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- First reviewDecember 17, 2015
- Last reviewDecember 30, 2015
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- Average rating4.5
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Joseph's Reviews
Enhance your Hue lighting system with this Philips Hue dimmer switch. Removing the control unit from the magnetic base plate lets you use it as a handheld remote, and the on button also adjusts Philips colors and set ambiance levels. Adjust light settings precisely with this wireless Philips Hue dimmer switch.
Posted by: Joseph
I've been meaning to get a wall switch for my hue lights for a while now. I kinda figured that the Tap switch was going to be my only option until this came along with a much more attractive price point and more conventional look. And it works great. That said there are a couple downsides to choosing this over the Tap:
-Battery. As in this needs one. It's a minor thing since the battery included will no doubt last forever, but it should be mentioned that this is not a kinetic energy powered device like the Tap. Of course for some people this is probably a plus, since the Tap does require you to hammer it a little to work.
-Less Programmable. The Tap is interesting because it lets you pretty much program the multiple buttons to do whatever you want. This one, though, only allows 1 scene to be stored at a time. I'll admit I'm a little disappointed that there isn't a cycle option or the like, but I suppose that's what the phone is for.
-Battery. As in this needs one. It's a minor thing since the battery included will no doubt last forever, but it should be mentioned that this is not a kinetic energy powered device like the Tap. Of course for some people this is probably a plus, since the Tap does require you to hammer it a little to work.
-Less Programmable. The Tap is interesting because it lets you pretty much program the multiple buttons to do whatever you want. This one, though, only allows 1 scene to be stored at a time. I'll admit I'm a little disappointed that there isn't a cycle option or the like, but I suppose that's what the phone is for.
That said, it's also got some serious advantages over the Tap:
-Integrated Dimmer. Why the Tap doesn't have this is beyond me. The ability to adjust the brightness on your scenes is a great feature of this thing.
-More portable. The actual switch unit is held in place with magnets, making it easy to pop it off and carry around with you. I have mine mounted right by my door so when I get in I can turn the lights on, pop it in my pocket, and head into the living room where I can then adjust the brightness to whatever I'm going to be doing next, be that cleaning, hosting people, or just dimming them down to watch some TV. Then I take it into my bedroom, turn off all the lights, and leave it on my night stand. Next morning I pop it back into its place by the door when I leave. Hard to do with the larger "hockey puck" design of the Tap.
-Conventional Design. This thing blends in much better with the existing lightswitches than the Tap ever could.
-Integrated Dimmer. Why the Tap doesn't have this is beyond me. The ability to adjust the brightness on your scenes is a great feature of this thing.
-More portable. The actual switch unit is held in place with magnets, making it easy to pop it off and carry around with you. I have mine mounted right by my door so when I get in I can turn the lights on, pop it in my pocket, and head into the living room where I can then adjust the brightness to whatever I'm going to be doing next, be that cleaning, hosting people, or just dimming them down to watch some TV. Then I take it into my bedroom, turn off all the lights, and leave it on my night stand. Next morning I pop it back into its place by the door when I leave. Hard to do with the larger "hockey puck" design of the Tap.
-Conventional Design. This thing blends in much better with the existing lightswitches than the Tap ever could.
So yeah. Both the Tap and this Dimmer are fine accessories to the Hue lighting system. On balance I think I do like this one more for the reasons listed above, most notably the portability. That said I'm definitely keeping my fingers crossed that a 2nd generation or software patch will be coming eventually to allow us more options to customize how it works.
My Best Buy number: 2187428738
Mobile Submission: True
I would recommend this to a friend!
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This Philips hue BR-30 432286 light bulb works with a hue bridge (not included), which lets you link and control up to 50 compatible light bulbs remotely using an enabled device. The LightRecipe presets allow you to quickly create a desired mood.
Customer Rating
5
Sill the best smart lighting option available
on December 17, 2015
Posted by: Joseph
I've been using Hue A19 bulbs for a while, but the new apartment I moved into had a lot more track lighting and most of those are basically heat traps for those bulbs. I debated adding some BR30 bulbs to my system for a while, as I'd heard the first batch had some reliability issues, but now that I've actually picked them up I'm glad I did. The BR30's work great in the cans. I've had no problems maintaining connection or overheating, and I've been watching for the latter very carefully (after all, these are expensive light bulbs!)
The good:
The BR30's are a perfect fit for most track lighting fixtures. The light they put out is smooth and perfectly diffused, just like the A19's, and actually slightly brighter. I'm not sure if this is because the beam is more concentrated or if they made other improvements on the design since they released their first A19 bulbs, but they're fantastic spots and I like the fact that I can dial them down in brightness to soothe my concerns over heat damage. To that end, the heat sink seems to be build into the forward portion of the bulb as opposed to the rear, so while I'd still recommend vented fixtures it's not nearly as bad as I'd feared it would be.
The BR30's are a perfect fit for most track lighting fixtures. The light they put out is smooth and perfectly diffused, just like the A19's, and actually slightly brighter. I'm not sure if this is because the beam is more concentrated or if they made other improvements on the design since they released their first A19 bulbs, but they're fantastic spots and I like the fact that I can dial them down in brightness to soothe my concerns over heat damage. To that end, the heat sink seems to be build into the forward portion of the bulb as opposed to the rear, so while I'd still recommend vented fixtures it's not nearly as bad as I'd feared it would be.
The bad:
They are a bit of a snug fit. If my fixtures had been any narrower than they were, I'm not sure they could have gotten in. They're a little hard to screw in and out because of that, so be sure you handle with care.
The glass diffuser remains the most delicate element of these bulbs, and unlike the A19's if it does break replacing it isn't a very easy thing to do. Fortunately it's also surrounded by that nice heat sink, so as long as it doesn't land right on its face dropping it probably won't end with a broken bulb (hey, I did say it was tricky to screw in...)
The color fidelity is a little different compared to the A19's. This one seems to have a broader red spectrum, but the greens are just slightly paler (and the green end of the spectrum has always been a problem for Hue bulbs of any type.) It's easy enough to compensate for this when you're creating a light recipe fortunately.
Finally, these really are only good for track lighting and can fixtures. The A19 can go pretty much anywhere and work - this only throws light out of the front of the can.
They are a bit of a snug fit. If my fixtures had been any narrower than they were, I'm not sure they could have gotten in. They're a little hard to screw in and out because of that, so be sure you handle with care.
The glass diffuser remains the most delicate element of these bulbs, and unlike the A19's if it does break replacing it isn't a very easy thing to do. Fortunately it's also surrounded by that nice heat sink, so as long as it doesn't land right on its face dropping it probably won't end with a broken bulb (hey, I did say it was tricky to screw in...)
The color fidelity is a little different compared to the A19's. This one seems to have a broader red spectrum, but the greens are just slightly paler (and the green end of the spectrum has always been a problem for Hue bulbs of any type.) It's easy enough to compensate for this when you're creating a light recipe fortunately.
Finally, these really are only good for track lighting and can fixtures. The A19 can go pretty much anywhere and work - this only throws light out of the front of the can.
All in all, I'd highly recommend picking some of these up if you're looking for high end smart lighting.
One final plus: these bulbs are compatible with the second generation hue bridge, so no need to worry about them being rendered obsolete!
My Best Buy number: 2187428738
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Joseph's Answers
This Philips hue BR-30 432286 light bulb works with a hue bridge (not included), which lets you link and control up to 50 compatible light bulbs remotely using an enabled device. The LightRecipe presets allow you to quickly create a desired mood.
Does this particular bulb display colors?
The description mentions the ability to change the color, but I would like to verify that this particular bulb supports the colors. Early versions were not color compatible.
The Hue BR30 bulbs do and always have supported colors. The bulb itself is built on an existing design for standard LED bulbs, but internally it's very different.
Hue smart lights that only support white light are branded as Hue Lux.
Hue smart lights that only support white light are branded as Hue Lux.
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Joseph