Looking for a Philips Hue and HomeKit compatible light dimmer
With so many home automation experts present, maybe you guys can recommend something:
I'm looking for a dimmer for existing dimmable 220V lamps. I know of the Busch-Jäger products, but I would like a HomeKit (AND Hue / LightLink) compatible product.
It can be either flush-mounted or a separate product that plugs into a normal electrical outlet.
Is there anything like this out already?
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The busch-jaeger ZLL switches are Hue compatible, Philips doesn't support homekit for non HUE products. but it isn't hard to get that supported. i'm not aware of other products.
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Niels de Klerk thanks Niels, I was afraid of that.
Since you have the Busch Jäger switches (if I remember correctly): do you know if I can use the flush-mounted dimmer, temporarily install the switch cover to pair it with the Hue bridge and then remove the switch cover again?
The switches are quite expensive and the mounting place for that dimmer would be behind a sofa, so I don't want to waste ~100€ for a switch cover that I cannot even reach!
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Alexander Graf you should look at the documentation, you can place the switch part that you can build in. And a remote part you can place elsewhere like you want. You can also use it with your hues
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Niels de Klerk I was planning to upgrade everything to these switches. Ah, yes, I completely forgot that I can place them separately! The switch part is flat and battery powered, correct? It just sticks to the wall and does not need a wall box, right?
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Alexander Graf I think so, I do not own the remote version but the connected version. So I'm not 100% sure.
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Have you considered the Philips Dimmer switch?
Probably not as sophisticated as the previously mentioned switches but I'm using them a lot. They are rather affordable (20-25 EUR / USD), super easy to setup and perform as expected.
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Alexander Graf Philips just announced as well that their Switches are going to be HomeKit compatible soon 🙌
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Joseph Schwartz unfortunately they are out of the question. I have regular bulbs that I would like to be Philips Hue + HomeKit compatible. I do have one of their dimmer switches and use it for Hue Bulbs. It's a good solution (ugly though) but not for non-hue/regular bulbs.
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Alexander the actuall ZLL electronics sit in what you refer to as "switch cover" (Which is whay they are that pricey) - the in wall part is actually a "dumb" dimmer with remote input and power to feed and connect to the cover part. So, unfortunately, no. Even more unfortunately it's not suited for me either. While I could bear with it not fitting into my series of in wall switches (Berker) I definitely require a dual dimmer for my dining table lamp - and no, I cannot retrofit Hues there...
So it's gonna be 2 Fibaros and NEEO to the rescue!
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As news from IFA are coming, Phillips is going to make the dimmer and the motion sensor homekit compatible. This works after an software update! Hope that helps!
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Yes, but the Philips "dimmer" is unfortunately just a remote to dim hue bulbs, what he (and me) is dearly missing is an in wall solution like to control non hue lamps over ZigBee - like the ubisys d1.
Hell, this is even ZigBee - "unfortunately" 3.0 that is. Too bad Philips didn't keep up to their saying at Cebit 2015 they would introduce ZigBee 3.0 that year with a free of charge update.....
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Klaus Grosser Philips also announced at IFA 17 that they are going to support ZigBee 3.0 with a firmware update in the first quarter of 2018. http://www.newsroom.lighting.philips.com/news/2017/20170831-philips-hue-marks-5th-birthday-with-new-products-and-entertainment-capability
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Julien Luca Weil ooh nice. But I don't think they will allow third-party ZigBee switches/dimmers to integrate with HomeKit through the Philips Hue bridge.
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Alexander according to their record possibly not. Still, the definition of ZigBee 3.0 would actually call for compatibility. E.g.. The Ubisys gateway can control hue bulbs though. If it wasn't for the mentioned widgets of hue pro,I had probably moved over to that. If NEEO brings a good widget, I still might do so...still, Julien this is good news. But then again, they announced so, in early 2015 when th a certain KS campaign started that still isn't completely there yet, cough :X
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Klaus Grosser that price though! :o
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Alexander Iknow, but a little bit like NEEO: if working as expected it would be worth though ;)
Note it is Zigbee 3.0 - and this incorporates ZLL, so it cannot only controll their own ecosystem but Hue, Lightify, INNR, Tradfri, DE and more out of the box.
HA is nice and all but it shouldn't be "touched" so often and stay in the background (that's the whole idea of automising, isn't it? With the only exception being lights (and possibly blinds) and multimedia you frequently want to interact with. I have no reason to doubt NEEO will replace my Harmony for media control easily (besdie my Raumfeld system), which is, why light control is my primary concern. GUI needs to be easy, intuitive, and nice.
And as such currently Hue Pro Widgets - for me - is the killer application not wanting to replace my Hue Bridge as gateway for my light system. And unless this sees an adequate or even superior substitution through NEEO (please vot this idea here ) it's possibly gonna stay so.
And now there is perspective I might be able to natively integrate those dimmers as early as early 2018. Being announced early 2015 for the first time, now the race is now on between NEEO with Zwave Dimmers and Philips with ZigBee3.0 - please don't have me to put bets on either as we all haven't even received our NEEOS ;)
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Klaus Grosser maybe I'll wait until early 2018 as well, then :) However, I really don't want to replace my Hue bridge. I think Philips is going to add some other cool stuff and NEEO is surely capable of doing everything I need with my lights.
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Alexander well, first things first, let's wait until they finally start shipping NEEOS into good ol' Germany/Europe...(and pray it's way before 2018...)
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