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Everyone should have smart lights in their home. Whether you want to have a smart home or you are just working on having a simple upgrade of your living space. When you have light bulbs that you can control with your voice, phone, or watch is a worthy investment. And having tried this popular smart lights by Philips, I can say they are recommendable above the other smart lights.
Philips hue bulbs are worth your investment because they will make home living enjoyable and easy as they are very convenient, energy-saving and great for the size. A single hue bulb has enough lighting that can replace a 60-watt incandescent bulb.
Hue bulbs are also built to last longer without burning out, almost 15000 hours while they can stay for 22 years if they are used for 3 hours per day.
Philips Hue smart lights are worth it, If you have some $200 then you have more than you you’d care to spend on a starter kit, then, later on, consider Philips Hue’s white-light LEDs.
Since hue bulbs also have voice control, there will be no need for you fumble to get to the light switch again. Considering that the Philips hue bulbs also have some great features to dim, brighten and also to change colors. They enable you to create lighting scenarios that will be ideal for the kind of mood you want in your home.
The scenes will suit all your needs, whether it is in the morning or in the evening when you want to watch a movie and rest. Philips light is easy to control and will fit into your needs.
Philips hue bulbs are the kind of smart lights that are good both for the beginners in technology as they can set them up right out of the box, as well as for the experts and people that are really tech. This is because they can make their own scenes using the hue app, or they can create their routines using a smart assistant like Google Assistant or Alexa.
The other good thing about Philips hue lights is that hey also support all lighting desire, whether big or small. If you just want to have the simple white lights that support voice control, or you want to have the whole package of dozens of light that will display 16 million colors, then you found the right smart lights.
Their price is the only thing you will have to overcome. But I have found they are being offered on the cheap here on amazon. The convenience you will experience with having good smart lights is great; you will not need to operate a light switch again. It will become fun to start programming light scenes in your home when you get the Philips hue.
How Much does it Cost to Run a Philips Hue Bulb?
Philips Hue bulbs will help you to save on your electricity bills in your home compared to if you have filled your home with the old incandescent bulbs. Though the savings may not be big to a big percentage, that is true.
Let’s do some math concerning how much it costs to run Philips hue bulbs if you live in the United States. The regular incandescent bulb will cost up to $4 per year in electricity bills while a Philips hue bulb will cost you $1 per year.
If you look for the price of one Philips incandescent bulb at home depot, it will cost less than $3, and the less expensive white only A19 ambiance hue bulb will cost less than $30. But you have to note that one Philips hue bulb will last for 25,000 hours while one incandescent bulb will last for around 3000 hours.
I am assuming that an average home has 40 lights and each of these lights run for two hours per day.
Cost of purchasing the lights
- Incandescent bulbs 40 bulbs x $3=$120
- Philips hue bulb 40 bulbs x $30 = $1200
Cost to run for one year
- Incandescent bulbs 40 bulbs x $4=$160 per year
- Philips hue bulbs 40 bulbs x $1= $40 per year
Cost of replacement
- Incandescent – 3000 hours lifespan/ 2 hours per day = 4.1 years per bulb
- Hue bulbs – 25,000 hours/2 hours per day = 34.2 per bulb
Total cost for over 30 years
- Incandescent – $669 in light bulbs + $4800 in running costs = $5469
- Hue bulbs – @1200 in light bulbs + 1200 in running costs = $2400
When you switch from the incandescent bulbs, you will have saved over $3000 in the period of 30 years, and you will be saving over $100 per year.
Simply put, it could take more than one decade to break even, and that is when you don’t consider accidental breakages, power surges and other accidental circumstances that may cause you to buy bulbs out of the regular replacement cycle.
If you come to think about it, how many people are still using incandescent bulbs right now? Even if you are running the energy-saving LED bulbs, those savings are almost non-existent.
Do Hue Lights Save Money?
Yes, hue lights save money. Hue bulbs will use about 85% less power compared to the incandescent bulbs, and they also last ten times more, they have a lifetime of 15, 000 hours compared to incandescent bulbs that last 3,000 hours. This enables one Philips hue bulb to save more than $80 per year.
That is just on the energy-saving side, don’t forget that hue bulbs also last ten times than other conventional bulbs, if you consider the costs you are going to incur in replacing the incandescent bulbs that are worth $3 each, you will be able to save another like $30. Hue bulbs will then help you to save like $110 in energy and replacement of the bulbs.
Hue Features That Help In Cutting Down Electricity Bills
You have a choice to either spend thousands of dollars over the course of the years installing dimmers and other new fixtures in your home, or you can just decide to install Philips hue smart lights in minutes, and they will help you to stop worrying for a very long time.
Philips hue smart light bulbs come with many features that are apart from just toggling the switch on and off. Hue bulbs can be used in existing fixtures, lamps and they can be used as outdoor lights also. Hue lights also communicate with your smart home hub and the other smart home devices via IFTTT Applets.
Hue Features That Result in More Savings
Dimmers
Hue smart lights come with sensors that enable them to dim when there is nobody in the room to help in cutting down on the energy costs. The dimming feature helps hue lights to save up to 25% of energy.
App Control
Hue lights enable you to use your smartphone app to turn off your lights in rooms that you are not using, or you can use the app to turn off all the lights in the room when you are not around the house.
Outdoor Lighting
Hue lights give you smart lights in your yard and many conveniences to turn them on and off remotely when you need to save energy and costs.
Setting Schedules
You can also set schedules for your Philips hue light to switch them off or on, reduce their brightness at particular times of the day to help in saving electricity bills.
White Philips Hue Lights
You can get the White Philips Hue lights if you are on a tight budget as they are inexpensive compared to the other smart lights, but still, have the money-saving benefits that hue offers.
5 Benefits Of Installing Philips Hue
By now, I believe you have a glimpse of how Philips hue bulbs can help you to save on electricity and even cover for their costa over a lifetime. But their benefits do not end there.
Saving in energy bills is the beginning and one of the most significant of all. Although there are other benefits that come with installing Philips hue bulbs and here are some of them.
Philips Hue Bulbs Look Incredibly Cool.
Hue lights look incredibly good, and you can use them creatively in the interior design of your house to enhance decoration or the living area, guestroom, and the bedroom. Hue lights have dimming feature and shades that add more fun.
Easy Installation
Hue lights installation is a breeze as the bulbs easily fit in the conventional bulb sockets. There is some technical knowledge that you may need to install the bridge and connecting it to the router though if you are handy, it is something you can do. All you need to get done is to download the app on your phone.
Hue Supports IFTTT Integrations.
Philips hue lights support IFTTT integrations that help in communicating with other smart devices; this helps the lights to turn on when you schedule them. Or if you have smart security and it senses an intruder, the lights turn on to scare away the intruder.
Compatible With Amazon Echo/ Apple HomeKit
Hue lights are also compatible with Amazon Echo/ Apple HomeKit to enable you to give commands to the voice assistants like Siri or Alexa. All you need to do is to say the command words, and it does what you say.
Hue Uses third-party Apps.
Hue lights also third-party apps that you can use to wow your guests. This help to turn your hue bulbs into decorative lighting like a disco light, fireworks or lava lamp. You can use this feature to make your friends go crazy when you throw a party at your home.
11 Interesting Things You Can Do With Philips Hue
- You can use your Philips hue lights to schedule a wakeup alarm that will create a sunrise effect at a particular time that you choose in the morning.
- You can use your hue lights to set a timer so theta the lights will turn, or they change the color so that they remind you of something you were supposed to do.
- You can use them also to get notifications or alarms such that they will turn to red if there is a danger or they may turn to a different color when someone calls.
- You can schedule the hue lights to change and match with the daily routine of your day, like orange for workout and pink for yoga.
- You can also schedule your hue lights to match the moods you are in, say sad, happy, flirty, or romantic.
- You can also match your hue lights with the wether of the day, say purple when it is a rainy day and green when it is a sunny day.
- You can also sync your hue lights with your music so that they change the color and flicker with the beat and create a disco effect.
- You can also create thematic lighting with your hue lights that will suit your movie times, games, and TV shows.
- You can also use the motion sensors of hue lights to enable the lights to turn on even in the middle of the night when they sense your footsteps at night.
- You can use your hue lights to have smart lights remote that will create an elusion of occupancy even when you are away.
- You can also set your hue lights to trace the location of your mobile and turn on when you get at home.
Hue Bulb Design
Hue bulbs are general-purpose A19 LED bulbs that have a medium screw base E26. They are designed for use both indoor and outdoor. Though some of the material used may not be suitable to resist the extreme outdoor weather.
Hue Bulb Installation
The installation of hue bulbs is straightforward like the regular bulbs. You just have to twist to put the bulb in and also twist to remove them. You should remember to turn off the wired switch first.
Hue Firmware and Connectivity
Hue bulbs use the Zigbee wireless protocol, and this makes them require a hub for them to work properly. The hub will then connect to your router, and it will enable you to have away from home control. Just make sure that your internet connection is on.
The firmware of hue bulbs can be updated on the internet via the connected hub, though you just have to do the update when it is necessary because it may have some connection loss.
What Makes Hue Lights Worth?
Away From Home Control
Unlike other smart home lights that use Bluetooth, hue bulbs connect directly to the router and enable you to control them even when you are not at home. This feature enables you to have your lights on some few minutes before you arrive at home, or it may make it look like you have already arrived home while you re far away. This helps to scare away intruders.
16 Million Colors
There are 16 million colors with different light tones that you have to choose from when you have hue lights. The good thing about the lights is that they can also be adjusted to suit the mood you want to create. The colors are so vivid, and you cannot fall short of ideas on how to make your home look beautiful.
Brightness
Hue lights feature a wide range of color temperatures of 800 lumens, and the brightness is 2000k – 6500k.
IFTTT
Hue lights support the IFTTT, and this enables you to do some awesome things with your hue lights like changing the light scene using Google Assistant commands.
Scheduling
Scheduling of your hue lights will enable you to set your lights to turn on the moment you are at home, and they turn off when you leave. This enables you to plan the lighting around your day.
LED Life-Span
The lifespan of hue lights from an average usage of 3 hours in a day is around 22 years. While it is safe that we assume that we usually use lights for a much longer period in a day, but when you get hue lights, you will get quite a few years of usage with them.
Apple HomeKit support
Hue lights have Apple HomeKit support that is just another convenient way that enables you to control your smart lights. Whether it is through Siri or Apple HomeKit, if you have an iPhone, you will soon look for Apple HomeKit devices. Hue lights are one of them. Having voice control over Siri is such fun and a great way to control your lights even without using the phone.
Offers Microsoft Cortana
The support of Microsoft Cortana makes hue bulbs the superior choice when you are looking for smart lights as it also supports Apple HomeKit.
Bulb Base
The Bulb Base of hue lights will suit into the bulb base of your current sockets, and this will help to save you from many disappointments. There are many options that Philips hue gives you can choose from E26, E12, BR30, GU10, and PAR16.
Beam Angle
The Beam Angle of hue lights is 160 degrees. The beam angle is essential when choosing smart lights. The 160 degrees angle enables hue lights to be strong and concentrate on one area and making them ideal for rooms that require brighter lights.
Entertainment
Hue lights enable you to see music come to life when you sync them to your favorite tunes so that they create a mood that is good for a party. The lights can also be paired up with the TV to enable you to enjoy your Netflix marathon.
Why Choose Philips Hue Smart Home Lighting?
When you have smart home lighting, it is a very good way that will help you look like you have already arrived home even when you are away. This is one of the main reasons that many people prefer to have smart lights, apart from the energy-saving and other benefits that come with smart lights.
If some of the benefits of hue lights I mentioned above are some of the main aims you have, then you would really be happy to have them become a reality.
Hue lights will also screw into your existing lamps, and they are ready to connect to the smart home hub.
Do You Need To Have a Smart Home Hub?
Your intentions may not be to turn your whole home into a smart home; you may just be looking for smart lights that will be used in the house. If that is the case with you, then you really don’t need to have a hub for your hue setup.
What I would typically recommend to you if you do not have a hub and or have an intention of getting one in the future, is to get the basic Philips hue setup and see how they work. You will definitely like them. Later on, you can add Philips hue to a SmartThings hub, Wink hub, Google Home, Echo, and others.
If you decide that you are going to add other smart home products to your already existing ones with the smart lights, then I would recommend you get a smart hub. There are many smart home hubs you can get from the listing on Amazon here.
My favorite smart hub is Samsung SmartThings hub that is compatible with about anything you will get out there. They are also very responsive and handy no mater the smart device you decide to add down the road. You will be surprised at how cheap they are listed here on amazon.
Conclusion
You may find other options for smart lights out there, but you should take your time and prepare for what you put yourself into. Know how compatible they are and the features they have. That may help you to know if they suit your needs.
Everyone’s home is different, and everyone’s needs are different. We also have priorities and different budgets, but depending on your situation, I think you would like something good and long-lasting. Having hue lights is worth your investment, and they will not disappoint you. But choose what will be right for you and your home needs.
