Yeap everyday my Hue Light in the Kitchen, I have a Hue Switch and a Hue Sensor to trigger the lights. Sometimes at the middle of the night i walk in the kitchen thinking it will turn on and it does not :(
Not only ive had the “turn off” attack, ive faced the “turn off ... lights not on.... immediately turn back on ... turn off again before the light turns on cause u thought its not working ... do this 5 times” massacre.
@@Flowshow88they mean being able to flip a switch on and off to control the light. Do that with a smart bulb and it’ll disconnect from WiFi and be a pain in the ass for any guests
Would you be willing to do an apartment-friendly product guide? Basically things you would be able to take with you as you move and wouldnt make you loose your security deposit when you have to leave.
I have mostly smart switches. I have only 4 smart bulbs. My rules are pretty simple. If that light is controlled by a wall switch then I use a smart switch. For table lamps I will use smart bulbs. The majority of my light fixtures don’t use regular Edison screw type bulbs so that’s why I have to go with smart switches.
Can I create a scene that includes zigbee motion detector (google assistant support) with the smart switch that works over wifi, but also has a google assistant support?
I’m looking for a savings on my electric bill. My kids and husband turn all the lights in the house on and leave them on all day and night. I live in a large home so I’m tired of checking and turning everything off.
In my case I have to use smart bulbs. I am in a rental room and am prohibited by my landlord from altering the infrastructure of the room, including the light switches. Even If I could the wiring is older and lcks the required ground line that most smart switches require.
I used smart bulbs in my kitchen because I have two switches for two ceiling fixtures and I have to walk across the kitchen in the dark to get to the switches. I used a smart switch in my dining room because buying one smart switch was cheaper than buying six smart bulbs for the chandelier.
Great video, informative. Things have changed from when I was growing up in the late 70's early 80's. Those light switch guards for $5, used to be a piece of tape and smart-anything didn't exist yet, so it was usually used to block off a switch that didn't work anymore for some reason or another; don't know why people still call them "The good old day's".
This is a very informative video! For my bedroom I’m planning on purchasing a Yagusmart Smart Light Switch from Amazon. I would also like to include 4 x Smart Spotlight Bulbs in my room so that I have the option to change the colour of bulbs. I have been looking at LOHAS GU10 Smart Light Bulbs that are also sold on Amazon. Does anyone see any problems with using the two together? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance.
I have smart switsch next to my bed but another normal switsch a have next to the door and sometimes I am to lazy to go turn off lights by smart switsch and when i am next to the door I can't tell it to alexa but she don't understand what I said
So what happens if you sell the house, do you take all your smart gadgetsb with you or leave it for the next owner? If leaving how do you remove yourself and your digital footprint from this ecosystem?
I have two black live wires on my Kasa switch but only one black live wire in my wall. What should I do with the extra black wire from the Kasa switch? It's 3 wires in total that comes from my wall (the copper ground wire, a single black wire, and a single white wire,) I do not have a bunch of wires bundled up in my wall. I only have the 3 wires in the wall, black, copper, and white. But 4 wires on the Kasa switch 2 black live wires, 1 green for copper, and 1 white for neutral. When I tried connecting both live wires from the Kasa switch, to the one single black wire coming from the wall, it does not work. My light comes on very dim and it's NOT a dimming light. And, the Kasa switch makes a clicking sound that won't stop when I try to reset it. The same thing happens when I leave the extra black wire hanging from the Kasa switch. Do I tie connect the extra black live wire from the Kasa switch to another wire from the wall like, to the ground or, the white wire? Or, maybe the black and white wires in the wall are both live wires and I don't have a neutral 🤔. I hope that ain't the case. Please help me.
Great video! I'm starting out in home automation and currently have one wifi switch with Smart Life app. Do you know a Z-Wave or ZigBee hub that is compatible to be used mainly with Smart Life app ? or maybe the other way around?
I have a lot of Philips Hue lights and about 6 Ecobee light switches. The Ecobee switches don’t work with 3 way setups. What is the best smart switch that would work with a 3 way setup that requires a neutral wire?
highly recommend to use gosound Product for a saving a money with a gosound smart lights which absolute less energy consumption and with a affordable prize with a smart switching system new gegeneration feature.gosound
highly recommend to use gosound Product for a saving a money with a gosound smart lights which absolute less energy consumption and with a affordable prize with a smart switching system new gegeneration feature.gosound
I just did a complete renovation. (That's a lie as I'm still as prepping trim and walls for paint and then I'm DONE. Yea!) But I made the mistake of removing the electrical boxes for lights switches as I figured I wouldn't need them when I switched both the kitchen and living room to fully smart lights. I didn't realize that I could use a smart switch to also control smart bulbs. Don't make the mistake I did! The primary reason I went with smart lights (cans) in the kitchen and living room over switches is I can turn off all but one or two lights, and roll them down to 1% for a built-in night light or adjust the lights in the living room for a better lighting scheme for watching TV.
Does anyone know if they have a smart switch out there for fluorescent tube lights? When I bought my place in the basement it has 2 tube light fixtures on the ceiling( T12 fluorescent bulbs) in one room there is five and then the rest of the basement there's probably 12 or more. I was hoping to put a smart switch in for these. I don't know if a standard Smart Switch works with fluorescent tubes. I would think a dimmer switch would be out of the question. But just a Smart Switch that will turn the lights off and on would be awesome. Looking at the descriptions on a website like Amazon nobody talked about these style lights
dude, i wouild love to have your advice and some tips on setting up my place, ahaha i feel like this video answers most things, but what if my bedroom has a backyard glass sliding door and a fairly low hanging chandelier not, good looking on at that either. I dont have many things on my wall to connect strip behind, i figured slapping 4 5 hue ( i already have the hue bridge, not too impress) bulbs into the chandelier but with what you brought up, how low the thing is ( when i take my shirt off under it, i hit it) i figured getting the coloured bulbs would not be worth it with how many id get and how easy natural light floods my bedroom. guess buy some shit to hang to hide LED strips and hang a blackout curtain? i do have a simple white hue smart bulb, but all the others are not smart bulbs so the one light bulb is pretty poor for the room, i guess getting a smart switch would be best to control them all 🤔 hmmm im terrible at this kinda thing 🤦♂️🤷♀️, your point with the smart bulb being attached to a switch, like my bedroom, not beign ablet o use the switch at all when its so habitual...
My only problem with smart light switches controlling a bulb like the Wyze Bulb is that the smart switch literally kills power to the bulb when told to go off right? So when the bulb is re-energized it takes about 10 secs for it to reconnect to the wifi, etc. In this period nothing can be done with the bulb in the way of dimming or turning off with your voice. I have hue bulbs as well and they use a hub which is always connected. This may be a better solution with the smart switch. Just something i've noticed.
I have 2 light side by side they operate my ceiling fan 1 for the light and the other switch operate the ceiling fan and I want to replace them with a smart switch which switches would you recommend thanks and I have very good WiFi and I have a neutral wire
Thanks finally found useful video. With kids the smart light just isn't useful and easy to use. The kids will use the light switches and when you come home with groceries or just from work it seems hassle to first get the phone out to have lights around the house.
Great video! I have to explain this to people all the time who want an easy to install product, but then don't actually think about what will work best in their house. I experimented with smart bulbs when I was first getting into home automation, and I kept ending up in this weird scenario where the bulb would be off in the app, but someone would come along and flip the switch but of course the light didn't come on so they would think something was wrong then I'd try to turn the light on with the app but now the switch is in the wrong position so you end up doing this dance with the bulb and the switch to sync it all back up.
Great information. I recently installed a smart light switch in my living room, but I also have smart spot lights in there. Alexa makes it easy to turn on the light switch first and then the bulbs with a routine.
@@JamesBonsor It was from a company called Hartington Heath (based in the UK). You can find them on amazon too. The smart light bulbs are Philips Hue GU10 spot lights.
Great video. I am in a rabbit hole for a 4-way Dimmer (with Neutral). My hub is Hubitat so I have as with SmartThings, I have flexibility of the Cloud, Local Wifi, Z-wave, and Zigbee Zoos? GE? Others?
Smart plugs are great since you can use them for lamps, or other devices around your house like fans and coffeemakers. If you want to control the color and warm/cool temperature though, then bulbs give you more options there. You could always get a mix of both.
So you always keep your light switches on that control the smart light bulbs then just turn them on and off with the app? How does that affect your light bill?
Why can’t we have both, just make a smart switch that is able to link to smart bulbs so you can do white balance (daytime to nighttime) and have a hardware switch so you can control them without your phone
So I recently went a little crazy with some smart light bulbs for our 1 bedroom condo (Lifx and cheaper Merkury bulbs from Walmart). Since you’ve had smart bulbs for a while, would you happen to know if by having the light switch on at all times for the smart bulbs, does that cause it to draw electricity all the time thus causing your bill to be high? Or is it so minimal that it isn’t really noticeable? I don;t want to go broke cause of these light bulbs, hahaha.
So far my electric bill has been pretty low so it hasn't been an issue for me. I think that even running the LIFX bulb every day will only cost about a dollar or two the entire year so they are very energy efficient. I bet your power bill might even go down even with the light switch on all the time.
Can you wire a set of lights on 4 light switches to smart switch(es). I want to have smart functionality but still have the 4 switches work. The setup is 2x3-way switches and 2x4-way switches currently. Thanks!
Just replace one 3 way with a smart switch and leave the other switches dumb. You only need one as smart to control the light in the app or with Alexa/google
Hey jfkdownt. Yes any hub that uses Z-Wave for these GE light switches. So SmartThings will work great. There are other smart light switches that work over Wi-Fi and don't require a hub but I prefer Z-Wave light switches.
If using Smartthings, recommend checking out the WebCore smartapp, it's great for doing things like this. You could also use automations or routines in the smartthings app, but I don't think you can add the time delay needed between the on and off of the bulb.
I don't know of any that do require a ground wire. They usually have the spot that is marked green for the ground but it will still work without it. Nuetral wire is a different story though since that provides power.
All houses have a neutral wire if they didn't everything would be running on 240v. What your referring to is if you have power at your switch location or is it just a switch loop l (just switching the hot and reidentifying the neutral)
You barely touch on the need for a neutral switch, and only most NEW houses will have the neutral run to the switch. If you do use a switch that does not require, then you probably can’t use CFL or LED bulbs. It can be worth the time and cost to get the neutral wire run down to the outlet. It is a HUGE deal to have a physical way to turn it all on and off, so even for lamps a Zwave receptacle for lamps is better than a bulb. Bulbs eventually stop working versus a switch which should last longer than an LED bulb. The ideal scenario if you want ease of use and color is to use switches and bulbs so you can have a physical ability that no one has to relearn to turn these on and off, and then use the color bulbs after you have the light on. A switch guard is crazy, why even have a switch then? It is poor usability in a house where you have a switch you never turn off. If you are trying to be as budget conscious as possible ok, but you are fighting over 100 years of people using light switches and it is can be very annoying. Also I’ve done my house with children and it teaches them bad habits to not turn on and off a light when they leave the room increasing electricity costs for no reason. Additionally, if you can use motion detection for lamps turning on and off then that is something everyone can understand and no one has to interact with and is another good way around this. I don’t think you gave a very in depth review of the differences of switches and bulbs.
Thanks for your comment and I will address the points you brought up. Our house is almost 30 years old and it has neutral wires. I don't consider a house 30 years old to be new but compared to houses that are 100+ years old then I guess they are. The Lutron Caseta switch does work with CFL and LED bulbs and doesn't need a neutral wire. I wouldn't prefer a smart switch combined with a smart bulb. Automating that light would be extra difficult since you would have to make sure the light switch is on and then turn on the light bulb with your phone or voice. It's true that smart light bulbs might not last as long as smart light switches. Since I don't know that for sure I didn't want to mention it as a major factor in comparing them. Some of the smart light bulbs are supposed to last 20 years and I haven't had one go out yet. I know switches can malfunction as well so it's difficult to declare a clear winner. Our house has a light switch that is connected to an outlet. We have smart light strips plugged into that outlet so a light guard is perfect for it. I still need to use the light switch occasionally because if the light strips disconnect from Wi-Fi then I can flip the switch on and off and it will reset the lights back to normal. If someone turns off the light switch, then the lights will not turn on automatically like they do every evening. A switch guard is great for smart bulbs connected to a light switch so they can stay automated and connected. I was mostly exaggerating about not being able to turn off light switches around our house. But even more reason to get a light switch guard so that there doesn't have to be that rule and kids can turn off the lights when they are done using the lights. That way light switch guards make it easy to know which lights not to change. I also have multiple motion sensors in our house that control lights which I will cover in more depth in another video. I agree that scheduling lights and using motion sensors is the way to go. It is difficult to know what details to keep and leave out for these videos because I don't want it to be boring with too much info or not helpful with too little info. I appreciate the feedback so I know where I can improve. I know this video is only scratching the surface on this subject so I will get in more depth in the future.
Smart Home Solver I still really disagree. I think if you are using a switch guard your use cases are badly designed. The light switch is the a well designed use case and having the switch but not using it is bad. I’ve had a smart house for over 6 years now and had kids grow up in it and designing the use cases is important. Having bulbs and switches is still the way to go, if you are doing complex automations with switches and bulbs you need to really think about what you are doing and why? Too many people are trying to do automation now, but they need to be simply and not complex automations to make Smart Things have any type of reliability. If you are going be giving advice you should look at, at least trying Wink and Alexa as your home hub so you can see the different types of automation and how the systems work.
thrash99er yes I have used Wink and did a comparison video a while back on it with SmartThings. I was still really new at making videos back then so the video quality isn't great. I also use Alexa and Google Assistant on a regular basis. It doesn't bother me that you disagree. The great thing about a smart home is that there isn't one correct way of doing something. Sure there might be some better ways of doing something but everyone's situation is going to be different. Thanks for your comment.
@Alex Wang yes you could technically turn off the bulb with the lamp's switch but then you wouldn't be able to have the light automatically turn back on and the light would have to reconnect when you turn the lamp's switch back on. It's just best to always keep the switch turned on and turn off the bulb with the app, voice or separate button/remote that controls the bulb.
@3:36 _"Only call us if a kid is bleeding"_ If he's suffocating, on fire, drowning, getting electrocuted, kidnapped, raped, poisoned or having a seizure, please don't bother us. Thanks.
Question please ..so I have Phillips hue bulbs 💡 that I spent $$$$$ for 8 of them but my switch is not smart . Kids n wife don’t like using an app /kids don’t have phone . So if I change the switches will I be to control them even if they turn the switches off ?
@TheRasta25 I would get the Philips Hue Switch that I show at 3:46 and you can attach it to your wall so everyone can turn the lights on and off with that. You don't want to change the switches because you want to have the Hue lights always to have power.
emilio “in the majority of countries, at least in Nordic regions” there’s only 5 countries there. So that info only pertains to you guys💀 but truly feel bad for you guys, those laws seem a little controlling
@@brandonrosario1470 Nope makes sense, electricity is dangerous as fuck. Can litterly kill you or/and burn your house down. All you need is a little insulation in the clamp and it will go warm or if you dont strip enought. There is so much that can go wrong.
Anyone else had a family member sabotage their smart lights? I feel your pain. 😬
Yeap everyday my Hue Light in the Kitchen, I have a Hue Switch and a Hue Sensor to trigger the lights. Sometimes at the middle of the night i walk in the kitchen thinking it will turn on and it does not :(
Jaafar Williams thank you 🙏.
Are you going to review the Wyze bulb? I looked but I haven’t seen anything on your channel yet about it, but maybe I missed it.
Not only ive had the “turn off” attack, ive faced the “turn off ... lights not on.... immediately turn back on ... turn off again before the light turns on cause u thought its not working ... do this 5 times” massacre.
Oh nooo! That could be the worst.
I’m team switches. I want to use my lights like normal sometimes and use Alexa/phone sometimes. I like the flexibility
Don’t the smart bulbs have a “normal” light color?? I’m so confused
@@Flowshow88 k
@@Flowshow88they mean being able to flip a switch on and off to control the light. Do that with a smart bulb and it’ll disconnect from WiFi and be a pain in the ass for any guests
Would you be willing to do an apartment-friendly product guide? Basically things you would be able to take with you as you move and wouldnt make you loose your security deposit when you have to leave.
Hey Larry thanks for the comment. That's a great idea and I will try and put something like that together.
Have you done this video, cant find it?
I would consider even using smart switches even when renting. Switches are so easy to install/remove nowadays.
@@SmartHomeSolver have you?
I have mostly smart switches. I have only 4 smart bulbs. My rules are pretty simple. If that light is controlled by a wall switch then I use a smart switch. For table lamps I will use smart bulbs. The majority of my light fixtures don’t use regular Edison screw type bulbs so that’s why I have to go with smart switches.
Hi, what smart switch do you recommend?
What Smart Light Bulbs and Switch did you purchase to allow you to use them together?
Can I create a scene that includes zigbee motion detector (google assistant support) with the smart switch that works over wifi, but also has a google assistant support?
I like the style of your video. Concise, informative, and easy to watch. Thanks.
how do i use smart switch with smart bulb? That is my big question.
the only brand that I know of that you can do that is hue.
The problem with switches is to have a neutral wire, which is not that common…
But, is it possible to have both? A smart switch and a smart bulb?
I’m looking for a savings on my electric bill. My kids and husband turn all the lights in the house on and leave them on all day and night. I live in a large home so I’m tired of checking and turning everything off.
Can you please next time review smart wife vs smart . . .?
In my case I have to use smart bulbs. I am in a rental room and am prohibited by my landlord from altering the infrastructure of the room, including the light switches. Even If I could the wiring is older and lcks the required ground line that most smart switches require.
I used smart bulbs in my kitchen because I have two switches for two ceiling fixtures and I have to walk across the kitchen in the dark to get to the switches. I used a smart switch in my dining room because buying one smart switch was cheaper than buying six smart bulbs for the chandelier.
I wasn't aware of the magnetic light switch guard. That's a great idea. Now I don't have to use tape 😂.
Great video, informative. Things have changed from when I was growing up in the late 70's early 80's. Those light switch guards for $5, used to be a piece of tape and smart-anything didn't exist yet, so it was usually used to block off a switch that didn't work anymore for some reason or another; don't know why people still call them "The good old day's".
This is a very informative video!
For my bedroom I’m planning on purchasing a Yagusmart Smart Light Switch from Amazon.
I would also like to include 4 x Smart Spotlight Bulbs in my room so that I have the option to change the colour of bulbs. I have been looking at LOHAS GU10 Smart Light Bulbs that are also sold on Amazon.
Does anyone see any problems with using the two together?
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance.
I have smart switsch next to my bed but another normal switsch a have next to the door and sometimes I am to lazy to go turn off lights by smart switsch and when i am next to the door I can't tell it to alexa but she don't understand what I said
I find your chanel before 3 days a after that i am every day watching your videos👍
0:44 i'm New to smart home stuff, and I want to know how does is work? I use google home so you can maybe help me
Never thought "I'm taking my light switches with me" would ever be something I'd have to say upon moving out of an apartment.
Hahahahaah
You would obviously need to revert the switches back to the originals if that’s your intention.
So what happens if you sell the house, do you take all your smart gadgetsb with you or leave it for the next owner? If leaving how do you remove yourself and your digital footprint from this ecosystem?
Don't use Phillips Hue Color bulbs with GE dimmers. They flash each time you turn the lights on or off
Best smart home channel. Thanks for the tips!
What about a smart light bulb socket
What about Wemo or TP Link smart switches? Are they any good?
I have two black live wires on my Kasa switch but only one black live wire in my wall. What should I do with the extra black wire from the Kasa switch? It's 3 wires in total that comes from my wall (the copper ground wire, a single black wire, and a single white wire,) I do not have a bunch of wires bundled up in my wall. I only have the 3 wires in the wall, black, copper, and white. But 4 wires on the Kasa switch 2 black live wires, 1 green for copper, and 1 white for neutral. When I tried connecting both live wires from the Kasa switch, to the one single black wire coming from the wall, it does not work. My light comes on very dim and it's NOT a dimming light. And, the Kasa switch makes a clicking sound that won't stop when I try to reset it. The same thing happens when I leave the extra black wire hanging from the Kasa switch. Do I tie connect the extra black live wire from the Kasa switch to another wire from the wall like, to the ground or, the white wire? Or, maybe the black and white wires in the wall are both live wires and I don't have a neutral 🤔. I hope that ain't the case. Please help me.
Great video! I'm starting out in home automation and currently have one wifi switch with Smart Life app. Do you know a Z-Wave or ZigBee hub that is compatible to be used mainly with Smart Life app ? or maybe the other way around?
Think I'm just going to buy both lol
I have a lot of Philips Hue lights and about 6 Ecobee light switches. The Ecobee switches don’t work with 3 way setups. What is the best smart switch that would work with a 3 way setup that requires a neutral wire?
k9driver, checkout GE or Innovelli.
highly recommend to use gosound Product for a saving a money with a gosound smart lights which absolute less energy consumption and with a affordable prize with a smart switching system new gegeneration feature.gosound
highly recommend to use gosound Product for a saving a money with a gosound smart lights which absolute less energy consumption and with a affordable prize with a smart switching system new gegeneration feature.gosound
I just did a complete renovation. (That's a lie as I'm still as prepping trim and walls for paint and then I'm DONE. Yea!) But I made the mistake of removing the electrical boxes for lights switches as I figured I wouldn't need them when I switched both the kitchen and living room to fully smart lights. I didn't realize that I could use a smart switch to also control smart bulbs. Don't make the mistake I did!
The primary reason I went with smart lights (cans) in the kitchen and living room over switches is I can turn off all but one or two lights, and roll them down to 1% for a built-in night light or adjust the lights in the living room for a better lighting scheme for watching TV.
Does anyone know if they have a smart switch out there for fluorescent tube lights? When I bought my place in the basement it has 2 tube light fixtures on the ceiling( T12 fluorescent bulbs) in one room there is five and then the rest of the basement there's probably 12 or more. I was hoping to put a smart switch in for these. I don't know if a standard Smart Switch works with fluorescent tubes. I would think a dimmer switch would be out of the question. But just a Smart Switch that will turn the lights off and on would be awesome. Looking at the descriptions on a website like Amazon nobody talked about these style lights
I'm team switches bc I'm not really playing rgb in our home so I'm fine with our current led bulbs, just needing automation. So much cheaper for us
dude, i wouild love to have your advice and some tips on setting up my place, ahaha i feel like this video answers most things, but what if my bedroom has a backyard glass sliding door and a fairly low hanging chandelier not, good looking on at that either. I dont have many things on my wall to connect strip behind, i figured slapping 4 5 hue ( i already have the hue bridge, not too impress) bulbs into the chandelier but with what you brought up, how low the thing is ( when i take my shirt off under it, i hit it) i figured getting the coloured bulbs would not be worth it with how many id get and how easy natural light floods my bedroom. guess buy some shit to hang to hide LED strips and hang a blackout curtain? i do have a simple white hue smart bulb, but all the others are not smart bulbs so the one light bulb is pretty poor for the room, i guess getting a smart switch would be best to control them all 🤔 hmmm im terrible at this kinda thing 🤦♂️🤷♀️,
your point with the smart bulb being attached to a switch, like my bedroom, not beign ablet o use the switch at all when its so habitual...
My only problem with smart light switches controlling a bulb like the Wyze Bulb is that the smart switch literally kills power to the bulb when told to go off right? So when the bulb is re-energized it takes about 10 secs for it to reconnect to the wifi, etc. In this period nothing can be done with the bulb in the way of dimming or turning off with your voice. I have hue bulbs as well and they use a hub which is always connected. This may be a better solution with the smart switch. Just something i've noticed.
I have 2 light side by side they operate my ceiling fan 1 for the light and the other switch operate the ceiling fan and I want to replace them with a smart switch which switches would you recommend thanks and I have very good WiFi and I have a neutral wire
Is there a smart light bulb with a fake switch?
Some lutron caseta products require a neutral wire and others don't. Make sure to do your homework so you don't buy the wrong product by mistake.
Thanks finally found useful video. With kids the smart light just isn't useful and easy to use. The kids will use the light switches and when you come home with groceries or just from work it seems hassle to first get the phone out to have lights around the house.
Great video! I have to explain this to people all the time who want an easy to install product, but then don't actually think about what will work best in their house.
I experimented with smart bulbs when I was first getting into home automation, and I kept ending up in this weird scenario where the bulb would be off in the app, but someone would come along and flip the switch but of course the light didn't come on so they would think something was wrong then I'd try to turn the light on with the app but now the switch is in the wrong position so you end up doing this dance with the bulb and the switch to sync it all back up.
Thanks! I can definitely relate with your smart bulb and light switch situation.
I've been there before. It's super annoying
Thanks for making this video, this question gets asked a lot in the SH Facebook groups.
Do rgb lights on the ceiling look bad ?
Great information. I recently installed a smart light switch in my living room, but I also have smart spot lights in there. Alexa makes it easy to turn on the light switch first and then the bulbs with a routine.
That's a great way to use routines!
What Smart Light Bulbs and Switch did you purchase to allow you to use them together? Thanks :)
@@JamesBonsor It was from a company called Hartington Heath (based in the UK). You can find them on amazon too. The smart light bulbs are Philips Hue GU10 spot lights.
@@ManchesterTechGuy Thats interesting! Did you buy the starter pack containing the hub and GU10 bulbs?
@@JamesBonsor Nope, I already had a Hue Bridge so I bought the lights separately.
You read my mind, 3 way light switches......
Would you use a smart switch to control a smart bulb? Or is that a dumb thing to do?
Great video.
I am in a rabbit hole for a 4-way Dimmer (with Neutral).
My hub is Hubitat so I have as with SmartThings, I have flexibility of the Cloud, Local Wifi, Z-wave, and Zigbee
Zoos? GE? Others?
Their is a smart swicth that fits over your existing toggle swicth
What are some budget light switches that I can buy for my new home which is under construction here in India?
I have the Gosund brand and I actually bought both light bulbs and switch lol
Team Bulbs
What's a good 3 pole dimmer switch?
Switches over bulbs all day long.
Can you use a z wave ge switch with a zigbee bulb?
Very informative! Thank you
Do the SMART bulbs last as long as of regular bulbs or did it last longer or shorter?
Hi in my kitchen we only had 1 switch but two distinct areas so went for bulbs so we could control all the lighting great video
What about bulbs vs plugs?? Especially for us professional movers. My company relocates me every 2 years so I never do switches.
Smart plugs are great since you can use them for lamps, or other devices around your house like fans and coffeemakers. If you want to control the color and warm/cool temperature though, then bulbs give you more options there. You could always get a mix of both.
How did you get the bulb to flash?
Robert Shank the app
3:21 what's that spinning RGB light thing you have in the background? It looks cool.
It's a Switchbot Hub: www.switch-bot.com/hub
So you always keep your light switches on that control the smart light bulbs then just turn them on and off with the app? How does that affect your light bill?
The lights wont use any power when the lamp is off.
Why can’t we have both, just make a smart switch that is able to link to smart bulbs so you can do white balance (daytime to nighttime) and have a hardware switch so you can control them without your phone
How
Lamps
What smart switches can you recommend for Australia.
So I recently went a little crazy with some smart light bulbs for our 1 bedroom condo (Lifx and cheaper Merkury bulbs from Walmart). Since you’ve had smart bulbs for a while, would you happen to know if by having the light switch on at all times for the smart bulbs, does that cause it to draw electricity all the time thus causing your bill to be high? Or is it so minimal that it isn’t really noticeable? I don;t want to go broke cause of these light bulbs, hahaha.
So far my electric bill has been pretty low so it hasn't been an issue for me. I think that even running the LIFX bulb every day will only cost about a dollar or two the entire year so they are very energy efficient. I bet your power bill might even go down even with the light switch on all the time.
I hope you can do a review as to which switch is the best and cost friendly since there are so many to choose from
Thanks for the idea! I've had that on my list for awhile and I'm hoping to cover it soon.
Can you wire a set of lights on 4 light switches to smart switch(es). I want to have smart functionality but still have the 4 switches work. The setup is 2x3-way switches and 2x4-way switches currently. Thanks!
Just replace one 3 way with a smart switch and leave the other switches dumb. You only need one as smart to control the light in the app or with Alexa/google
@@jordanb1759 got it to work with 1 master smart switch and 3 slave smart switches
What is the best way to handle using a GE switch from an app? I have smartthings hub but is that the only option?
Hey jfkdownt. Yes any hub that uses Z-Wave for these GE light switches. So SmartThings will work great. There are other smart light switches that work over Wi-Fi and don't require a hub but I prefer Z-Wave light switches.
How do you get the bulb to flash say if someone rings your doorbell or opens the garage, cheers!
If using Smartthings, recommend checking out the WebCore smartapp, it's great for doing things like this. You could also use automations or routines in the smartthings app, but I don't think you can add the time delay needed between the on and off of the bulb.
Great, thank you man!
Do you know of any smart dimmer switches that don't require a ground wire?
I don't know of any that do require a ground wire. They usually have the spot that is marked green for the ground but it will still work without it. Nuetral wire is a different story though since that provides power.
Its really fucking dangerous to mix grounded and components that are not grounded. Call an electrician.
All houses have a neutral wire if they didn't everything would be running on 240v. What your referring to is if you have power at your switch location or is it just a switch loop l (just switching the hot and reidentifying the neutral)
You barely touch on the need for a neutral switch, and only most NEW houses will have the neutral run to the switch. If you do use a switch that does not require, then you probably can’t use CFL or LED bulbs. It can be worth the time and cost to get the neutral wire run down to the outlet.
It is a HUGE deal to have a physical way to turn it all on and off, so even for lamps a Zwave receptacle for lamps is better than a bulb. Bulbs eventually stop working versus a switch which should last longer than an LED bulb. The ideal scenario if you want ease of use and color is to use switches and bulbs so you can have a physical ability that no one has to relearn to turn these on and off, and then use the color bulbs after you have the light on.
A switch guard is crazy, why even have a switch then? It is poor usability in a house where you have a switch you never turn off. If you are trying to be as budget conscious as possible ok, but you are fighting over 100 years of people using light switches and it is can be very annoying.
Also I’ve done my house with children and it teaches them bad habits to not turn on and off a light when they leave the room increasing electricity costs for no reason.
Additionally, if you can use motion detection for lamps turning on and off then that is something everyone can understand and no one has to interact with and is another good way around this.
I don’t think you gave a very in depth review of the differences of switches and bulbs.
Thanks for your comment and I will address the points you brought up. Our house is almost 30 years old and it has neutral wires. I don't consider a house 30 years old to be new but compared to houses that are 100+ years old then I guess they are.
The Lutron Caseta switch does work with CFL and LED bulbs and doesn't need a neutral wire.
I wouldn't prefer a smart switch combined with a smart bulb. Automating that light would be extra difficult since you would have to make sure the light switch is on and then turn on the light bulb with your phone or voice.
It's true that smart light bulbs might not last as long as smart light switches. Since I don't know that for sure I didn't want to mention it as a major factor in comparing them. Some of the smart light bulbs are supposed to last 20 years and I haven't had one go out yet. I know switches can malfunction as well so it's difficult to declare a clear winner.
Our house has a light switch that is connected to an outlet. We have smart light strips plugged into that outlet so a light guard is perfect for it. I still need to use the light switch occasionally because if the light strips disconnect from Wi-Fi then I can flip the switch on and off and it will reset the lights back to normal. If someone turns off the light switch, then the lights will not turn on automatically like they do every evening. A switch guard is great for smart bulbs connected to a light switch so they can stay automated and connected.
I was mostly exaggerating about not being able to turn off light switches around our house. But even more reason to get a light switch guard so that there doesn't have to be that rule and kids can turn off the lights when they are done using the lights. That way light switch guards make it easy to know which lights not to change.
I also have multiple motion sensors in our house that control lights which I will cover in more depth in another video. I agree that scheduling lights and using motion sensors is the way to go.
It is difficult to know what details to keep and leave out for these videos because I don't want it to be boring with too much info or not helpful with too little info. I appreciate the feedback so I know where I can improve. I know this video is only scratching the surface on this subject so I will get in more depth in the future.
Smart Home Solver I still really disagree. I think if you are using a switch guard your use cases are badly designed. The light switch is the a well designed use case and having the switch but not using it is bad. I’ve had a smart house for over 6 years now and had kids grow up in it and designing the use cases is important.
Having bulbs and switches is still the way to go, if you are doing complex automations with switches and bulbs you need to really think about what you are doing and why?
Too many people are trying to do automation now, but they need to be simply and not complex automations to make Smart Things have any type of reliability. If you are going be giving advice you should look at, at least trying Wink and Alexa as your home hub so you can see the different types of automation and how the systems work.
thrash99er yes I have used Wink and did a comparison video a while back on it with SmartThings. I was still really new at making videos back then so the video quality isn't great. I also use Alexa and Google Assistant on a regular basis.
It doesn't bother me that you disagree. The great thing about a smart home is that there isn't one correct way of doing something. Sure there might be some better ways of doing something but everyone's situation is going to be different. Thanks for your comment.
One of my favorite tech youtuber! Good job bro!
@Bogdan Apopii thanks!
If I get a smart bulb, do I have to use the app to turn the lights on and off? What if I want to use the lamp's switch instead?
@Alex Wang yes you could technically turn off the bulb with the lamp's switch but then you wouldn't be able to have the light automatically turn back on and the light would have to reconnect when you turn the lamp's switch back on. It's just best to always keep the switch turned on and turn off the bulb with the app, voice or separate button/remote that controls the bulb.
@3:36 _"Only call us if a kid is bleeding"_
If he's suffocating, on fire, drowning, getting electrocuted, kidnapped, raped, poisoned or having a seizure, please don't bother us. Thanks.
Bruh
Question please ..so I have Phillips hue bulbs 💡 that I spent $$$$$ for 8 of them but my switch is not smart . Kids n wife don’t like using an app /kids don’t have phone . So if I change the switches will I be to control them even if they turn the switches off ?
@TheRasta25 I would get the Philips Hue Switch that I show at 3:46 and you can attach it to your wall so everyone can turn the lights on and off with that. You don't want to change the switches because you want to have the Hue lights always to have power.
Guys, remember its illegal to do this unless you are an electrician
or the homeowner.....so yeah, there's that.
@@jenniferhorovitz2879 No, majority of countries dont allow this. Atleast in the nordic regions.
emilio “in the majority of countries, at least in Nordic regions” there’s only 5 countries there. So that info only pertains to you guys💀 but truly feel bad for you guys, those laws seem a little controlling
@@brandonrosario1470 Nope makes sense, electricity is dangerous as fuck. Can litterly kill you or/and burn your house down. All you need is a little insulation in the clamp and it will go warm or if you dont strip enought. There is so much that can go wrong.