Question

So if every one of my switches are smart, I won't need smart bulbs correct?  

Answer 1

Smart bulbs have some advantages like theme and color control.  

Comments

I will have a smart switch that will change the color of the bulb

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@volpe1 Not individually and not millions of color hues.  

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Right I thought about that. So I was thinking of wiring each room separately so I can have blue in the kitchen and green in the family room. I don't think I would ever do different colors all in one room together. My house is still in the electrical wiring stage.  

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Wait, what smart switch can change the color of a bulb? I have never seen or understand at all how this would work.  

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This one can control 8 zones and do scenes

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But for these to work, it would have to be a smart bulb of some sort too, a normal light bulb does not have the ability to change colors within it. Do you own these or just see them advertised?  

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Yes, I understand that these need smart bulbs. But the rest of my house will not have color changing bulbs. I just want dumb led recessed lights with smart switches

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@hadhramaut but if someone toggles off the standard switch your bulb is then offline. Which to me takes all the pros of color changing and tosses them out the window. When compared to a switch

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@volpe1 go with lutron switches. Far superior to any. You do not need smart bulbs too

Answer 2

That is correct. The smarts would be at the switch level and not at the bulb level.  

Answer 3

Tried getting some smart bulbs with my smart switch’s and the bulbs (hue) wouldn’t dim correctly

Comments

@thiel133 dimming can’t happen at the switch level but at the bulb. The bulb needs full power to work. ** if you’re using a smart bulb

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What about smart switch and dumb dimmer bulbs?  

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Yes those work that’s what I use

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@volpe1 that’s what I use

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The idea to blend the two would be a smart bulb, and an on/off smart switch. That way if someone turns them off at the switch you can still turn them on through automation/voice/remote.  

Answer 4

In the most general sense, yes, but there could be any of a number of reasons to still have smart bulbs in addition to or instead of switches. Simplest example would be a reading lamp next to your favorite chair. There’s no switch to “smart” because the lamp itself has a switch and it’s not built into the house. In this case you could opt for a smart bulb or choose to use a smart power socket in the wall. In my home the master bathroom is large with a garden tub and separate shower with a secluded water closet (toilet room) as well as two individual sinks each with its own lighting fixture and light switch on opposite sides of the room from each other. My wife enjoys the large bathtub and in order to gain some acceptance of the home automation thing I’m using Philips Hue bulbs over the vanities in order to create a relaxing colored “spa” environment for her bath time but to raise the bar of the WAF I want to retain control via the wall switches so things behave as expected at all times. In order to do this Inovelli RED Series switches have the ability to disconnect the internal relay which leaves power to the smart bulbs at all times rather than someone accidentally flipping a switch and the smart bulbs going offline until I notice and turn the switch back on.  

Answer 5

Thanks for the explination. I'm new to this smart stuff, I am building a new house and we are in the electrical wiring phase of our house build. Is there anything special I should add? I will have a network rack, and am hardwiring all my speakers to an amp, I have CAT6 everywhere, My husband wants wireless cameras, I'm not sold on the idea, I'd rather have hard wired.  

Comments

@volpe1 Please tell your husband if he wants 100 pecent of the footage, 100 percent of the time, they need to be wired, period. If he want to double the amount of failure points, and lower network security down to 2005, then wireless is your friend. POE cameras are the way, I have spoken. Use the CAT6 while you are still on the rough in phase.  

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@volpe1 if you think you have enough cat 6 run. Run more. At least run a tube from the rack to the attic. Future you will thank current you.  

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@volpe1 you have to power them anyway so you're already running copper to their locations. Just run cat6 instead of T&E and power AND data are taken care of. Wireless should only be used where the pland didnt allow or didnt consider wires or where the device needs to move

Answer 6

Smart bulbs for lamps, or in rooms where you may want to control the lights individually.  

Comments

So Lets say In my girls room, I will have ceiling lights, a fan and then these cute little letter lights 1 for each of the first letter of their name. My husband wired the recessed lights and the letter lights to the same switch. I really wanted the girls to be able to turn the letter lights individually. So how would I do that, use a wireless switch?  

Answer 7

Correct. It makes far more sense to switch light “groups” than individual lamps.  

Answer 8

Smart bulbs can change color . we have 3 lamps in the lounge and can command . hey google lights 50% orange . or blue or warm white etc

Comments

What about 3 lights in the same room can they all be different colors?  

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Yes they can be called light 1, light 2 and light 3 and also be part of a group called lounge lights . so " ok google turn on light 1 75% cool white" etc

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@brewis79 out of curiosity, how often in practicality do you make them pretty colours outside of warm white cool white etc?  

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Quite a lot . blue for watching TV . red or qrange for relaxing and feeling warm . green to chill out to music

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@brewis79 interesting  . I’m not being smart but I could think of nothing worse or more tacky than coloured lights unless for a specific highlight

Answer 9

No! You choose the light fitting and user experience you want, then you choose the tech to deliver it. Sometimes it’s smart bulbs (rarely in my home) sometimes it’s smart switches, sometimes it’s RGBW controllers for LED strips, often I use 12V lighting, especially outside. There is no one solution that does it all. Your home will be hugely compromised if you go down a single solution route.  

Answer 10

You won’t. But the only thing you’ll be able to do is turn them on and off. No actual further control of the lights.  

Comments

@pitchford why so?  

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@hypophosphate can't color change a dumb bulb.  

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@samalla automation is soooooo much more than changing colours.  

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@hypophosphate a lot of which is limited if you’re using a dumb bulb instead of a smart one.  

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@hypophosphate at this point i have to say I think one of us is confused. His comment meant simply you can with a dumb bulb and smart switch generally have the option of on off and dim. Sure you can put those actions into all kinds of automation but it seemed clear that he wasn't talking about automations.  

Answer 11

I prefer smart switches over smart bulbs to control fixtures and recessed lighting. If you or someone else accidentally turn off a standard switch the smart bulb is useless and can't be commanded without turning the switch back on. I prefer adding all smart RGB Phillips Hue bulbs to different table and floor lamps around the house which aren't easy to accidentally turn off. Then use voice commands to turn those on and off and change colors.  

Comments

@zink42 this is how i have mine as well

Answer 12

I currently have smart bulbs. Living in the UK we don't have the required neutral wire that most switches need. The ones here that don't need a neutral are either very expensive or don't match my plugs. My preference is for smart bulbs anyway. As others have said, a smart switch will turn on or off dumb lights and that's pretty much it. Whereas, smart bulbs can be individually controlled, colour, colour temp, saturation, zones etc. I have Lifx WiFi bulbs and have each bulb set for different times of day, different moods (via a smartthings button). I can have the ceiling lights off and all the lamps on etc. Impossible to that with a single smart switch. All that said, I will in installing LightwaveRF wall switches for my dumb rooms (both bathrooms and kitchen).  

Answer 13

I went with switches. I just don't have a need for color changing stuff.  

Answer 14

Correct cost less and less hardware . also last longer . just no color changing. if you want color you will need bulbs

Answer 15

Keep in mind for smart bulbs, for lights with switches, you now have to get everyone in the house used to not using the switches and using voice instead.  

Comments

@dru26735 yes. And this is not working for my family.  

Answer 16

Hey @volpe1 Great question! We see a lot of our customers starting to go with smart bulbs as well as smart switches. Reason being when paired together correctly, you can dim the smart bulb from the switch and change color of the bulb from the switch. By disabling the internal relay, power continues to flow allowing for your lighting Automations to continue uninterrupted. If you have any other questions, please reach out. I'm happy to help get you the right products for you and your new home. Even if they aren't mine. @bitolj CSO | Inovelli

Comments

Are your switches rocker switches. I posted on here a few weeks ago the problem with rocker switches and that my most of my dumb builders grade rocker switches in my house are broken. The post got pretty nasty, when people accused me and my kids of using a baseball bat to turn on and off the lights, and one person even commented and said if my switches look like this than insinuated that my house must be filthy. Anyways, I would like to test your switches against my family's usage.  

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@volpe1 Yes they are rocker style switches. I saw that post and will say I agree with you. Anything that age does just wear down. Product quality and design have also increased over the last 15 years also. I will say we have shipped a lot of switches over the last 3. 5 years and have never seen anything like yours come back. I think you'll have some good luck with the newer designs. Nathan

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Would that make it easier to have a switch on a box without a neutral?  

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@thermoluminescence1 Would what make it easier?  

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Badly phrased question. I have a bunch of neutral free boxes and I know the problem is that you don't have power when the light is off but I figure it would be nice if you could get a smart switch that worked in neutral free that basically just controls a smart light.  

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I feel like this is a trick question and I'm being setup. ha ha. What you are looking for is kinda exactly what we are good at. @bitolj CSO | Inovelli  
https://inovelli.com/red-series-dim...wave/

Answer 17

Correct, unless you want colored bulbs too, then you need both. I have one wall that I have on a smart switch, plus colored bulbs so I can control it on or off, and also the color.