Philips Hue Questions

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#2311716 6-Sep-2019 12:55

In regards to "the light switch problem" - I removed the light switches entirely, used cable joiner to wire them as permanently powered on, then mounted the Hue dimmer over top of the hole in the wall.

michaelmurfy

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#2311744 6-Sep-2019 13:43

If anyone is after a bridge I do have one just laying around as it was cheaper buying the starter kit than 3 bulbs once. Flick me a PM and I am sure if you offer the right dollars I can give you the bridge in return.

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Senecio

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#2311746 6-Sep-2019 13:43

I'm only just getting started on my Hue lighting journey but already I'm hooked. Once you add them into your home automation solution of choice the options really open up. I'll be adding more as funds allow including more motion sensors for corridors that we pass through and rooms that are not used frequently.

I'm in the HomeKit camp and I'm looking forward to the iOS 13 release. Looking forward to being able to trigger automations when my morning alarm goes off.

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#2311747 6-Sep-2019 13:45

michaelmurfy:

If anyone is after a bridge I do have one just laying around as it was cheaper buying the starter kit than 3 bulbs once. Flick me a PM and I am sure if you offer the right dollars I can give you the bridge in return.

Is it the V2 bridge. If so I might be interested. I haven't started with lights down the other end of the house yet. What is the range like between bridge and bulb? Can you have 2 bridges in the one system for bulbs that are out of reach of the main bridge?

richms

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#2311758 6-Sep-2019 14:09

All these systems are only one hub per lan which is really annoying when you have multiple buildings. Range can be good on zigbee but its variable.

Richard rich.ms

Paul1977

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#2311777 6-Sep-2019 14:19

richms:

All these systems are only one hub per lan which is really annoying when you have multiple buildings. Range can be good on zigbee but its variable.

But Zigbee meshes right? So you could have the hub at one end of a large house controlling a light at the other end as long as you have enough lights in between to relay the signal, correct?

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mdf

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#2311786 6-Sep-2019 14:32

Lizard1977:

michaelmurfy:

@mdf I'll take 10. This is the perfect solution for me.

Looks like it'll be the right size to slap a Hue Dimmer button on front.

+1. Any chance you can supply the 3D files for printing?

<snip>

Hah! I've just started printing a slightly modified design. If this one turns out okay, very happy to share. I'm very new to 3D printing (two weeks in!) and would really appreciate someone else casting an eye over what I slapped together.

@michaelmurfy - do you use the round Hue switches or the square dimmer switches? If the dimmer switch is big enough, you might be better off with an adapter that fits the dimmer switch to the PDL switch. About three quarters of the filament and print time is on the solid front face. But if you won't see it anyway, a cutout would make it print much faster and use less filament. Can you flick me an image of the back of one with its dimensions?

richms

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#2311788 6-Sep-2019 14:35

Paul1977:

richms:

All these systems are only one hub per lan which is really annoying when you have multiple buildings. Range can be good on zigbee but its variable.

But Zigbee meshes right? So you could have the hub at one end of a large house controlling a light at the other end as long as you have enough lights in between to relay the signal, correct?

In theory it does. In practice things get really laggy when going thru the mesh, when it even works. It seems when operating near lots of wifi stuff the zigbee suffers. Not as bad as the milights which would just not work at all, but was common to see 1-2 second delays on things happening on the shed lights when the gateway was in the house. Same thing happened for me with both hue bridge as well as the wemo origional bridge. Now I have them all connected to smartthings hub it seems a lot faster than the other 2 bridges were.

Richard rich.ms

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#2312262 7-Sep-2019 14:47

I see that Philips have just released a smart plug. Not sure when it will be available in an AU/NZ plug configuration but I'd be keen. There aren't many options that are HomeKit compatible.

cebo

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#2312401 7-Sep-2019 16:46

Senecio:

I see that Philips have just released a smart plug. Not sure when it will be available in an AU/NZ plug configuration but I'd be keen. There aren't many options that are HomeKit compatible.

There are quite a few smart plugs that can be easily flashed with Tasmota firmware if you enjoy a little project, it supports Hue emulation. I got some of these which work well.

Senecio

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#2312408 7-Sep-2019 17:03

cebo:

There are quite a few smart plugs that can be easily flashed with Tasmota firmware if you enjoy a little project, it supports Hue emulation. I got some of these which work well.

You say these can be flashed to support Hue control and therefore HomeKit? I might have to do some research on Tasmota as they look great. So much more compact that most smart plugs and the fact they have a built physical switch is perfect.

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#2312445 7-Sep-2019 19:13

I also use a Logitech Harmony remote which has the ability to control the living room lights.

Um. I rarely have light on unless working at something. I sit at the PC without lights, my keyboard is backlit and the screen, I find it enough.

HAd dimmers once, back in the day and rarely used them.

But I am a fan of LED bulbs, whether just as a bulb or a fancy pants system.

Granddaughter is keen on this remote, coloured thing...

JaseNZ

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#2312510 7-Sep-2019 20:49

We have 25 coloured through out the house and 3 white in the garage as well as strips and table lamps, Never had an issue with it, Expensive yes very but for ease of use in my opinion its worth it.

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#2312548 7-Sep-2019 21:38

Not sure if anyone has mentioned it, but if you are going for coloured bulbs make sure they are gen 3 ones. One of the other Hue threads on GZ has an explanation. Better colours basically.

I haven’t put Hue lights in our bedrooms yet. Mainly because when you have a power cut (frequent enough where I live), when the power is restored all the Hue lights come on by default. Be better if the system remembered its previous state before the cut.

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JaseNZ

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#2312559 7-Sep-2019 22:04

Got to have them in the bedroom bow chicka wow wow 😉

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