Finally starting to get fed up with the flakey Eufy lights I have and looking to replace them. I’ve also not gone into Zigbee at all — at the moment all my devices are wifi. Are Hue bulbs still considered the best for HA reliability, low flicker, color quality, etc? Zigbee seems to be the way everyone connects them, is it worth the extra hardware and time if your wifi isn’t congested?
They’re a good choice if you don’t mind the cost.
You should be aware, though, that Zigbee is quite different from wi-fi and getting a good working mesh can be quite an undertaking. Do read up on it before you make a decision. There are several useful articles in the Home Assistant Cookbook.
1 Like
I’m using Hue lights. I have 22 downlights and one outside light (so far). I didn’t really plan my network, but with so many mains-powered devices, acting as routers, my Zigbee mesh is extensive:
I also have Hue motion sensors and contact sensors, however I went with Aqara for a tunable white bulb as it was much better value than the Hue equivalent.
My other endpoints are smoke alarms and an Aqara roller blind driver.
For Zigbee bulbs, I started using the ThirdReality bulbs. Not only have they been reliable and cheap, but they also act as Zigbee routers. I like the new Aqara T2 bulb because you can change it between Thread and Zigbee. It is brighter than the ThirdReality bulbs (1100 lumens vs. 800), however you pay for that. The biggest drawback in the Aqara bulb is that it is not a Zigbee router.
If you decide to go WiFi, I would steer away from the TP-Link bulbs. The price is very tempting but the reliability has not been dependable.