I don’t really know where else to ask this question - and I trust this amazing community more than any other I know of. We are traveling tomorrow to IKEA & I’m hoping to have the answer on this before I go.
We purchased a lamp that needs multiple of the E12 (candle or candleabra base) and we already have a sizeable Hue setup. Since I need 6 bulbs for this lamp, Hue would get expensive (even if I only went with the White Ambiance) so I’m thinking about the $15 Tradfri white tunable. However, when I was at IKEA recently, the person in the lighting area made a point of saying that the Tradfri wouldn’t work without their bridge. But from what I understand, that’s completely wrong. It seems that the Tradfri line works directly with the Hue and/or SmartThings setup. I understand that (as long as the firmware is new enough, which it should be) I can add the bulbs to both Hue and ST. However, right now, IKEA is saying that the bulbs aren’t compatible with Google Assisant - which I understand if I’m using their bridge/gateway. But, does anyone know if I add the bulbs to my Hue bridge, can I control them at this point via either ST or Google Home? What about IFTTT? I want to be able to create a setup where I can ask Google Home to use one of my scenes in the Hue app (Relax, Reading, Daytime, etc). Currently, I’ve been using simple voice commands like dim the lights to 45% but not using it to change the color/white tone. I use the different whites to help with both depression (a brighter white during the day and a warmer white for night to promote a more “hygge” atmosphere and also to help melatonin production for my sleep disorder). I just cannot find enough information to understand how the Tradfri works without using their bridge now that a little bit of time has passed and there are more updates that have occurred. Does anyone know if full white tunable control is pretty universal now using the Tradfri on the Hue bridge?
For anyone who has used Tradfri or has it, would the experience and quality with the Hue vs Tradfri actually be worth double the price of the Tradfri? I cannot really imagine that it would be but not having used the Tradfri yet, I’d love to hear your thoughts. I know that Tradfri also has a non-tunable white bulb for less but since we use the tunable so much, I’d love to still have that ability.
Lastly, is there any other E12 bulb that would be a better option?
Thanks so much in advance! I’m really looking forward to hearing your thoughts and learning more.
You know Black Friday and Cyber Monday (more likely to get better pricing) is fast approaching and prices on Hue bulbs drop to really attractive prices. Or at least they did last year
I don’t know anything about Google assistant, so hopefully others will chime in.
As far as what the store assistant told you regarding using the IKEA bulbs with a Hue bridge , they were wrong about the bulbs, but right about the handheld remotes. ( as long is the bulbs have the current firmware, that is.) So it just depends on the specific devices. Full hue bridge compatibility is a stated IKEA goal and they have been adding more over time.
If the device looks like a bulb to the hue bridge, you will be able to turn it on and off, dim it, and change its color from SmartThings. I’m not sure about color temperature. And you can’t set hue scenes from SmartThings except by going through IFTTT.
I personally like the Hue bulbs: they are very well engineered and of course work very well with the bridge. But the IKEA certainly seem to be good as a budget Brand.
Here is the official IKEA FAQ on using the bulbs with the Hue bridge:
Yes, I have 3 E12’s(old firmware) connected via ST and have Google Assistant and IFTTT integration, using a Hue bridge would give the same results including ST integration.
The bulbs have been reliable using them with ST, I would assume it would be even better with a Hue Bridge. I haven’t held or looked at them closely since installation, but I think they’re comparable to Hue.
I don’t know, I have the non-tunable/warm white E12’s candleabra base version (older firmware) and using them with ST.
Bought some ikea E12 candleabra base version (there also a E12 round bulb too) and I did not need the ikea hub. It was a little hard to get it to connect to smartthings but worth it. works great with just smartthings. Dimming is nice feature too. Also i read somewhere you should get bulbs with batch#1734 or above for latest firmware to work with alexa and apple kit. The batch # should be labeled on the outside of the box.
If the device looks like a bulb to the hue bridge, you will be able to turn it on and off, dim it, and change its color from SmartThings.
In my experience that’s not entirely true for IKEA color bulbs. They use XY color scheme instead of HSB, which the Hue app itself handles ok, and is accepted through API calls, but it seems that Smartthings Hue integration sends H, S, which don’t work on them. This seems very easy to fix either in Smartthings integration or the Hue layer itself, but for the time being, IKEA color bulbs connected to the Hue bridge can’t accept color changes from Smartthings.
I purchased an ikea colour bulb about 2 weeks ago, i paired it to st first, it only identified as a thing to start with but after a couple hours when I decided to tackle the thing it had sorted itself out and I have full use of the colour wheel, i then paired it to the hue hub, not had another issue since
And you’re able to use the ST color wheel with the bulb through Hue bridge? That’s very interesting. Might be a newer firmware out maybe, as my color bulbs are at least a year old.
Hi, yes ive got thr colour wheel in st, and the bulb appears on the hue colour wheel also, ive installed some GU10 white ambiance bulbs also and set brightness and colours in my automated scenes using the newer version of st.
Jools
I know this is responding to an old thread but I was just looking at GU10 bulbs today thinking of adding a few smart bulbs in that type to our setup. You mentioned that you used the GU10 White Tuneable with the Hue bridge and ST. Can I ask, were those the IKEA Tradfri GU10 or the native Hue? I know since the thread is talking about IKEA’s bulbs it’s likely the Tradfri GU10 but I was curious. They are so much cheaper than the Hue GU10 (which aren’t easy to find right now anyway) but I’d definitely want white tuneable so I could change the color temperature. I was curious if the IKEA Tradfri GU10 were white tunable using the Hue bridge. Thanks so much for sharing your experiences!
We are traveling tomorrow to IKEA & I’m hoping to have the answer on this before I go.