Philips Hue and Living colours

[Gus]

Bought a livingcolours Iris a couples of years ago and have been slowly adding and building up a collection of these lights. Added a Hue bridge a few weeks ago and have them all linked together. They are awesome lights and make for such a cozy living room. There is some pretty cool features like geofencing - when I get home after 6pm the light will automatically turn on , it works using my android phone that detects where my phone is using gps. It also makes them flash red a few times when the wife is approaching the house (aaaaiiiii) . You can store loads of different settings like when im watching a film it will dim them all down to a faint light blue. It also does disco type lights in time with the music, will have to upload a video of this later as its quite cool - it strobes the lights and switches colours etc.

Anyone else got some

 

[realnumber 1]

Very interesting!
I've got 3 of the living colours gen 2's in my living room. Have them all linked to the one remote. I was hoping my new Harmony Ultimate might work them but the RF from it will only go to it's hub.
I take it your's use RF rather than wifi to control and therefore the Hue bridge transmits in that?

As for the lights I love them. It's great being able to change the colour/feel of the room at the touch of a button.

 

[Gus]

Just like me.... I had the remote that I linked to all of them, then bought the Hue bridge. The Hue bridge means you cant use the remote anymore. You use a phone or tablet to control them. The hue bridge connects via ethernet to your router and the bridge communicates with the lights by RF.
Apparently you can use a harmony ultimate to control them but I havent got that far. When I was setting the remote up I did select the living colours but it didnt do anything.

 

[realnumber 1]

Yeah, I knew the ultimate can control the hue but didn't know that it transmitted RF. I stuck with mine as they're brighter 15 watt where as yours are 10 watt.
With mine been the older model they aren't advertised as working with the hue like yours but I bet they do now after this.
Might get one sometime if I see one cheap...

 

[Gus]

Yeah, Gen 2 works with Hue too. Didnt know the older ones were brighter. Also the Gen 2 Iris's look really cool.
If you do get a hue bridge then it can be a pain to link the lights to it. ping me if you need help.

 

[LeeRS]

ha!! Cool these. Are they pricey?

 

[realnumber 1]

Yeah brighter and I prefer the look without the band round them (although they still look very nice!) I've got 2 smoked ones and 1 clear.
Just looked into it and it seems as long as they have smart link they work which mine have

 

[realnumber 1]

ha!! Cool these. Are they pricey?

OP's are around £90+ each
They've come down a lot in recent years. When I 1st got them mine were £160+ unless you grabbed some on black friday or something like I did...
Just looked and mine are still £130 on amazon:astonished:

 

[Gus]

Got 6 x Iris
2 x blooms
2 x Auras
They can be had cheaper but its still expensive. Well worth it though wouldnt hesitate buying them again.
Going to do a video now of them as it shows them better.

 

[realnumber 1]

@optical, did yours do the 'disco' part before you got the hue?

 

[Gus]

No disco was only after I got the hue bridge, before that it was just the remote with colour wheel and a few presets.

If im honest I do miss the remote, it works so well. Now I have to use my phone to turn them on and off which is a bit of a pain . you can buy a special remote called a 'tap' but its not cheap and no where near as good.
Youtube is on a go slow tonight 89 minutes remain till its uploaded.

 

[Gus]

Its just like this though

 

[realnumber 1]

Not sure my 3 would look that good lol.
The remote is good, very easy to use. I can see it being more effort like using my phone to control my harmony...

 

[Gus]

Heres my video at last

 

[Cookie]

I want some just so I can have a disco

 

[aucky]

Love it, I'll be looking into these for the next house!

 

[Jamie86]

So just looking at these as re-doing the new house..

From what I have quickly seen you buy a bridge to control it all, and then a tap to control each area that you want individual control of is that right?

 

[realnumber 1]

@Jamie86
Or just use the supplied remote like I do.

 

[Djw John]

Suffered a hour long talk at a conference about these once before about how they reduced violence and improved safety for mental health patients. I liked the idea of them before for the house, got hugely put off them after that. Philips still owe me a hour of my life!

 

[Jamie86]

@Jamie86
Or just use the supplied remote like I do.

So I just buy one of the starter packs with a bridge and then as many bulbs as I need?

 

[Ol’ Tarby]

Been watching a few videos and reading up. I need these in my house. Showed my Mrs and she wants them too. Guess I'll be 180 quid lighter by tomorrow

 

[Gus]

start off with one living colours light - the Iris is a good starter. You dont really need the bridge, the included remote is really good. They are addictive and you will probably end up buying more later.

 

[realnumber 1]

So I just buy one of the starter packs with a bridge and then as many bulbs as I need?

You can just buy the lamps and use one of the remotes that come with them to control up to 8 irc. You don't need the bridge although you wont have that disco option (how often would you actually use it other than to show off a bit...!).

 

[Jamie86]

I like the idea of setting up things like lighting for films, wake up lighting etc etc so I think the app would make it a lot easier no?

 

[Knuckles]

Lol at flashing when the wife comes home.

I was looking into similar, the starter home automation kits from maplin. Sadly I think they'll be for the next house though.

 

[Gus]

It is pretty amazing what you can get it to do with a hue bridge and the app. It integrates with IFTTT (if this then that) which allows you to set up infinite stuff like:
blink once when an email comes in
blink red 10 times when the wife is coming home from work
blink when the ISS space ship is above the house
turn on lights when im within range of the house if its dark outside.
turn off lights when I leave the house
blink of the temperature is below X or above Y (integrates with my Nest thermostat)
turn on all lights if smoke is detected by the Nest protect smoke alarms.
blink one light if the ip cam detects motion
You can set it to change to a certain colour when switching on the TV or a different colour depending on the bpm of music.
Full on rave strobes like in my video.
wake you up at preset times

The only one I really use is a light pale peach/bronze colour all the time in the evening.

Half the reason i got them is that in my lounge I have 15 x 50W halogen lights which if they are all on is 750W of power. These philips lights combined probably only use 50w on the setting I have them. So there is a massive power saving. I wouldnt ever replace my halogens for Hue light bulbs as you cant beat the lovely light you get from halogens.

And they look really really cool. The Iris lights are almost like an art sculpture.

 

[CrippsCorner]

Missus got me the starter pack with the bridge and 3 bulbs for Christmas... unfortunately she got me the screw in type and my house is full of bayonets lol, but we should be moving out in a few weeks. Had no idea it could do all the above, really looking forward to getting stuck in now!

 

[Ol’ Tarby]

I've noticed they all come with screw type bulbs, not seen any bayonet type ones at all?

 

[Danny133]

So how expensive are these thing? aren't GU10s like £50 a bulb?!

 

[CrippsCorner]

I've noticed they all come with screw type bulbs, not seen any bayonet type ones at all?

Oh right I'm sure when I said that to her she said she had a choice... haven't actually seen any myself though.

Women :expressionless:

 

[cava83]

They only come screw type. I have them, I use adaptors which I purchased from ebay to convert to bayonet. Adds some height but don't notice.
I have the starter kit ( 3 x lights + bridge )
I also have 2 LivingColours Bloom (which were half price on ebay)
I am wanting to buy more lights, more LUX and a couple of Iris just like the OP.
I personally think they are great, wish the normal 3 lights were a bit brighter, but they can really help.
Expensive though, really wish they lower price, specially since LG are doing them now and Samsung have just stated they will start doing home automation too.
Nest integration is awesome!
I am currently in Australia and it's a lot more expensive here, but buying everything from the UK such as the Colours Bloom, require adaptors (AU>UK) which is a pain in the ass.
Great toys

 

[CrippsCorner]

Really want Nest but that'll have to wait until I actually buy my own home!

 

[Jay_A]

Seriously tempted to invest in some of these, but my only concern is how does it work with the light switch? Surely it would be annoying if you had to use the phone to turn a bedroom light on each time ? (Or have I missed something?)

 

[Gus]

Thats a good point. I havent bought any of the light bulb hues for this reason, using a phone to turn on a bedroom light would be crazy. I only have the tabletop lamps like the Iris and Bloom.

I would recommend buying an living colours Iris which comes with a remote. If you like it buy some more lights and then buy a Hue bridge off ebay if you want to be able to control it from your phone.

 

[Jay_A]

Thats a good point. I havent bought any of the light bulb hues for this reason, using a phone to turn on a bedroom light would be crazy. I only have the tabletop lamps like the Iris and Bloom.

I would recommend buying an living colours Iris which comes with a remote. If you like it buy some more lights and then buy a Hue bridge off ebay if you want to be able to control it from your phone.

Just seen they also sell a wall mounted light switch that can be specifically programmed.

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/comput...eless-lighting-smart-switch-10029133-pdt.html

Very tempted now!!!

 

[cava83]

If you use the light switch (normal one) it just resets it and puts it back to the normal light colour.
However, the light switch does need to be on, in order for you to manage your lights via the philips hue software or the special remote.

 

[Danny133]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00OM21Z0Q/?tag=cliospnet01-21

bayonet.

 

[CrippsCorner]

Fair play! How the f**k did she manage to buy that kit for £75... that was our Christmas budget and she swears she didn't go over, in fact I know she didn't because she was broke! I did say I nearly bought it for her once but I felt £150 for some lights was too steep lol, and she said it was no where that price :frowning: maybe she stole them.

 

[Ol’ Tarby]

Curry's have the Bloom on offer for 50 quid. Was going to get one today to start my collection off, but two stores I went to didn't have them in store

 

[Jay_A]

Found out I get 10% discount on accessories through the Apple Store (work scheme), so ordered two nest smoke alarms and now trying to work out what lighting to buy.