Philips Hue - Read the guide and get ready for a whole new world of light!
PHILIPS HUE - GUIDEThe Philips Hue range offers a whole new way to use lighting in your home. Coding light control that used to require expensive electrical installations in the house is now solved with HUE bulbs, a Bridge and the Philips Hue app. Philips Hue products are really a whole new way of thinking about lighting - lighting can now be used to create wellbeing in everyday life. You can code it to wake you up, give you good working light, re-energise you, and to turn on the lights throughout the house when you approach or turn them off when you leave home. It sounds complicated, but it's definitely not. To get you started with your new Philips Hue, I've created a guide with product explanations, important knowledge and help with setup. The guide may help you on your way, both in choosing which products will best suit your home, as the selection is vast, but also to give you a greater knowledge of a whole new world of light.
How does Philips Hue work?
Philips Hue is the latest in lighting. There are almost no limits to what these bulbs and lamps can be paired with and the atmosphere they can create in the rooms they are placed in. Just as some people are into computers, interior design and knick-knacks, Philips Hue is the new hobby. You can sync the light to your TV and music to match the sound, choose from 16 million colours and even connect up to 50 Hue devices to a starter kit. Hue products are super easy to use and easy to expand without lengthy installations. You can set the lights to turn off when you leave home and turn on again when you are a few metres away, you can dim them and have multiple colours going at the same time. You can mix both Hue white and Hue colour and control them all with your smartphone. You can play with colour tones and create the perfect mood lighting, and they even match your lamps already, as you only need to change the bulbs.
Getting started - setup guide for your new Philips Hue.
The brain of your Philips Hue system is the bridge. You connect it to your WiFi, which is described in detail in the paperwork included in the box. It's super easy! Once you've installed your bridge, download the Philips Hue app if you want to use it and you're now ready to code your bulbs to light the way you want them to.
The app guides you step-by-step through the setup - I was surprised at how easy it was and it takes no time at all.
The Philips Hue bridge is compatible with Apple Homekit technology, so you can also ask Siri to switch your lights on, off or dim.
If you don't want to use your smartphone or tablet to switch your light on and off, you can buy a remote control that makes it super easy to control your light. The Philips Hue dimmer switch can be easily mounted on the wall, either with screws or double-sided tape. You can remove the switch itself, as it is magnetic, and then take it around the house.
The switch is battery powered and therefore no installation is required - it's so super smart!
Philips Hue Bluetooth
Philips Hue started adding Bluetooth to their lamps and light sources in 2020. The reason is simple; they want to cater to users who find Philips Hue difficult or confusing. Thanks to Bluetooth, getting started with Philips Hue is simpler and easier for the user.
With Bluetooth, you can connect lamps and light sources directly, eliminating the need for a Philips Hue Bridge. Simply download the Philips Hue Bluetooth App to your smartphone, activate Bluetooth and you're ready to go. Although Hue products have built-in Bluetooth, they can still be used with a Hue Bridge. If you already have a bridge, Bluetooth won't make much difference to you and your system.
Who is Bluetooth Hue for?
Bluetooth Hue is for new customers who want to get started quickly and aren't interested in a big setup. You can easily start by buying a few light sources and trying them out in the lamps you already have in your home.
It can be beneficial to use Bluetooth in the children's room, where children can access the light source directly from their smartphone or tablet. This means they don't have to be connected to the rest of the house's Hue system and only have control over the light in their own room. It could also be the older generation who have a smartphone under control but don't need the full Hue setup. With the Bluetooth feature, you don't need a Wi-Fi connection in your home - you just need to be within Bluetooth range of approximately 12 metres and you can control up to 10 devices at a time (with the full setup, you can connect 50 devices to your system).
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Philips Hue starter kit - What is a starter kit?
With the purchase of a Philips Hue starter kit White Ambiance you get 3 pcs. E27 bulb, which has all of Hue's well-known effects, a dimmer that can be used inside the home and a bridge, which is the device that connects to your WIFI so you can communicate between your smart device and the bulbs/lamps. The starter kit can also be purchased without the dimmer if you prefer to use your smartphone only.
You can also get Hue products with a colourful bulb. Philips Hue White/Colour Amb. Starter Kit, contains 2 pcs. E27 bulbs colour and a Bridge. E27 bulbs are also available in what's called Ambiance, which is all types of white colours, from a nice warm white for cosy lighting, to colder task lighting - you have all choices in one bulb!
What are Philips Hue LightStrips?
Philips Hue LightStrips is a long LED strip you can play with around the house. Use LightStrips under furniture, along the stairs, in the glass cabinet, in the children's room - you name it.
You can emphasise different parts of the room and you can create indirect light with effects as you wish. They are extremely easy to install, as they have tape on the back and therefore only need to be attached where you want them. It can be bent and shaped exactly how you want it, trimmed at the marks to get the length you want, and finally you plug it into the socket and connect to your bridge and you're ready to play.
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