WiFi Enabled Light Bulbs and other household stuff

T

Tyrsis

Gawd
Joined
Apr 28, 2008
Messages
534
Not sure that this topic fits neatly in any of the forums, but this'll do.

I've been contemplating outfitting my house with a bunch of LED WiFi bulbs, given that a lot of them can be voice activated via Alexa or Google Home.

Has anyone out there done this? One thing I'm having trouble finding are bulbs that will cycle through colors automatically. Seems like a cool thing to have when having a party. Anyone know of bulbs that do this?
 
I have a few of the TP-Link 50w bulbs ($20 on Amazon), they're WiFi enabled so you don't need any sort of Z-Wave hub to get them working and they're Alexa compatible

Very happy with them, mine only dim but I think TP has a color one too

Depending how you're setup, a smart switch could be a better option, i.e. my dining room takes 6x bulbs, so $120 in bulbs or a single $40 switch
 
Using them in lamps across the house. Grouping them is easy enough and works pretty great w/Alexa. I don't think you'll be able to dim lights through Alexa though, just on/off functionality currently. I use mostly LIFX and those TP 50w bulbs. Can't beat the price on those TP link bulbs.
 
I don't have an Echo, but I did pick up that Dash Wand. I wonder if that works...
 
Unfamiliar with that device....

But to your original question, the RGB bulbs are cool and you can find them cheap, even working with Alexa though on/off fn is your best bet. Even without voice command the options in app are suffice pretty much across the board. The Dot is so cheap, about the cost of some of the more expensive but reasonable bulbs -- might be time to give that a shot.
 
LIFX is great- just make sure you have a decent wifi AP since they seem to be picky about wireless quality.
 
The LIFX bulbs are hands down the best and do everything you want and do not require a separate hub. They're full RGB and have configurable themes and color cycling effects and transitions. In the process of doing my entire living room's recessed fixtures with the BR30s...gonna cost me about $500 lol.
 
I use Phillips Hue - some color and some white only. I only tested an illumi bulb from Kickstarter but it isn't that great for the money. The only good thing is the app has a timer function so I can set it to turn on and off at certain times and in a specific color (I run it red at night, since I have a black cat that is invisible in the dark just to not accidentally step on the little sucker).
 
TheMadHatterXxX said:
The LIFX bulbs are hands down the best and do everything you want and do not require a separate hub. They're full RGB and have configurable themes and color cycling effects and transitions. In the process of doing my entire living room's recessed fixtures with the BR30s...gonna cost me about $500 lol.
Click to expand...

My only issue with LIFX bulbs is that they essentially require an internet connection to fully function (in terms of brightness adjustments, color, etc; they can still be turn on/off via wall switch) since they are cloud based. I originally had LIFX bulbs but switched to Philips Hue bulbs due to that fact alone as the hub is the "brain" of the system and just requires you be on the same network as the hub (but is cloud based if not on that network). The only downside being the hub is an additional item to break/fail, but it seems the hubs have been pretty reliable since their first iteration.
 
smartthings hub, using floodlights outside that are z-wave, cree LED z-waves inside grouped into different rooms. Also have them tied into Alexa Echo Dot for controls.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top