Bulbs or Switches

[sidjohn1]

This is already covered pretty throughly

Smart Bulbs or Smart Switch With Dumb Bulbs

Which option do you all prefer? I have a light fixture above my kitchen table with 6 bulbs. Should I get 6 smart bulbs or a smart switch such as the Wemo switch and just put regular LED bulbs in there? Thoughts? Thanks.

Should I get Smart Bulbs or Smart (in wall) Switches?

It depends on what (where) you want them for. The biggest advantage of smart in-wall switches over smart bulbs is the way that the switch works with both the light and the ST hub. If you turn on or off the physical smart switch, you can turn it back on or off with ST. (And if you turn it on/off from ST, you can still turn it on/off from the physical switch.) As well, the smart switch still functions like a normal switch even when ST isn’t working. With smart bulbs, if you turn off the bulb from a fixture or switch, the bulb is disconnected from the ST “network.” That means that ST can’t turn it back on. In fact, ST can’t even find the state of the bulb, so it’s almost as if you just completely unscrewed the bulb. In other words, for things to “work” properly, you can ONLY use ST to…

Smart bulb interaction with dumb light switches?

I’m planning to pick up a couple of the new Cree Connected bulbs soon, but I’m wondering how these types of smart bulbs will interact with my dumb wall switches. I’d like my physical wall switch to be able to override the hub setting to turn them on. e.g. “bedtime” arrives and the bulbs turn off. I come out for a drink of water and grope for the switch. Will turning the power off and back on override the bulb to turn it back on, or will I have to go find my phone in the dark to do it? Thanks!

Out of Sync Bulbs: Manual Switches; How to combat that?

After working this weekend on it, it seems like the switches are the way to go and stay on dumb bulbs. Wish I had got more feedback before starting since bulbs are so much easier . I went to Lowes this weekend and their Iris line of switches works with ZWave and in turn ST but about 20% less expensive than Amazon. Once I opened it up, it was the exact same kit as on Amazon, just a less pretty box and was missing the neutral wire extender. For a 3 way switch with aux: http://www.lowes.com/pd_339584-1353-45638_0__?productId=3707744&Ntt=ge+switch+iris&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Dge%2Bswitch%2Biris&facetInfo= Single 3 way switch: http://www.lowes.com/pd_339577-1353-45637_0__?productId=3707736&Ntt=ge+switch+iris&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Dge%2Bswitch%2Biris&facetInfo=

More reading:
https://community.smartthings.com/search?q=Smart%20bulb%20smart%20