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 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.
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 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.
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?
Smart switch in the UK is awkward because we have no neutral wire in the wall switches.
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.
These may be good: https://www.mylocalbytes.com/products/smart-bulb-9w-rgbct
I trust Tasmota more than some random closed source thing.