www.makeuseof.com What Other Smart Bulbs Work With the Philips Hue Lighting System?
The Philips Hue smart lighting system isn't just for Philips smart bulbs.
Other brands of smart lighting can also be connected to the Hue Bridge and controlled by Hue controllers—which can save you money and provide more options in terms of lighting.
What Makes Philips Hue So Special?
Philips was one of the first companies to market smart lighting that you can control via a smartphone app, smart speakers like Amazon Echo, or another smart home controller. You can also control your Hue lights with Ambify and other third party phone apps.
All Hue smart bulbs, lights, and controllers connect to the Hue Bridge smart hub via Zigbee wireless technology and offer a variety of effects, depending on the bulb. Some of those include dimming, changing color temperature, and even changing the lighting color.
Philips also offers a variety of scenes and routines that let you automate your home lighting and create fun and useful effects like the ability to sync with tunes from Spotify.
What Does It Take to Work With the Hue Lighting System?
As noted, the Philips Hue system works via Zigbee technology—not via Wi-Fi wireless technology you probably have in your home.
Many Philips Hue alternatives connect via Wi-Fi, so you control them directly from your Amazon Echo or Google Home device with no central hub necessary. These bulbs are not compatible with the Hue system.
To work with the Hue system a smart bulb or controller needs to connect to the Hue Hub via Zigbee wireless technology. These third-party bulbs and devices need to be Zigbee-compatible and not labeled Wi-Fi bulbs.
What Other Smart Bulbs Work With the Hue System?
A number of third-party smart bulbs work with the Philips Hue system. Some of the more popular ones include:
These bulbs typically cost less than similarly-featured Philips Hue bulbs. Some of these bulbs are full color-changing, others can change color temperature, others are single-temperature but dimmable. Look for the bulb that best meets your lighting needs.
What Other Smart Lighting Devices Work With the Hue System?
There are a number of other smart light strips, fixtures, lamps, and switches that are compatible with the Philips Hue system. Look for the label Friends of Hue for official third-party partners, as detailed on Philips' website. Some of the more popular include:
Hue-compatible smart plugs are especially useful as they let you control any electrical device—floor and table lamps, appliances, you name it—with the Hue Bridge. Hue-compatible light switches let you turn any Hue-compatible bulb, light, or plug on or off, just like a traditional light switch.
How Do You Add a Third-Party Bulb to Your Hue Hub?
2 Images ExpandExpandAdding a Hue-compatible third-party bulb or device to your Hue system is just like adding a regular Hue bulb. The process goes like this:
Follow the remaining on-screen instructions to name and configure the new bulb and add it to one of your rooms.
Are There Any Disadvantages?
Given the choice of using an official Philips Hue smart bulb or a Hue-compatible third-party bulb, which should you choose? In reality, there is no disadvantage to using a non-Hue bulb, as they work with the same Zigbee wireless technology and offer similar functionality.
In fact, third-party bulbs are often considerably lower-priced than official Hue bulbs, which is one good reason to go that route. As long as the bulb is marked Hue-compatible, you should be fine.
Using Third-Party Smart Bulbs to Save Big Money
The bottom line is that official Philips Hue bulbs are expensive and compatible third-party bulbs less so.
You can save some big bucks by going the Hue-compatible route in your home—and get the same smart lighting functionality.
4 Reasons We Still Love Philips Hue (and 3 Reasons We Don't) Read NextShareTweetShareEmail Related TopicsAbout The AuthorMichael Miller(13 Articles Published)Michael Miller is a prolific and best-selling writer. He has written more than 200 books over the past three decades, on a variety of topics from computers to music to business. He is known for his casual, easy-to-read writing style and his ability to explain a wide variety of complex topics to an everyday audience. Collectively, his books have sold more than 1.5 million copies worldwide. Miller also contributes articles to a variety of websites and publications, and does occasional speaking and consulting.
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