Hue White and Color Ambiance 60-Watt Equivalent A19 Starter Smart Kit LED Light Bulb

The Starter Kit comes in a very nice and somewhat elaborate package. The bulbs are very sleek while the bridge has a minimalist design (which I really like). Setup was a breeze. I plugged the bridge into my wireless router, screwed in the bulbs, and downloaded the app. The app walks you through a quick and easy setup. Hue is simple to use but it takes a little time to learn all the features. I have one bulb in our dining room lamp, one in a family room lamp, and one in a master bedroom lamp. The lamp in the dining room and our bedroom come on in the morning. They start off at the lowest brightness and gradually increase over a 9 minute period in a sunrise color. This is only Monday - Friday. The dining room lamp is also set (via Geo Fencing) to come on whenever I arrive home after dark. In addition to alarms and geo fencing, you can also set timers which allow the lights to run for a set period of time. While those are the more practical uses, hue's color changing ability is the highlight. In addition to being able to make a room turn any of millions of colors, the different white lights are also very nice. You can choose from presets like relax, concentrate, read, and energize. While I really like hue, there are some limitations. We have a floor lamp in our family room that uses a 3-way bulb. We need the extra light and a hue bulb is insufficient. We also have a number of dimmers which do not work with the hue bulbs. Actually the bulbs works but they do not dim. The kitchen and our breakfast nook are two areas where we dim the lights quite frequently and having to use an app is not practical. Lastly, hue bulbs do not dim nearly as low as traditional bulbs. I have to mention that there are many third-party apps for hue. I have the Disco Hue app which makes the lights change color to music in addition to color changing mood settings. You can even do white or color strobe lights. It's pure fun and a must have for a party. While hue is not cheap, I feel its worth the price. True home automation cost far more and things like wifi switches and outlet timers will cost just as much. Hue is a well designed product which Philips continues to support and expand on with the soon to be released Lux bulb and Tap switch.

Philip’s Hue Bulbs are changing the game in home lighting. The bright colorful energy efficient L.E.D. bulbs are will blow you and your guests away. At first I was a little weary of what the bulbs promised, but after using them daily, they have seamlessly become part of my daily routine. Pros: -Easy setup of initial kit (3 bulbs and base). Have to create a Philip Hue account for online, remote usage. Base has to plug into an Ethernet at all times. -Only have to setup once on a network. Bulbs can be moved around the house within range of base, without additional programming -Bulbs can be given names. Rooms can also be setup. -Energy Efficient using only 6 watts of electricity. -Brighter than what you would expect, rated at 60 watts, they provided enough lighting for most home uses. - They are fully dimmable. -Uses standard Light bulb Sockets. -Up to 50 bulbs can be connected to one base. -The colors are mind blowing, vivid and beautiful. The bulbs can create unlimited color choices. -Great downloadable apps for many devices. Allowing simple and convenient control of the bulbs while at home or away remotely. Additionally, they can be controlled via the Hue website as well. -Lights can be controlled individually or as a group. -Scheduled on/off times, as well as alarms (can create a natural sunrise to wake up to, 3 min or 9 min fade in) -Can setup to have lights turn on/off when in range of the bulbs. -Can be used indoor as well as outdoor. -Don’t seem to get too hot. -No UV light emitted as with other regular bulbs, bugs aren’t attracted to these bulbs. Cons: -Light Switch has to be in the on position to function, does not work with dimmers. Although if you do use the light switch. The lights will turn on to a standard warm white light, so the light switch is still functional. -Base L.E.D. blue status lights are rather bright for a bedroom. -Adding additional bulbs (other than the ones included in the kit) to the base can be a bit of a pain. If the base doesn't find the bulb, have to manually type the serial printed on the bulb into the app.

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