Light Bulbs

Devices & Integrations
1

I was looking into buying a Smart light bulb one with Wifi capabilities. I know there are some brands out there like Hue, TP-Link, etc… that offer some Wifi capability.

I don’t care about the colored type of bulb. I just want a white color type is fine. I want to be able to turn on the light before I come home when it is dark outside. I am looking for general information. I am looking for stability and reliability with Smart Light bulbs whether it is using a “hub” to connect to the Wifi or using a light bulb with built in Wifi. Perhaps, using a Smart Switch is better.

  1. Hub with Wifi—Best, Good, Bad (Router-----HUB----Lights)
  2. Light bulb with Wifi----Best, Good, Bad (Router------Lights)
  3. Smart switch with Wifi—Best, Good, Bad (Router----Switch----Lights)

Here on the East Coast, it gets dark at 4pm. If I am out and I forget to put a light on, I just want to simply go on my phone and turn it on. I get some status on the phone that it is on. Again, I am looking for reliability and which is the best choice.

2

Curious why you’re limiting to WiFi. There are many Zwave/Zigbee bulbs out there for less money and offer solid performance. You could still turn on/off the light with your phone thru the Smartthings app. Personally, I’ve installed a simple door open/close sensor so that we I get home after sunset it automatically turns on a variety of lights and devices.

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3

SmartThings doesn’t have wifi capabilities. Furthermore, IMHO, Smart Switches are better if you have neutrals in your box. Then you can just buy dumb LED bulbs.

I will say that the cost of SmartBulbs are very affordable now but I don’t like the hassle of trying to figure out why my lights didn’t turn on…because someone turned off the dumb switch. :unamused:

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4

This forum is for people who are using the Samsung smartthings home automation platform. It’s a very active forum, so it often comes up near the top on Google searches for general home automation questions, but any answers that you get here will be in the context of using Samsung SmartThings.

Given that, most people here are not using Wi-Fi bulbs. As was mentioned, they are using either Zigbee or zwave, and as was also mentioned many prefer to use smart switches unless they want color change capabilities or need to divide one area into multiple zones.

So are you considering getting a smartthings hub, and if so which model? (Different models have different features.)

We also need to ask what country you are in, as device selection does vary somewhat. I know you said “East coast“ but I just want to be sure that you meant the East Coast of the US and not east coast of England. :us: :uk:

All of that said, if you just want a very simple, very reliable smart lightbulb, get the hue white bulbs with a hue bridge. You will be able to find many blogs and websites that discuss ideas in features for them, they will work very easily and reliably. They will also work with both iOS and android.

Another plus is that it is only the bridge which uses Wi-Fi, it communicates with bulbs via zigbee, which means it is a lighter load on your Wi-Fi router.

The white only bulbs are very competitively priced, around $15. A single bridge can support up to 40 bulbs.

A starter pack with the bridge and two of these bulbs will generally list around $70, but if you watch Best Buy for sales you’ll probably be able to save $15 or so around Christmas time.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/philips-hue-a19-60w-equivalent-wireless-starter-kit-clear/4373906.p?skuId=4373906

And then later if you want to add light strips or color changing bulbs or some of the other fancier devices, it will be easy to expand your setup. :sunglasses:

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5

So true! I just put a few smart bulbs in table lamps — they are TP-Link and I’m quite happy with them. Seems every table lamp in the house has(had) a three way switch. I made an interesting discovery. They have little bitty black knobs that come off. So off they came. Ditto for a pull chain in my garage that Not Me kept pulling. I’m happy with the Kasa stuff for basic on-off features. My goal is not total automation but to lower an astronomically high electric bill. I opted for smart switches for wall and ceiling fixtures and depending on location chose high quality Caséta for home theater room and budget ones from GE/Jasco for most of the rest. It’s a small house 3 bed two bath and every room has a wall switch. Kitchen has 5 so bulbs would have been prohibitive.

But probably the greatest advantage of dumb bulbs with smart switches is you can move bulbs around as needed. And take with when you move - not that LEDs are all that pricey, but I don’t think bulbs are as great resale potential as a quality switch that can run any bulb — halogens incandescent LED or CFL.

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6

I am sorry I made the mistake and didn’t know SmartThings is a closed group for Samsung users. I am not a Samsung user so I appreciate the comments and I won’t continue the conversation. Thanks.

7

It’s not a closed group (everyone is welcome), but it is a group in which all the solutions which will be suggested will be based on the Samsung SmartThings Home automation platform, which may not be what you were looking for. And can be pretty confusing if you aren’t actually using that platform! :sunglasses:

So it’s more about whether the group will be useful to you or not. No apologies needed, btw–it happens a lot.

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8

Join the ranks! This is an awesome community and you will gain the ability to automate a variety of “Things” that would typically cost much more than other offerings.

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9

If I may continue to ask questions, that would be great. Again, I am not a Samsung or Google person. I use Google for somethings and Apple for other stuff.

I am thinking of the Philips Hue option but I would like to use a floor or table lamp for the A19 bulbs. I am confused on that.

What lighting fixture do I use with the A19 bulbs? Most floor lamps are 3 way fixtures so I am not sure what to use.

10

There lots of floor lamps that are not 3 ways, you just have to look for them. Or go to a lamp store and have them show you some.

We use this one at our house with hue bulbs. It’s flimsy, but it matches our decor and is practical for us. :sunglasses:

11

LIFX bulbs. I have 14 of them, all integrated into smartthings. Smartthings Sensors and routines control all of them. Some come on at certain times, others by motion, others by if I’m home or away, others dim to night lights at night, etc… there is a ton of things you can do. LIFX does have their own app which has a bunch of options like schedules and such, but integrating to smartthings give you more options. No hub required either.

12

So far I use sengled classic a19 bulbs. I also have 1 sylvania lightify. Both have worked fine for my uses. I use the sengled bulbs in lamps on my bedside. And they have worked perfectly. They are zigbee so require some kind of hub.

Honestly part of the reason I have used them is because of cost. The sengled bulbs can be had for 7-8 bucks a piece. That is pretty cheap. With hue and LIFX you pay more atleast in partial for the name.