not recognised by Hue Sync.....I love a good disco in the kitchen

Ah yes that wouldn't be good. The one I have works with iLightshow which is the Hue to Spotify app that I use, I have not tired Hue Sync.

The room in question has one DIY strip and a few proper ones as well as some Ikea Tradfri white GU10s, they all seem to play nicely together apart from the Ikea ones st themselves every 3 -4 months or so.

Ben