Looking for specialty bulbs that work with smartthings?

No such thing probably exists, but since my wife asked for it, I am going to ask. I have an antique pendant lamp that was made probably in the 1960s, It’s a beautiful wrought iron piece with a glazed globe that resembles a giant candle. It has an A base (regular light bulb), and used originally a flicker flame effect incandescent bulb. I currently have a standard frosted white LED bulb in it and use it via an Ikea Tradfri controller.

I’d like a dimmable LED smart bulb that is flame shaped and has the flame flicker effect like the old incandescent bulb. Does such a thing exist? and if so, does it work with smartthings?

There are electric candles with a flicker effect that have IR remotes and so you can get integration with SmartThings through SwitchBot or broad link but most of them are very dim, maybe four or five W and really just for decorative effects I don’t think I would recommend those.

Philips Hue has a new line of exposed filament “Edison” bulbs which can work with their hub and are very attractive and work nicely in frosted fixtures. They don’t flicker, though. And I don’t think they’ve come out with one in a candle shape yet.

They do have one in a candle shape, no exposed filament, but does look nice in chandeliers.

https://www.philips-hue.com/en-us/p/hue-white-ambiance-single-bulb-e12/046677468927

I’m sorry, I know none of that is exactly what you’re looking for, maybe somebody else knows of one.

The lightbulb struggle is REAL. I’ve got a gorgeous lamp with an exposed bulb and I needed a giant globe bulb for it. Any “smart” one was ugly. So I ended up making the on/off switch itself smart.

So could you do that? There might be a light bulb that could fit what your wife wants, and if it’s connected to a wall switch (that’s how mine is, which is my only experience with pendant lights), you could possibly install a smart switch so that it’s smart?

I’ve got an older house, so my only option is the Lutron Caseta (no neutral wire required), but there’s a ton of other options out there if you’ve got the wires. (I wouldn’t worry about thinking about fitting the whole house with them either - I’ve only got four installed, one waiting, and 7 more to buy haha.)

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Did you rewire the lamp itself somehow? Or plug it into a smart outlet? Or… what?

oh gosh i’m so sorry for not saying! haha I was so annoyed at the bulb struggle

Yes, I plugged that lamp into a smart outlet. That outlet works with Alexa (it’s a tuya-compatible aka cheap switch). And while it’s currently a bit inconsistent with the new version of the Alexa/Smartthings skill, the lamp turns on at 7pm and off at 10. Alexa can also control it, so if you’re more comfortable talking and having that control vs it being automated, there’s that perk too.

My pendant lamp (in the hall) is on a smart wall switch, the Lutron Caseta.

:laughing:

I’ve got two bedside lamps I’d like to make smart. But they’re just ordinary one-way lamps with the usual rotary switch.

I can see where it would go if I plugged them into a smart plug. Effectively two switches that have to both be turned on before the light will work.

And then there’s the table lamp in the living room with 3-way bulb…

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Some people remove the rotary knob from the table lamp when plugging it into a smart switch. Then you have three choices.

  1. use the Sengled element touch which has an on/off button on the bulb itself.

  2. rely on the on/off button on the pocket socket. (Some of these are more obvious than others, and of course some will be more reachable.)

At my house we have added additional outlets 18 inches higher than the originals so they are wheelchair height, which of course makes a pocket socket control much more convenient. :wink:

image

(this isn’t my house, it’s just a typical example for accessible design)

  1. add an obvious battery controlled button on or near the lamp to control it. But of course that probably would defeat the look someone with an elegant retro lamp was going for.
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I may have solved the big issue I am looking for on my own. Dimming is in the category of would be nice, but not totally necessary. The flicker flame effect is MUCH more important, and looking at the available bulbs, they are not high lumen output anyway.

Long story short, I am going with grabbing a flame effect 96 LED Bulb, and controlling it with one of my Ikea Tradfri controllers.

This is not being used as a reading lamp per se, but more of an ambiance light for the master suite. And honestly if I could find another one of these pendant lamps I would do the same thing on the other side of the bed…

The effect we are trying to go for, and mind you this lamp as I said before looks like it’s holding a large candle, we are going for a candle effect without the flame…

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Half the time, I just need to talk out my problems too and I realize how I can fix it. I’m glad you figured something out! :tada:

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Having a sounding board like this allows me to check myself when I am unsure of what I am doing, even if I don’t get the direct answer I need, it helps scrape the rust off my brain.

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Removing the knob and going with the Sengled Element Touch has real possibilities! Thanks, @JDRoberts

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