I've just bought a Hue kit - what can it do?! :)

[B17NNS]

dickymint said:

*does not work with Apple HomeKit”

Not a problem, just saying

I don't follow. What doesn't work with HomeKit. 2nd gen Hue bridge is HomeKit enabled isn't it?

[Esders]

gr1340 said:

According to the customer pictures, the bridge comes with 2 pin and UK 3 pin adapters.

Just read some of the reviews. Yes, it does come with a UK plug thing.
Already planning some IKEA bulb options.

Next thing is - can I take my Generation 1 Philips Livingcolors apart to convert them to Hue in preparation for Hue Entertainment so that it works with the Lightberry / Hyperion?

[ecsrobin]

B17NNS said:

dickymint said:

*does not work with Apple HomeKit”

Not a problem, just saying

I don't follow. What doesn't work with HomeKit. 2nd gen Hue bridge is HomeKit enabled isn't it?

2nd gen is and ikea bulbs.

[JimbobVFR]

ecsrobin said:

B17NNS said:

dickymint said:

*does not work with Apple HomeKit”

Not a problem, just saying

I don't follow. What doesn't work with HomeKit. 2nd gen Hue bridge is HomeKit enabled isn't it?

2nd gen is and ikea bulbs.

Apparently none Philips bulbs used with Hue will show as not compatible within Homekit but I've read reports they can still be controlled as part of a room anyway.

[B17NNS]

Ah, okay. Assumed HomeKit talked to the bridge and the bridge talked to the bulbs.

[tenohfive]

Anyone know of a cheaper alternative to the Phillips light strip? I picked up a couple of Hive coloured bulbs cheaply and like the effect in the front room, but think a light strip under the TV should bring it all together quite nicely. £50 for the Hue strip is a bit much for my liking.

[JimbobVFR]

tenohfive said:

Anyone know of a cheaper alternative to the Phillips light strip? I picked up a couple of Hive coloured bulbs cheaply and like the effect in the front room, but think a light strip under the TV should bring it all together quite nicely. £50 for the Hue strip is a bit much for my liking.

I know a cheaper alternative for much longer runs but it doesn't work out for shorter lengths.
If you can give up smart control for a normal remote there's plenty of light strip kits with a basic IR remote for around 20 quid that might be acceptable to you.

for example
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Autai-Flexible-Waterproof...

[Blink982]

I’ve just replaced an ageing cheapo IR LED lightstrip with Hue (after they dropped to £50 plus three extensions so £110 all in) that were part of my Logitech Harmony activities so pretty much always on when the the TV was running. The Hue lightstrip is far better quality and the lights are brighter and more intense and also dimmable. They are more expensive but so far I’m impressed. The ability to control them via Amazon Echo (Alexa) is also a bonus. Unfortunately Hue is expensive but it is better quality. I might try some cheaper GU10s at some point though.

[tenohfive]

IR isn't on the cards for me; I want the smart stuff unfortunately. Sounds like the Hue ones are worth the money though from the above.

[Oakey]

They are but they're also delicate and prone to breaking if you bend the ribbon cables too much

[dxg]

Blue Oval84 said:

JimbobVFR said:

When we did our kitchen diner I spent ages designing the lighting layout, 13 GU10 split into 3 zones all controlled by a 4 gang Varilight touch and IR dimmer (4th zone for under cupboard lights in the kitchen)

Since fitting Hue I've realised having 13 zones and dimmers (and full control over white tone and 3 colour bulbs) is a massive improvement.

The old light switch has been replaced by a nice varilight screwless blanking plate with a Hue dimmer switch attached. The dimmer is setup to give me access to multiple scenes, start and stop a colour cycling effect. I'm a big fan as you can probably tell, I'm running out of lights to change over.

Oh I like what you've done with that! Is that a double width blanking plate in order to accommodate the Hue dimmer? I'll need to do something similar when I get all the bulbs in the room and hallway moved across to Hue.

Can it be taken on and off easily as required if I needed access to the underlying switch?

Unfortunately since starting this thread one of my expensive LED wall lights has failed, so now it looks like instead of being a permanent part of my decor, they're going to be replaced with regular wall lamps and Hue colour ambience bulbs. More expense than I wanted, but it does remove the problem of having three "non-Hue" bulbs on the wall...

That is a brilliant and elegant solution. Can I ask, what is the white plate that looks like it's sunk into the blanking plate - between the switch and the blanking plate? I ask because the ones I have are: smaller but they have Phillips written on them, which would then be vertical and is why I never thought of setting it up like this before...

Cheers!

[B17NNS]

tenohfive said:

Anyone know of a cheaper alternative to the Phillips light strip? I picked up a couple of Hive coloured bulbs cheaply and like the effect in the front room, but think a light strip under the TV should bring it all together quite nicely. £50 for the Hue strip is a bit much for my liking.

This says it's controlled with an app or voice...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/A0ZBZ-Control-Controlled-...

[tenohfive]

I'm sticking with the bigger names for now - Philips/Hive/TP Link/Samsung/Belkin as I'm just a little wary of the unknown brands and the Chinese. I remember stories emerging of Xiaomi phones having back doors built in. I know it's not hard to crack a Wifi network but I'm still not ready to give access to that information to a company I don't quite trust. (I am probably a) overthinking this, and b) failing miserably to comprehend online security here.)

Looking around it looks like it's only really Philips that do it, so I'll keep an eye out for a deal.

[JimbobVFR]

dxg said:

That is a brilliant and elegant solution. Can I ask, what is the white plate that looks like it's sunk into the blanking plate - between the switch and the blanking plate? I ask because the ones I have are: smaller but they have Phillips written on them, which would then be vertical and is why I never thought of setting it up like this before...

Cheers!

It's exactly the same as yours except I've polished the Philips logo off, a bit of elbow grease and it rubs right off.

[dxg]

JimbobVFR said:

dxg said:

That is a brilliant and elegant solution. Can I ask, what is the white plate that looks like it's sunk into the blanking plate - between the switch and the blanking plate? I ask because the ones I have are: smaller but they have Phillips written on them, which would then be vertical and is why I never thought of setting it up like this before...

Cheers!

It's exactly the same as yours except I've polished the Philips logo off, a bit of elbow grease and it rubs right off.

Thanks! A project for that dull bit between Christmas and New Years. Something for the living room to address the complaints that "it's too complicated..."

[JimbobVFR]

dxg said:

Thanks! A project for that dull bit between Christmas and New Years. Something for the living room to address the complaints that "it's too complicated..."

If you use the Philips app you can assign the switch to a room and then use the top on switch to cycle through up to 4 scenes. The other buttons are fixed functionality so dim up and down and off.

If you use a 3rd party app (for example All 4 Hue on Android) you can define each button as you wish and also define different actions to a press and a press and hold. You can also use groups other than the rooms available in the hue app, the possibilities are immense if you use something other than the official app to set them up

[dxg]

Yes! That's exactly what I'm thinking. A button for "reading a book" and a button for "watching a movie". Hopefully I won't have to actually label them...

[B17NNS]

Hue colour starter kit (3 bulbs and bridge) down to £100 (you need to buy an echo too, also reduced to £70).

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B077LSRNZG?th=1

[dickymint]

Could anybody recommend any adjustable ceiling fittings for Hue ambient white and coloured GU10's ?

It's doing my head in and need them quick for my Spark to fit. Need ten to be fitted on same ring. Thanks in advance.

[LeadFarmer]

I keep having problems with Alexa and my Philips Hue lights. When asking Alexa to turn y living room lights on she often replies "I have found more than one device with the name Living Room lights, please give them unique names then run Discovery again..."

When looking at the Alexa app on my phone I notice that my lights have been duplicated, hence why Alexa keep finding multiple devices with the same name.

Any suggestions please?

Edited by LeadFarmer on Friday 15th December 09:47