US 110v Hue BR30 ambiance at 220-240v in EU/UK

Hardware
1

Hey All,

I have recently got hold of a floor lamp that need R95/BR30 reflector bulbs.

I can see that Philips make two BR30 bulbs - an (older) color model that seems to be discontinued, and a very new white ambiance model that is the one I want to get (dont need color): White Ambiance: http://www2.meethue.com/en-us/productdetail/philips-hue-white-ambiance-br30-single-bulb
Bummer is that this model bulb is sold in UK.

The Philips site states this lamp is for 110 to 130V, but I have read mixed reports that some 110v lamps work fine at 220v.

Does anyone have a 1st hand experience of whether these BR30 ambiance will work on 220-240v?

I can take a chance… but I prefer not to waste $50 if I can help it!

Thanks for your input !

2

I realise this is quite a specific request :slight_smile: Does anyone have experience using any US 110v hue in a 220/240V area?

3

Just given this a quick bump as I am now in USA and making decision on whether to buy…
At $25 per bulb it’s not the end of the world if it does not work, but I prefer not to waste money.
Shame that philips decided that BR30 (aka R95) spot lamps are not used widely enough in europe to warrant selling them :frowning:

4

Generally speaking, unless something explicitly says that it’ll work at 240V, then trying a 110V device is likely to result in the magic smoke escaping. If you’re lucky that’ll be a gentle escape, if you’re unlucky then it’ll be rather more energetic.

There will be exceptions, but that will usually mean that the manufacturer is using multiple sources for the power supply component and that some of them work on a wide range, and some don’t…

5

So I took a chance and… no magic smoke.
Hue bridge discovers the lamp perfectly and then it shows up immediately in HA, and can be controlled by both app and HA.
All good so far.

But there is an issue, which to me seems like a firmware issue that was not discovered due to Philips not testing with 240v.
When the lamp is switched off via hue app or via HA switch it dims to zero brightness and then snaps back to full brightness.
One workaround would be to configure a switch that rather than turning off it turns to brightness 0.
Unfortunately brightness = 0 is not fully off, just very dim.
I’ll contact Philips to see if they are aware of the issue (or even care), and maybe they can fix it in lamp f/w update.