My guess is you need this: https://www2.meethue.com/en-nz/p/hue-white-ambiance-aphelion-downlight/5900131C5

This would replace the whole fitting, not just the bulb. It gets expensive...

gcorgnet:

 

My guess is you need this: https://www2.meethue.com/en-nz/p/hue-white-ambiance-aphelion-downlight/5900131C5

 

This would replace the whole fitting, not just the bulb. It gets expensive...

 

Is that fitting dearer than an $130 zwave relay?  Which is the non bulb way of doing it.  Though there are also some smart switches nowdays (HPM and PDL have some) that use either zwave or zigbee.

Fitting (incl. bulb) is $70 but you also need a hub (shameless plug, I have a spare one for sale, going cheap).

I guess it depends how many lights you want to fit and how many lights per switch...

I have Hue throughout the house and it's great.

gcorgnet:

 

Fitting (incl. bulb) is $70 but you also need a hub (shameless plug, I have a spare one for sale, going cheap).

 

I guess it depends how many lights you want to fit and how many lights per switch...

 

I have Hue throughout the house and it's great.

 

Does that mean the switch is now irrelevant since you need to keep it on, to control the bulb?

davidcole:

 

gcorgnet:

 

Fitting (incl. bulb) is $70 but you also need a hub (shameless plug, I have a spare one for sale, going cheap).

 

I guess it depends how many lights you want to fit and how many lights per switch...

 

I have Hue throughout the house and it's great.

 

 

Does that mean the switch is now irrelevant since you need to keep it on, to control the bulb?

 

With Hue bulbs you leave the existing master switch on all the time, and add Hue switches if you want them. I have this setup in my house at the moment and it works well, but the redundant master switches create clutter and confuse guests.

When I move next year I am expecting my new place to have downlights so I am thinking that I might get smart switches installed but, as I understand it, I will also need to have Hue bulbs in order to be able to control dimming and colour temperature. This makes me wonder if the smart switches might not be worthwhile.

Yeah precisely... I taped over some of my physical switchs to prevent people from flicking them.

You can get better cover or even replace them with a blank plate if you're so inclined.

And yeah, Hue provides so much more control than smart switches. One example is being able to group your lights regardless of how they are wired together. and that's huge!

Smooth transitions, dimming, etc are other benefits

I believe you can get zwave rgb modules....but they must need a special bulb (unsure of fitting).  I prefer the "smart" switch approach - I say in quotes, cos the switch is whatever random hardware I choose, with smarts behind it.  Smart switches tend to be zwave or zigbee and or wifi, touch based things, which may or may not match the look you're going for at your house.

gcorgnet:

 

You can get better cover or even replace them with a blank plate if you're so inclined.

 

That is actually not a bad idea. I like the idea of the master switches still being available as a failsafe option, but covering them up might be a good option if I could find something that doesn't look too ugly.

I'm still inclined towards having both smart switches and Hue downlights in my new place, but I'm not sure how well they coordinate with each other. If I want to use the Hue app to turn on a light, would I potentially have to use another app to turn on the switch first? If automations are set up in the Hue app would they fail when the switch happens to be off at the time? Or does the Hue app have some ability to integrate with Zigbee switches?

I guess Apple Homekit might be able to coordinate the switches with the lights, but I personally find the Hue app much nicer to use.

alasta:

 

gcorgnet:

 

You can get better cover or even replace them with a blank plate if you're so inclined.

 

 

That is actually not a bad idea. I like the idea of the master switches still being available as a failsafe option, but covering them up might be a good option if I could find something that doesn't look too ugly.

 

I'm still inclined towards having both smart switches and Hue downlights in my new place, but I'm not sure how well they coordinate with each other. If I want to use the Hue app to turn on a light, would I potentially have to use another app to turn on the switch first? If automations are set up in the Hue app would they fail when the switch happens to be off at the time? Or does the Hue app have some ability to integrate with Zigbee switches?

 

I guess Apple Homekit might be able to coordinate the switches with the lights, but I personally find the Hue app much nicer to use.

 

You'd stop using the dedicated apps and move to something like homekit, home assistant, openhab that can control both from one place (and add automations from other things - and both can expose non homekit devices to homekit as well, which is better than buying homekit dedicated devices).

davidcole:

 

alasta:

 

I'm still inclined towards having both smart switches and Hue downlights in my new place, but I'm not sure how well they coordinate with each other. If I want to use the Hue app to turn on a light, would I potentially have to use another app to turn on the switch first? If automations are set up in the Hue app would they fail when the switch happens to be off at the time? Or does the Hue app have some ability to integrate with Zigbee switches?

 

I guess Apple Homekit might be able to coordinate the switches with the lights, but I personally find the Hue app much nicer to use.

 

 

You'd stop using the dedicated apps and move to something like homekit, home assistant, openhab that can control both from one place (and add automations from other things - and both can expose non homekit devices to homekit as well, which is better than buying homekit dedicated devices).

 

Does Homekit allow you to programme a sequence of events in a single action? e.g. turn on the wall switch, and then turn on the light at a certain brightness?

It seemed a bit basic when I played with it, but admittedly I'm a slow learner with these things.

alasta:

 

davidcole:

 

alasta:

 

I'm still inclined towards having both smart switches and Hue downlights in my new place, but I'm not sure how well they coordinate with each other. If I want to use the Hue app to turn on a light, would I potentially have to use another app to turn on the switch first? If automations are set up in the Hue app would they fail when the switch happens to be off at the time? Or does the Hue app have some ability to integrate with Zigbee switches?

 

I guess Apple Homekit might be able to coordinate the switches with the lights, but I personally find the Hue app much nicer to use.

 

 

You'd stop using the dedicated apps and move to something like homekit, home assistant, openhab that can control both from one place (and add automations from other things - and both can expose non homekit devices to homekit as well, which is better than buying homekit dedicated devices).

 

 

Does Homekit allow you to programme a sequence of events in a single action? e.g. turn on the wall switch, and then turn on the light at a certain brightness?

 

It seemed a bit basic when I played with it, but admittedly I'm a slow learner with these things.

 

Yes.  As a ui it is fairly basic.   But it's not limited to Hue bulbs only.  And if you use Home Assistant or Openhab and grab any old random item that is not homekit enabled, you can tell the software to make it show up in home kit.  Eg I have a zwave relay controlling my central heating, that is not homekit enabled.  But using Openhab, that zwave relay (switch) shows up in Homekit as my central heating.