UPDATE: Recent SmartThings User Experience & Platform Performance

Not to mention that if you don’t have neutral at your switches smart switches can be more difficult or expensive to install/obtain.

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But aren’t smart bulbs significantly more than regular dimmable led’s? If you have 4 lights on one switch wouldn’t the savings with ‘dumb’ led’s offset the cost of the switch? Besides with led’s you often have to change the switch anyway. I figure if I ever nice by then the smart switches will be $5 at home depot.

Not as much as they used to be, and they solve wiring issues (do not require neutrals at switches, and allow individual bulbs to be independently controlled that are ij a single switched circuit).

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Well as stated it is all about the conditions, if you don’t have neutral at your switches it may simply not be an option. There is also the fact that some people cannot handle wiring so calling someone in to put in a couple of switches may end up costing more than just buying connected bulbs which anyone can install without electrical knowledge. 3-way switches can be even trickier depending on how they were wired to begin with.

I do agree that the connected bulbs are expensive but to be honest I buy Cree connected bulbs at HD for $15 which is not that bad.

I can see the advantage of being able to individually control a single light thays on a switch with others occasionally. The neutral wiring issue doesn’t apply on my end because all my switches have a neutral in the box.

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Not as much as they used to be. I have 19 GE Link bulbs that were all less than $15 each. Still more than dumb LED’s but they also have the advantages already discussed (no need for neutral, all lights are individuality controlled or as a group, no need to rewire switches and sockets). I also have Z-Wave sockets and switches too for those lights that make sense.

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For me only, I hate bulbs. Everyone always turns off the switch killing them. I don’t trust my users with bulbs.

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That is why you buy devices like the one below, then it controls the light like a switch for those users.

http://www.amazon.com/LIGHTIFY-Dimming-Products-Immediate-control/dp/B0196M620Y

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You can use any switch with smart bulbs, just hardwire the switch and use the on and off events to control the lights.

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Personally I don’t like the look of that. I want to control my lights but, I can’t make up my mind on how.

Then there is the whole platform unreliability thing. That is what is my main stopping point for adding any more automation into the house. I want to buy stuff to automate but, I have no confidence that even if i set it up exactly correct that it will work.

Then you have to get the switch anyways. I buy one dimmable switch and it controls all the bulbs.

I shouldnt have derailed this thread, there are plenty of switch vs bulb threads. I just always get caught up in this. I even have a test bulb in my night stand light. Its easier to turn off manually than even whipping out SmartTiles. Again, just me.

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Ok, well I have 5 of them and can say they all work well, there is also another option that is a bit more expensive and I don’t like the look of but everyone has their own taste. The switch can be used to control on/off as well as 2 other functions because they support “held” states and they work with apps that support button devices (Button Controller, RM, etc) so they can be very useful. And again, the stop the original switch from being turned off without doing any wiring.

As you said, this is definitely getting off topic though.

Buy it. HA is always fun, and you can always jump on the next big HA hub that shuts down. They all try to glue it all together like ST now. I am still betting on ST at the moment. They don’t give up.

All opinions are welcome. In my case… “Alexa, turn off the lights”. No switch or phone necessary. (c;

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I agree, I use Alexa almost exclusively now. However, I do need the switches to avoid the issue mentioned where guests turn off the switch leaving the light useless. I don’t have neutral at switches so I use relays in the fixtures and connected bulbs.

Plus, as with every other topic here there is not a single answer for everyone’s use case.

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When I started with my home automation I heavily invested into bulbs. I wanted that individual control over the bulbs, I thought that was the easiest, cheapest, most versatile way.

And then I installed all of the bulbs… That’s when the fun started.

  • Bulbs dropping off line - the funness of the GE link
  • Power glitches - there’s nothing like every bulb in the house turning on at 100% at 3 am.
  • Speaking of 100%… Good luck getting your bulbs to come on at anything more than 25%… When they come on…
  • and when they do come on… Are they going to turn off? Maybe… Maybe they will turn off, but they may not want to be off… So they’ll just come back on!
    EDIT: - do I really need to mention when the in-laws show up? Ugh!

I just want to wish you luck with your bulb adventure… I was all bright eyed when I first got mine… Then the lights went out!

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Wow, you definitely had a bad experience and I would have dropped them as well. I have about 12 connected bulbs total and they all seem to work fine, never have an issue with them not being able to set the proper brightness. I don’t have a lot of power outages where I have so have not experienced that one yet. I use the Cree brand bulbs and they seem mostly reliable, the only issue i have had is a couple of them dropping off the network but I don’t blame the bulbs since it happens to other devices as well.

The other thing I like about the Cree bulbs is they look exactly like the non-connected bulbs, they are all plastic and do not get hot. The few OSRAM bulbs I have are part metal and get pretty hot.

Bulbs suck! I have 18 bulbs in the house now. 9 of those are hue bulbs and 9 are GE link bulbs. I also now have 42 GE Zwave switches.

My life is so much better x

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Your problem is you have way too many lights in your house if you have 42 switches, does your house require a dedicated electric substation? :grin:

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We built this place two years ago… My wife oput a light and an other in every closet. There are outlets beneath the bathroom vanities. I have two dedicated circuits on the garage. And you’re never more than arms reach from a wall switch.

There are six switches in my master bath, four in the master bed room, the in the hall bath, hell, there’s three in the upstairs hall. You can actually hold your arms out and touch two of them at the same time! ! !

I have a small back hall off of the garage, literally 6 feet long… Yes, a switch a both ends, and it’s a three way!

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