Smart lights recommendation

Forums › Gadgets, robotics, home automation, electronics (including wearables) › Smart lights recommendation

amanzi

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#222956 5-Sep-2017 13:53

Hi all,

Looking for some advice on smart lighting for our our house. We are wanting a mix of bayonet and screw type bulbs for pendant lights in the bedroom and hallway and some down lights for the lounge. Colour changing would be a bonus but I'd like to be able to dim them and change the warmth of the light at least. LimitlessLED seem to have everything we need, but just wondering if they are recommended or if there are better options out there that I haven't yet found?

Cheers.

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#1859959 6-Sep-2017 21:09

I've been pretty happy with LIFX so far - they work with both Alexa and Google Home and last forever.

richms

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#1859977 6-Sep-2017 21:49

Can you change the bayonet fixtures out? There are some pretty usable wifi lights all over aliexpress now for about $15US or so each, but E27 only. Dont even have a e14 option :(

Richard rich.ms

michaelmurfy

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#1859985 6-Sep-2017 22:01

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I've done my whole house with Philips Hue bulbs just because I wanted the single bridge. LIFX is pretty good also.

davidcole

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#1859989 6-Sep-2017 22:06

michaelmurfy:
I've done my whole house with Philips Hue bulbs just because I wanted the single bridge. LIFX is pretty good also.

Isn't that an expensive way of doing it since the light bulbs have done smarts?

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amanzi

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#1859991 6-Sep-2017 22:22

richms:

Can you change the bayonet fixtures out? There are some pretty usable wifi lights all over aliexpress now for about $15US or so each, but E27 only. Dont even have a e14 option :(

Not sure - they are part of a pendant light set, but will take a look. I was looking at the Yeelight on Aliexpress - seems to get good reviews and it works with Home Assistant. Any other Aliexpress lights you recommend?

amanzi

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#1859992 6-Sep-2017 22:24

michaelmurfy:

I've done my whole house with Philips Hue bulbs just because I wanted the single bridge. LIFX is pretty good also.

Bunnings has the starter pack for under $300 which seems expensive compared to the Chinese brands, but I think the Hue lights will have better W.A.F. due to the easy integration with Siri and smartphone apps.

richms

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#1859999 6-Sep-2017 22:41

amanzi:

richms:

Can you change the bayonet fixtures out? There are some pretty usable wifi lights all over aliexpress now for about $15US or so each, but E27 only. Dont even have a e14 option :(

Not sure - they are part of a pendant light set, but will take a look. I was looking at the Yeelight on Aliexpress - seems to get good reviews and it works with Home Assistant. Any other Aliexpress lights you recommend?

Thats what I have a few of, there is also a dimmer cheaper philips branded one that works with mi and has warm to cool adjust for quite a bit cheaper. Its a normal sized light whereas teh yeelights are a little larger. The others that seem quite good and work with alexa nativly use tuya smart as the app, just choose USA as country code and make the account with your email address, if you do it and choose NZ and use a phone number it seems to set them up on the china cloud and that doesnt do alexa.

Richard rich.ms

michaelmurfy

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#1860004 6-Sep-2017 22:56

davidcole:
michaelmurfy:

I've done my whole house with Philips Hue bulbs just because I wanted the single bridge. LIFX is pretty good also.

Isn't that an expensive way of doing it since the light bulbs have done smarts?

Not if you're installing many lights :)

amanzi

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#1860008 6-Sep-2017 23:07

richms:

amanzi:

richms:

Can you change the bayonet fixtures out? There are some pretty usable wifi lights all over aliexpress now for about $15US or so each, but E27 only. Dont even have a e14 option :(

Not sure - they are part of a pendant light set, but will take a look. I was looking at the Yeelight on Aliexpress - seems to get good reviews and it works with Home Assistant. Any other Aliexpress lights you recommend?

Thats what I have a few of, there is also a dimmer cheaper philips branded one that works with mi and has warm to cool adjust for quite a bit cheaper. Its a normal sized light whereas teh yeelights are a little larger. The others that seem quite good and work with alexa nativly use tuya smart as the app, just choose USA as country code and make the account with your email address, if you do it and choose NZ and use a phone number it seems to set them up on the china cloud and that doesnt do alexa.

I've been reading through the very long LimitlessLED thread - do you still use these bulbs? I like the idea of a remote - would be great for the kids' rooms so they can control their own lights easily.

Dingbatt

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#1860087 7-Sep-2017 08:08

I'm glad you started this thread. I mentioned Hue bulbs in the automation hub thread but that was taking it off topic.
I started looking at some smart lighting options after getting a Google Home.
Quite keen on the Yeelight range from Xiaomi and the hub seems to be extensible into other parts of Home automation. The main thing that prevents me from ordering a whole bunch of stuff from China and installing it in my house is none of it is certified and may not meet NZ standards. While stuff from a reputable company like Xiaomi is probably pretty safe to use, insurance companies might not see it that way.
My research has shown that the RGBW Hue bulbs on sale in NZ at the moment are Gen 2. Gen 3 bulbs were released overseas at the beginning of last year. They have better colour, blue and green particularly, because of the type of LEDs used. The Hue bridge uses a proprietary protocol on ZigBee so will only work with Hue (or clone) bulbs. But above all else it seems to be simple to set up and use.

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jonherries

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#1860140 7-Sep-2017 09:23

I am glad of this too. Apparently the new Ikea bulbs are compatible with the hue bridge and home kit once they have been updated. They seem pretty cheap too.

https://developers.meethue.com/content/philips-hue-and-ikea-trådfri
http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/search/?k=Tradfri

Jon

richms

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#1860564 7-Sep-2017 21:04

amanzi:

I've been reading through the very long LimitlessLED thread - do you still use these bulbs? I like the idea of a remote - would be great for the kids' rooms so they can control their own lights easily.

Not at the moment. I have to get a local gateway thing working at some stage to control them since they have no cloud thing to do alexa/google control. Just cant find the time between more fun things to do at the mo.

Have them installed in some lights and just set to white and controlling with the switch.

Richard rich.ms

sdavisnz

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#1860577 7-Sep-2017 21:48

I've got a bunch of lights, remotes and bridges for sale right now, all LimitlessLED.

Check offers and wanted or PM me.

Cheers
Steve.

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redfiat

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#1861164 9-Sep-2017 09:33

I am going to use a smart switch for my indoor lights instead of smart bulbs.

That way I don't have to worry about people turning the switches off and making smart lights useless.

I've ordered one of these Sonoff switches from aliexpress for USD$13

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Sonoff-Wifi-Touch-Wall-Switch-1-Gang-Wifi-LED-Touch-Timer-Switch-Glass-Panel-Controller-Light/32797387991.html

lchiu7

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#1861207 9-Sep-2017 10:21

I bought earlier versions of this type of switch which are RF controlled only so no use in a HA situation. They were a pig to install because the electronics filled up so much of the cavity, it made wiring hard. I had a sparky do it. These ones look better in terms of the size of the electronics. Can't see if they are Alexa or GH compatible though.

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