Philips Hue Ambience Starter Kit - $117 down from $199

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Forums › Bargains and Deals › Philips Hue Ambience Starter Kit - $117 down from $199

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463 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2110415 18-Oct-2018 12:05

Looks like Bunnings have reacted to Noel's sale and have reduced their prices accordingly.

Mitre 10 looks the place to go to price match..

Samsung

Shop now on Samsung (affiliate link).

mattwnz

20003 posts

Uber Geek

#2110727 19-Oct-2018 00:07

Blurtie:

Looks like Bunnings have reacted to Noel's sale and have reduced their prices accordingly.

Mitre 10 looks the place to go to price match..

Only on some of the things. Mitre 10 priced them for me but had little stock.

apm45

63 posts

Master Geek

#2111970 21-Oct-2018 18:08

So another 5 white bulbs, 3 switches, 2 ambiance bulbs, 1 colour bulb and 1 grumpy wife later, I think I'm done for now.
Mitre10's price promise, and being able to pay with airpoints was very convenient! Looking forward to getting them set up in a way that works for me.

baileym1

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Master Geek

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#2112012 21-Oct-2018 18:40

Thanks OP - went to bunnings today and they had the pack at full price - did my first ever 15% discount price match today (was also the Bunnings staff members first) - got the pack for $115 down from $198. So super easy to set up and get going.

apm45

63 posts

Master Geek

#2112045 21-Oct-2018 20:08

I was also impressed with how easy they were to set up. The switch works really well, as does Google assistant integration.

mattwnz

20003 posts

Uber Geek

#2112222 22-Oct-2018 15:12

I found them fine to setup, apart from the dimmer switch, which wouldn't connect properly. I had to google the problem connecting the dimmer switches, ,and eventually found a way to do it. Alexa integration seems to work quite well, but haven't found a way to set it so it will do something like, turn the lights off in 30 minutes via a voice command

baileym1

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#2112224 22-Oct-2018 15:24

Cant you just go to Routines then timers in the App - set a time and what you want it to do I.e. turn off in 30 mins

mattwnz

20003 posts

Uber Geek

#2112228 22-Oct-2018 15:41

baileym1: Cant you just go to Routines then timers in the App - set a time and what you want it to do I.e. turn off in 30 mins

I know it can be done in the philips hue app, although I was trying to get Alexa to do it via a voice command, Such as Alexa, turn off living room lights in 30 minutes.

amanzi

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#2122571 9-Nov-2018 10:08

Dingbatt: I see browsing the NL site, they now have the Muscari architectural lights as well. At one stage I even considered importing some of these but went with aphelion downlights instead.

Hey @dingbatt - are you still liking the aphelion downlights? I'm considering getting them but wondering what the colour range is like? I know it's white only, but is the difference between "warm" and "cool" very noticeable? We have some coloured Hue bulbs and use the scenes to change the bulbs to a dim warm orange-ish colour in the evenings.

pdh

283 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2122710 9-Nov-2018 13:38

I'm also considering the downlights - and I've recent experience with the variable-white Ambiance lamps (I believe all the Ambiance-tagged bulbs cover the came colour range).

Short answer to your question - yes, there's a very great difference in the Ambiance's whites over the range from 2200 to 6700 K. It's very visible and noticeable.

For a while now, we've had some of the Ambiance bulbs in the lounge - we use the different colours - as well as the dimming.

I was going to put 5 of the Ambiance G10's into the adjacent kitchen fixtures. But, I couldn't stomach the 80+ dollars (each) price in NZ. So I found some Philips Hue G10s (non-Ambiance, seemingly just released) from Amazon UK. I got six for 82 pounds (total, delivered). These are fixed at warm white (2700 K) - and we are loving the dimming in the kitchen area - but missing the colder light (4000 K) of the previous (fixed intensity) Sylvania G10s - for kitchen work.

Amuses me that 50 years ago I just worried if I had light or not, 20 years ago I worried if it was too bright or dim - and now I'm worrying about the colour. Sigh...

mattwnz

20003 posts

Uber Geek

#2122721 9-Nov-2018 13:58

pdh:

Amuses me that 50 years ago I just worried if I had light or not, 20 years ago I worried if it was too bright or dim - and now I'm worrying about the colour. Sigh...

True, although back then, you didn't have to worry about the colour so much, as incandescent all tended to be warm white, which is a comfortable colour. Personally I always stick to 3000k, but there can be big differences there too between manufacturers.

amanzi

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#2123171 10-Nov-2018 10:51

pdh:

I'm also considering the downlights - and I've recent experience with the variable-white Ambiance lamps (I believe all the Ambiance-tagged bulbs cover the came colour range).

Short answer to your question - yes, there's a very great difference in the Ambiance's whites over the range from 2200 to 6700 K. It's very visible and noticeable.

For a while now, we've had some of the Ambiance bulbs in the lounge - we use the different colours - as well as the dimming.

I was going to put 5 of the Ambiance G10's into the adjacent kitchen fixtures. But, I couldn't stomach the 80+ dollars (each) price in NZ. So I found some Philips Hue G10s (non-Ambiance, seemingly just released) from Amazon UK. I got six for 82 pounds (total, delivered). These are fixed at warm white (2700 K) - and we are loving the dimming in the kitchen area - but missing the colder light (4000 K) of the previous (fixed intensity) Sylvania G10s - for kitchen work.

Amuses me that 50 years ago I just worried if I had light or not, 20 years ago I worried if it was too bright or dim - and now I'm worrying about the colour. Sigh...

Thanks for the info - very helpful. I think I'm going to go ahead with these. The Hue stuff might not be the cheapest but it's been by far the most reliable and easiest to use.

cheers.

gehenna

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#2123175 10-Nov-2018 11:04

I feel like this starter kit and/or an Amazon Echo Dot makes for a tremendous Christmas or Birthday present these days.

gcorgnet

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Uber Geek

#2123677 11-Nov-2018 18:57

Thank you guys for the tip. Scored a starter kit from Bunnings at $117 and now I am starting my journey into smart lighting :-)

For you guys who mentioned the Aphelion Downlights. Whats the word? Really liking the Ambiance feature on starter kit (different temperatures) and keen on the downlights for that reason.

Does anyone knows if these can be DIY'd or do I need to get a sparky in ? How could I make sure? (don't want to have issues with my insurance...)

Finally anyone has a lead on a good price for them? Cheapest I have seen is $69 at Bunnings but I'm gonna need about a dozen to start with :-(

richms

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#2123680 11-Nov-2018 19:15

Im holding off on downlights to see if the mi store bring in the mijia downlights with approvals etc. They are USD12 on aliexpress and have wifi and colour temperature over a limited range. The store bought in the e27 lamps at a fair price so fingers crossed on the downlights since with low cielings there isnt much other choice in lighting.

Richard rich.ms

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