What are the options for using a wall switch to control Phillips Hue lights?
In my previous house, I had Z-Wave switches (Zooz) connected to Home Assistant and it would relay the commands from the switch to the Hue bridge. It worked fine but there was a small delay.
Is it possible to get a Zigbee (Matter?) switches that can directly control the Hue bulbs?
I know Phillips make a small Hue wall switch but it’s very basic. I am considering it though.
Are there any other options?
not an expert, AFAIK you typically can not pair 3rd party switches to the hue hub (only any hue certified devices I believe). I have a couple of the older original hue switches but I think there are 2 or 3 different generations/styles. Mine are the 4 square buttons that can turn off/on/brightness and set scenes.
but you can use 3rd party zigbee switches directly with hue lights IF you have the hue lights paired with the same zigbee controller instead of using the hue hub.
the downside of skipping the hue hub is you lose whatever the hue specific functionality you may be using (hue cloud, dynamic lights, etc).
you can use most any kind of HA switches to control hue lights via home kit and/or the hue integration, I don’t usually see any noticeable response delays with my setup, but it has happened rarely. My setup = hue lights/hub <> HA integration <> homekit, I have other lights outside of hue that are controlled by switches and motion sensors that all work together including with hue via HA.
One option is to ditch the Hue hub and get a Zigbee coordinator and run either Z2M or ZHA. That way you can use what ever Zigbee wall switch you like.
another thing to consider that others have discussed elsewhere, is using dumb bulbs with smart switches (like shelly, etc). you control the lights via the wall switches and they work both ways (physically or electronically).
Love the hue dial, have three of them. Just have them connected via zigbee though, not through the hue bridge. Highly recommend theres some great blueprints in here for them