Momentary/retractive light switches to use with smartbulbs?

[silcharde (Adrian O)]

*********** WARNING - NEWBIE OVER HERE!! **********

I didn’t do my homework, retrofitted all of my house with Smart Light bulbs and a Smartthings Hub and everything was so cool … until grandma turns OFF the actual light switch,… I’ve investigated, I would like to think that I don’t need smart switches since I already have the smart bulbs but a switch that would allow the light to be manually turned off but keeps the circuit on? I’m led to believe I need momentary/retractive light switches, am I right? any suggestions? THANK YOU

[JDRoberts]

Start by reading the following FAQ, it will lay out most of the options you can consider.

Momentary switches by themselves won’t change anything. They don’t turn back on if someone turned them off, if that’s what you were thinking. If the lights are on and someone presses a momentary switch, then the lights turn off and stay off until someone presses the switch again. And they aren’t automatically installed in a way that doesn’t control the circuit. So that doesn’t help you. But there are lots of things that can, so do read the FAQ. (This is a clickable link)

FAQ: Philips Hue and Other Smart Bulbs - What sort of light switches to use with them? (Long FAQ)

Thinking on a big move to Hue lights, the real question is - what switches to use with them? If they’re all automatable via ST and other devices, do I really want to put them all on controllable switches too? There’s the advantage that I can arrange to ensure those switches are on so that the the Hue bulbs would be too…but it also leaves open the ability for folks to just turn them off and leave them off. Hmm. Thoughts?