My home is mostly using smart switch or relays for lights, but we now have a specific need for some RGB light bulbs. Has anyone got any recommendations for good colour smart bulbs readily available in the UK?
I’d prefer Zigbee but am open to Wifi options if necessary. Currently leaning towards the innr bulbs as they seem a quality option but a fair bit cheaper than the likes of Hue.
I get mine from IKEA.
How’s the reliability been with the IKEA bulbs? I was considering those as they are cheap and I’ve had good experiences with IKEA sockets and remotes, but I’ve seen a lot of people saying the bulbs have failed on them.
I’ve had absolutely no issues and I’ve been using them for years - they’ve been rock solid and reliable. I switched to a ZigBee dongle and packed away the hub. I also use their switches and plugs, all good.
I’ve got quite a few IKEA Trådfri bulbs and I don’t think I’ve ever had a problem with one (and if I did IKEA are generally pretty flexible with returns for up to a year). They’re pretty good, use ZigBee and so work well with home assistant, the IKEA app isn’t too bad, and they’re half the price of Phillips Hue.
These may be good: https://www.mylocalbytes.com/products/smart-bulb-9w-rgbct
I trust Tasmota more than some random closed source thing.
I was going to say go smart-switch not smart bulb, but your all over it. Most of my smart-bulbs are ikea ones, but they are no good in the bedroom as some have horrible coil whine. Not found anythign I am super happy with yet for bulbs and I am too cheap for hue.
The only time mine whined were in a very old lamp and when in a socket which still had an analogue dimmer switch - when I swapped that for a normal switch it solved the noise.
Yes, I was looking at the IKEA bulbs, but I’ve seen a lot of reports on coil whine and bulbs failing. How have you found the reliability of the IKEA bulbs?
I think I have had one fail, and one kept loosing it’s link to the network, but I think that’s been fixed by a firmware update.
Smart switch in the UK is awkward because we have no neutral wire in the wall switches.
I am lucky that most of my switches have neutral, but I have had no issues with the neutral less switches.
I’ve recently gotten this cheap bulb:
MOES ZigBee Smart LED Bulb, 5W… https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C3726G89
The nice thing about it is that it has powerful white and yellow LEDs to get normal lighting from cold to warm. But it also has RGB LEDs that are not as bright and provide nice cozy ambient light.
However, Apple Homekit (bridged via Home Assistant) doesn’t know about this feature, so you have to turn the light bright/cold white before you can change it to bright warm white. Otherwise you’ll get amber light in RGB mode which isn’t nearly as bright.
Apart from that little issue, it’s working great for me.
I’ve tried a few “third party” smart bulbs as it were but, expensive as they are, nothing comes close to Hue for colour accuracy and general responsiveness. As you didn’t specify “cheap”, Hue will always be my recommendation.
That said, if you do want “cheap” and want to avoid WiFi then the Innr bulbs are fairly decent for the price. I’ve got about 15 of their spotlight style bulbs and they were half the price of the Hue alternatives.
I installed 14 Philips Hue White & Color LEDs in 2016 and so far not a single one of them broke. They were quite expensive back then (around 40€ per bulb) but I’m still quite happy with the overall quality. Not sure if they are still as durable but nowadays they are way cheaper, so maybe that’s an option for you as well.
