I’m planning to start my smart home journey with smart bulbs, and I’ve narrowed down my choices to either Philips Hue or LIFX. My main considerations are:
Philips Hue:
Requires a Bridge/Hub
Known for reliability
Works with most smart home systems
Higher initial cost due to Bridge
LIFX:
No hub required (direct WiFi connection)
Generally brighter output
Slightly higher per-bulb cost
No extra hardware needed
I plan to install these in my living room initially, with potential to expand later. Which system would you recommend based on long-term reliability and expandability? Has anyone used both systems and can share their experience?
Phillips Hue does not require a bridge/hub. You can use any USB or PoE zigbee coordinator.
Another point worth considering is to only use smart bulbs in lamps you can leave power connected to.
For main overhead lights use zigbee or wifi dimmer or switch modules installed behind your existing switches. This allows operation of the lights if Home Assistant is down for some reason.
I started with Lifx downlights everywhere. Great brightness, colour and features (you can set the colour/brightens even when it is off so it does not blind you when it comes on at night) and excellent dimming range but my guests have issues with not using light switches, turning them off and disconnecting them from Home Assistant, despite the fact that they were so well automated I never touched a light switch for months.
I have since replaced them with dumb LED downights and zigbee dimmer modules. Now my guests can go nuts with the light switch if they wish and I still get automated control.
Disadvantages:
No colour. But I still use Lifx bulbs in lamps and WLED strips for colour accent lighting.
Not as good a dimming range. They don’t turn on until about 15% brightness and the dimming range is not as linear.
Thank you for this detailed response! The point about using smart bulbs specifically in lamps rather than overhead lights really caught my attention. I hadn’t considered the practicality of this approach.
Could you share more about your LIFX lamp setup? I’m particularly interested in:
What types of lamps you’re using them in
How you handle automation for these lamp-based smart bulbs
Whether you’ve had any connectivity issues with LIFX bulbs in lamps
I like the idea of combining dumb overhead lights with smart switches for main lighting, while keeping smart bulbs for accent lighting and lamps. This seems like a more practical approach than what I initially considered.
Thanks for suggesting Third Reality! I hadn’t heard of this brand before. Since you’re actively using them - how’s the color accuracy and brightness compared to other smart bulbs you might have tried? Also, did you connect them directly to Home Assistant with a Zigbee coordinator? The direct Zigbee connection without needing a dedicated hub sounds appealing for getting started.
Always physically powered on. Automated brightness, colour temp and presence based (room and bed occupancy) and for the bedside ones I have an ESPHome button to control them beside the bed. I have an artificial sunrise simulation for the bedside lamps too. If Home assistant is down the main overhead bedroom light can still be used manually as it has a zigbee module.
No issue in the lamps (color A19 bulbs).
When I was using Lifx GU10 downlight bulbs (no longer available) there were two locations that had margninal wifi connectivity. My front porch and cinema. This was due to the metal light fittings and location away from closest Wifi access point. Which is another thing you should consider if connecting a lot of wifi devices. Most home all-in-one router/modem/wifi access point boxes only support about 20-30 clients before they start getting flaky. A distributed access point system (e.g. Ubiquity, TP-link, etc…) is required for large numbers of wifi clients.
Yeah I wish I had known this when I started. It would have saved me a lot of money.
I find the brightness and color accuracy to be fairly close to Hue. I have 2 lamps in my living room, 1 with a Hue and one with a Third Reality bulb. I guess the Hue is slightly brighter, but I cannot tell a difference on the color. The price is a lot less than a Hue color bulb as well.
I added them straight into HA via the Zigbee coordinator. They were immediately picked up.
I have a number of Third Reality outlets and a couple plant sensors, and have great luck with everything I have purchased from that brand.