OT — I’m on the Phillips hue train... — OT

MaskedMarvel · October 2018

Greetings friends,

my birthday last December - and my old college roommate sent me four hue lightbulbs. Without a bridge, they were pretty much just lightbulbs here.

Then a “refurbished” website sold a bunch of hue stuff for cheap. So I bought the hub and some more bulbs.

And i just went back and bought more. And some switches. Actually considering buying even more...

home automation is super super fun for me. pretending I’m in the future, and all... but making it so I can tell Alexa to do stuff is hilarious. And I set the door light to turn on automatically when I come home after dark (I’m a second shifter).

plus, making the downstairs randomly blood red or duke blue while the girls are home and I’m at work made the bulbs a worthy investment in mere seconds haha.

And I do like the practical safety of blinking lights when we aren’t home to simulate occupancy.

Totally worth it...
8-D

ColtsFan · October 2018

Agreed.

Just the ability to have a light come on at sunset and then turn off at sunrise is worth it to me. Plus it's fun to play with different scenes

Welcome to the club

NorthPilot06 · October 2018

Agree. Interior lights on arrival, exterior lights every day at sunrise/sunset, lights with a random on/off feature to simulate occupancy...awesome stuff. And of course, tying it together with the nest thermostat is cool too.

But then again, I'm a bit of a nerd with this stuff...

oldgeezeystax · October 2018

I'll be moving into a newer home at the end of November (1990s build, my current build is 1940) and I'm very excited to mess around with this type of stuff. Is Hue the clear winner in smart lighting? I'd be interested to gather thoughts on other smart items like thermostat, locks, etc.

Salmonegg · October 2018

I've been pretty frustrated with my Hue setup, which is modest: a hub, two white bulbs, and the "Go" portable. I went with Hue because it supports HomeKit, but my phone's Home app frequently (>3x a week) can't see one of the bulbs. About half the time, the Hue app still can, but not always. Sometimes flipping it on and off at the wall helps. I've checked the firmware and changed the ZigBee channel a couple times. The bulb in question is one room away from the Go, which is maybe 30 fee (though two walls) from the hub, so the signal should be able to hop, and I'm stumped.

tz666 · October 2018

My dad would kill me if I told him how much I spent on light bulbs to put Phillips hues in my living room and kitchen. The color change bulbs arent cheap. lol

Cookbook_Chip · October 2018

Ditto!! I have them all over the house now - color and plain whites. Just a blast telling Alexa to set scenes, adjust dimming, etc. Best consequence? I didn't realize how little electricity they use - and no heat!

MaskedMarvel · October 2018

They aren’t cheap. like i said - I get them from a refurbish site. Color bulbs are $25 there and haven’t had any problems.

fishlessman · October 2018

https://youtu.be/NLTKvGgTb10

xfire_ATX · October 2018

Im a lighting guy and I have tried all sorts of Lighting Automation. Every system I have put in I have yanked out except one... Lutron Caseta- much better system they controling just the lamps (light bulb). Now I have Hue in my house- will I for Halloween make it orange- sure, same for Xmas Green and red on the outside of house.

My kid still uses her bedside lamp with Alexa to turn on, my wife has started using Alexa to turn on a hall lamp upstairs. But if you dont want color look at the Lutron system instead it also integrates with Alexa.

Wylecyot · October 2018

Do you mind sharing the URL for the site where you get the refurbished Hue products? Thanks!

MaskedMarvel · October 2018

Wylecyot said:

Do you mind sharing the URL for the site where you get the refurbished Hue products? Thanks!

It’s techrabbit.com

their checkout on iOS SUUUUCKS

saluki2007 · October 2018

If you really want to take your home automation to the next level, check out Control4. I have it in my house. Controls all of the lights, locks, TVs, HVAC, Garage doors, and 5 different audio zones in my house. There is tons of other things the system can handle as well.

NDG · March 2019

@MaskedMarvel getting into this now for my back patio . . . My Light Setup is Super simple NOW with hue hub & bulbs for (3) wall lanterns, but need more.

Looking TO ADD the Hue outdoor motion sensor (at corner near cooking wall) and some Hue small Lily Lights (to highlight plants or pergola or somethign) and possibly the Hue Flood light up on my roof to provide more light over the entire patio.

Any experience with these products? Suggesions? I am concerned that the Lily lights might not work for me as each light has a black power cable that I do not want to drape over the pavers. Annoying as I see many people used these Lily lights on a base pillar of their Perogola (shining up or down onto a hanging plant etc) but no idea what they do with the black power cord? Could I somehow tie this power into the "dumb lighting" I already have setup in the mulch beds?

Anyway here is pic of my setup - let me know your suggestions & I thank you for looking !!

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/zo/ek7rwyevi0g6.jpg

nolaegghead · March 2019

Spoofee had a deal listed from the google store - 2 mini google assistant thingies and 6 smart bulbs for $60.....for less than the price of the 6 bulbs. So I bought it and replaced all 6 bulbs in the bedroom. 4 in the ceiling fan and one on each side of our smart bed.

Now I can say: "Hey google, turn SWMBO on 90%...."

NDG · March 2019

@nolaegghead that spoofee site is odd - just connects you to other sites where you make payment correct? So you got a smart bed & smart wife ?!? tread lightly you wily weasel. Your might wake up with your head sewn to the carpet.

nolaegghead · March 2019

NDG said:

@nolaegghead that spoofee site is odd - just connects you to other sites where you make payment correct? So you got a smart bed & smart wife ?!? tread lightly you wily weasel. Your might wake up with your head sewn to the carpet.

It's a member-posted deal site. Doesn't represent any vendors. They don't sell anything or deal with transactions - just links to actual sellers.

I have found some great deals on it...there are only a few dozen posts each day so you don't spend much time on it like you can going through Amazon Deals.

Smart bed - yep, connected to wifi, monitors sleep, etc. Smart wife - too smart.

CTMike · March 2019

Like Saluki I am using Control4 for home automation. The C4 switches aren’t cheap ($175 per) so I have a mix of those and Lutron Caseta.

I use it for lighting, garage doors, HVAC, home theater, and a couple other things. I even modified my pellet stove to control it with a C4 t-stat. I like the conditional programming I can do with it. For example, I have an argument that says “if a garage opens and it is dark, turn on the mud room and kitchen lights for 5 minutes.” That way if I have a handful or grandkid or groceries I don’t have to fumble for switches.

Currently researching which security cameras and driveway sensors I want to add to the system.

MaskedMarvel · March 2019

@nolaegghead hue bulbs?

@NDG I have zero experience with those products, but am pretty sure if your mulch lighting is low voltage, you will NOT be able to tie in...

i will say: go ahead and get the color hue versus the regular or white. You’ll use the color more than you think.

nolaegghead · March 2019

@MaskedMarvel no, they're GE C life of something. Just on/off/dim LED A19 bulbs.

Botch · March 2019

NDG said:

Anyway here is pic of my setup - let me know your suggestions & I thank you for looking !!

Nice-looking setup, even without lights!

NDG · March 2019

@MaskedMarvel ok going color - might add one product at a time & evaluate . . I can see how this becomes an addiction

MaskedMarvel · March 2019

NDG said:

@MaskedMarvel ok going color - might add one product at a time & evaluate . . I can see how this becomes an addiction

More expensive. Way more. Save the cheaper hue and white hubs for places you aren’t aS often.

oldgeezeystax · March 2019

CTMike said:

Like Saluki I am using Control4 for home automation. The C4 switches aren’t cheap ($175 per) so I have a mix of those and Lutron Caseta.

I use it for lighting, garage doors, HVAC, home theater, and a couple other things. I even modified my pellet stove to control it with a C4 t-stat. I like the conditional programming I can do with it. For example, I have an argument that says “if a garage opens and it is dark, turn on the mud room and kitchen lights for 5 minutes.” That way if I have a handful or grandkid or groceries I don’t have to fumble for switches.

Currently researching which security cameras and driveway sensors I want to add to the system.

That sounds super cool. I need something for my garage door that lets me confirm if it's closed or not, I get strangely OCD about it and have turned around multiple times to double check even though I'm 99% sure I closed it...

saluki2007 · March 2019

oldgeezeystax said:

CTMike said:

Like Saluki I am using Control4 for home automation. The C4 switches aren’t cheap ($175 per) so I have a mix of those and Lutron Caseta.

I use it for lighting, garage doors, HVAC, home theater, and a couple other things. I even modified my pellet stove to control it with a C4 t-stat. I like the conditional programming I can do with it. For example, I have an argument that says “if a garage opens and it is dark, turn on the mud room and kitchen lights for 5 minutes.” That way if I have a handful or grandkid or groceries I don’t have to fumble for switches.

Currently researching which security cameras and driveway sensors I want to add to the system.

That sounds super cool. I need something for my garage door that lets me confirm if it's closed or not, I get strangely OCD about it and have turned around multiple times to double check even though I'm 99% sure I closed it...

You can accomplish that with most of the new Chamberlian/Liftmaster openers. They have a little device you hook up to your home wifi and it will allow you to open and close your doors from anywhere in the world. You can even setup alerts to tell you if your door as been open for an hour.

https://www.myq.com/

saluki2007 · March 2019

I have just started messing around with IFTTT at my home for my Control4 system. Looks like there are tons of Applets (commands) for Phillips Hue. https://ifttt.com/hue

Leopoldstoch · March 2019

I love my hue lights and have pretty much replaced all the lights in my home with hue. Have some outdoor lights as well, and waiting for winter to go away to set up the rest of my outdoor lights.

NDG · March 2019

Leopoldstoch said:

I love my hue lights and have pretty much replaced all the lights in my home with hue. Have some outdoor lights as well, and waiting for winter to go away to set up the rest of my outdoor lights.

@Leopoldstoch good to hear . . the indoor Can Light replacement is in my future. Doing outdoor HUE stuff now for spring prep - crap arriving TMRW, cant wait. This purchase all for outdoor, that will tie into my (3) color hue bulbs now that are located in normal patio covered light wall fixtures . .

- (6) outdoor flood lights white only, to replace dumb bulbs (4 in back patio & 2 looking over driveway - color bulbs were double the price soo yea)
- (1) Outdoor Flood Lamp white only bc color sold out (to place over outdoor cooking area - excited about this one! )
- (1) one Hue Color Light Strip (placing in dry wall of screen porch, behind large wicker storage cabinet)
- (1) smart dimmer switch (guess you can save & load pre-set "mood settings" by clicking button, without phone, I can see my kids or ppl visiting liking this bc not intimidating - bought refurbished cheap one bc who cares)

I will see how this goes before adding more. The new outdoor motion sensor thing is on my short list (only $50) but still sold out everywhere.

Leopoldstoch · March 2019

@NDG

best buy looks to still have the outdoor sensor in stock and ready to ship. Mine just arrived yesterday.

NDG · March 2019

@Leopoldstoch excellent, I have a 19 yr old cousin who works there . . wish I would have thought of this earlier bc I bet the rascal can get a discount.

OT — I’m on the Phillips hue train... — OT

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