Can a Hue light strip go inside a fixture?

I’ve been looking at the review of the hue light fixtures and some of them appear to be a light strip inside of a fixture. Is there any reason one couldn’t buy a hue light strip for less and put it inside a custom fixture? I have a few surface mount lights in my basement that I’d love to make hue.

You can. You will invalidate the certification but as long as you’re confidant in your work and you don’t sell them you should be ok.

I’m guessing it would depend on the fixture. If you are saying something like replacing old 4 foot florescent tubes inside of a drop ceiling, I think a string of LEDs would be a perfect replacement. You’re not actually modifying the strips at all, so I don’t see any reason why it would void the warranty on them.

Modifying the existing fixture by removing the ballast and tubes, and installing the light strip transformer is what I was referring to. Provided your modification is reversible, it shouldn’t be a concern for personal use, but it won’t be certified for sale in a modified configuration.

I was thinking about replacing the existing lights with an outlet and then just plugging the light strips in. Then I’d make a custom enclosure for aesthetics.

I was just concerned that there may be an issue with having them enclosed.

The usual enclosure cautions have to do with airflow and overheating. If you keep the fixture ventilated, that would be much less of an issue, as well as improving signal connectivity. Also, the LED dots themselves don’t contain the radio, so if you can keep the radio piece at an open end that would help a lot.

Definitely avoid putting the radio inside any enclosure With leaded glass, you’ll have trouble getting signal through. :confounded:

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Ah. That sounds like the right way to do it. As for the light strips, they are fine to be inside a custom fixture. Just be aware that a lens can cut out a lot of the brightness. Leds lighting the edge of frosted glass is the most effective diffusing method.

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I see no issue with this as well. I have plenty of Hue bulbs in my exterior closed fixtures. There is a light loss due to the opaque coating, but this also helps spread the light a little better. Having put in a few strips and felt them running at 100%, I would not have any concern about enclosing them. Like JD said, make sure you have some accounting on how the strips can ventilate. I don’t think they will start a fire or melt anything. But, the longevity of LED’s is a function of temperature, so the better you can let them breathe, the longer they will last.

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Light strips don’t produce a lot of heat provided you keep your voltage transformer outside the enclosure.

I did this for the fixture above my sink. I took out the old fluorescent fixture and replaced with a hue strip. I used an LED channel with a diffuser and it worked out perfect.

I was able to pass the power through the hole for the old wires and into an outlet in the cabinet.

I have one minor regrets that you may want to learn from:
— Channel size: A tad small - I went with the 17.5mm size but didn’t take into account the narrow indent in the middle of the channel - the hue strip does fit, but it was a pain to get in - especially in the corners - so go a bit wider :slight_smile:

Also, the depth is what determines how the light appears (shallow depth produces a spotted fixture and a deeper depth produces a more solid looking light - mine is 15.5mm deep.and appears almost solid - but seeing as how it is under a cabinet above the sink it cant bee seen unless you lean over the sink and look up.

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