This question comes up about once a year. I think the short answer is that people who use them for anything other than decorative purposes are using them for notifications.
I’ve mentioned in the past that we have an issue at our house where sometimes if I’m coming in by myself, without my service dog, the wheelchair might get stuck in the yard or not be able to get the gate open and can’t get into the house.
I can’t text my housemate because when he’s playing video games he doesn’t check his phone.
We have a Hue light strip on the entertainment center under his television. When I come through the front gate it turns light blue. When I come through the front door, it turns off again.
If it turns blue And stays blue for more than a few minutes, he knows I’m probably having an issue and he will come and check.
Because a colored light is a persistent but not very intrusive alert, it works a lot better for us than a siren or a voice alert. It doesn’t bug him too much if it does come on and then shuts off again quickly. But he does notice it if it comes on and stays on for awhile.
Other people use it in a similar way for a mailbox alert, or laundry alert, or anything where you’re not necessarily going to jump up immediately and resolve the issue, but you do want the persistent reminder. 