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      09-14-2018, 11:13 PM   #1
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Alexa Products @ Hue Lights

Anyone have any experience with these products?

Good or bad experiences?

I am thinking of getting both and wanted to see what your thoughts are on these products.

Thanks
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      09-15-2018, 04:14 AM   #2
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I have them and love them. Can control lights when you are out of town, program them, and control them with Alexa. Some of the hue lights have different colors too. You won’t regret it.
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      09-15-2018, 08:52 AM   #3
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I'm not using the Hue lights but I am gradually converting most of the lighting in the house to "smart" lighting. Using smart light *bulbs* would be very costly, in my case, as I think the kitchen alone has 13 recessed lights.

Instead, I'm replacing the switches with Zwave Plus units. I can't change the color but that really didn't matter to me. It's nice to click the "Bedtime" button instead of my normal nightly walk to make sure everything is off. Using Alexa to invoke scenes is handy too...


They were a little difficult to figure out how to wire, especially the three ways. Of the 12 or 15 I've installed so far, one went bad a few days after installing. Other than that, they've worked well. I do have two "bulbs", not Hues, that do lose connectivity every now and again. I'm using the GE/Jasco switches with the SmartThings hub...

Oh... the only other "issue" was, for example, I've got a 5-gang box in the kitchen. These switches are much "deeper" than the ones they replaced. Cramming everything in there was a bit of a pain in the neck...

Last edited by amgraham; 09-15-2018 at 08:54 AM.. Reason: Added info...
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      09-15-2018, 08:53 AM   #4
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I have several dimmable white lights, 2 A19 color lights, and 2 light strips all paired with Echo and I'm very happy with them. I also have a Hue Tap smart light switch in my living room, it's very handy, it stores 4 different light settings you can switch with 1 click. I've had these for a couple years now and never had any issue with them. Hue by itself is pretty powerful, but pairing with Alexa for voice control is even better. I've thought about adding Samsung SmartThings just for the proximity sensor, so your lights could automatically turn on when you come home, but I just say, "Alexa, I'm home" to my garage Echo and my inside lights come on.

I also have a Google Home and at one time had Hue paired with it too, but I've experienced enough issues with Google that after the last time it required an update that wiped out my Hue settings, I didn't bother to pair them again. Alexa has been rock steady.
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      09-15-2018, 09:56 AM   #5
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Thanks for the replies!

I am thinking of getting the Hue starter kit and the Alexa Echo.

The smart switches seem the way to go for most things.
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      09-15-2018, 12:45 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by obert View Post
Thanks for the replies!

I am thinking of getting the Hue starter kit and the Alexa Echo.

The smart switches seem the way to go for most things.
Yeah, the two bulbs have been the only problematic issue I've had. Of course, they were cheap on Amazon. I can't recall the brand. I would have used the Jasco Plug In outlet adapter for those nightstand lamps. I used those for some pole lamps in our basement and they work well.

But... I'd already replaced those outlets with some that have the USB ports so that I could plug in the wireless phone chargers on the nightstand and an Echo. Those adapters would have blocked the USB outlets. I mistakenly bought ZigBee light bulbs which, in theory, isn't a big deal because the SmartThings hub works with both Zwave and ZigBee but... the ZigBee range isn't as good as Zwave it seems, and certainly not Zwave Plus.

Going through a conversion/upgrade like this definitely takes some planning and evaluation of the various protocols: zwave (plus), ZigBee, BT, WiFi, etc. and the integration with Alexa, etc. I started with doing like three switches, just to test the waters. Switches are more hassle to install but one switch is much less of an investment than 3, 5, 10 "smart" bulbs.


The difficult part of the planning, for me was... I knew that I certainly wanted to automate some switches, and I'm switching from toggle to paddles. However, we've got a ton of three-ways in our house so... replacing the "main" one we use, also meant replacing the switch at the other end. In that box, was another switch that I wasn't planning on replacing yet but... it either meant I replace it with a "dumb" paddle switch or upgrade the other switch to a "smart" switch, while I was in there re-wiring anywas. In other words... it's been an on-going "project" and certainly worth spending some time planning on where you want to go with it, how much you want to spend now and later, etc.
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      09-15-2018, 02:14 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BdSM n54iS View Post
This isn’t a concern for me as I will never ask these questions. I just want it to set my alarm and turn on and off my lights.

Do I agree with how they have set it up? No but I can make up my own mind. I don’t need a machine to tell me what’s right or wrong.

Plus this thread wasn’t made to have a political debate. Lol
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      09-15-2018, 02:19 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by obert View Post
This isn’t a concern for me as I will never ask these questions. I just want it to set my alarm and turn on and off my lights.

Do I agree with how they have set it up? No but I can make up my own mind. I don’t need a machine to tell me what’s right or wrong.

Plus this thread wasn’t made to have a political debate. Lol
Fair enough, I thought it a funny coincidence I had this up on anther tab when I scrolled through this.
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      09-15-2018, 02:22 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BdSM n54iS View Post
Fair enough, I thought it a funny coincidence I had this up on anther tab when I scrolled through this.
I appreciate the info as I had no idea they would program these to answer questions like that. I would rather it tell you to look for the information some place then give an opinion.
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      09-16-2018, 11:08 AM   #10
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My lighting system is primarily Lutron, but I do use a Hue lightstrip under by kitchen cabinets and a Hue bulb in the vent hood above my stove. This works as one system via Apple HomeKit in my case, but you could very well use Amazon's Alexa assistant in a similar way.
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