As an admittedly puzzled newcomer to the field of smart lighting, I was originally perplexed by the plethora of terms. Buying WiFi or ZigBee lights is a better investment. Is it RGB, RGBW, RGBWW, RGB-CCT, RGB-CCT, or RGB-CCT?! Is it necessary for me to worry? As soon as I made the decision to go with Philips Hue, I couldn’t make up my mind between the colors “white” and “white atmosphere.” In fact, the solution is rather fascinating (if not a bit lengthy), but the short version is as follows:
Light bulbs such as White Ambiance lights allow you to adjust between “daytime” light (bluey whites) and “night-time” light (warm whites) (yellowy whites). There is a financial expense associated with mirroring the natural day-night cycle as well.
If you want to learn more about the precise distinctions, please keep reading or watch my YouTube video on the subject.
A brief overview of Philips Hue
I only required a starter kit and four E14 candle lights for my first few experiments with smart lighting.
Previously owned by Philips, the Philips Hue brand of smart lighting is currently owned by the Signify company (who continues to use the “Philips Hue” brand name due to the fact that Signify and Philips are two separate businesses).
Hue is positioned at the high-end of the market, which means that their products are more costly than those of many other smart light manufacturers in the same price bracket (apart from LIFX, who are similarly costly or sometimes more expensive).
With a large product line-up that includes an enormous number of smart bulbs and all-in-one light fixtures, Hue, on the other hand, offers a high level of integration. As one of the few smart lighting companies that enable music and television synchronization, your lamps will ‘dance’ in time with whatever is playing on the television or in your home theater.
Among the bulbs offered by Philips Hue, there are three types:
- White
- White Ambiance
- In Both White And Color Ambiance
It is possible to produce 16 million different colors with the final bulb type, ranging from blue to bright orange, pink to green! That’s because these bulbs feature color diodes (RGB – one each of red, blue, and green) as well as a white diode, which allows them to create a high-quality white color (genuine white is hard to generate with just RGB diodes).
Color bulbs from Hue, from the other hand, are 4-5 times the cost of white bulbs and 2-3 times the price of ‘white ambiance’ lights, leading many budget-conscious shoppers to question what the difference is between the less costly white and white ambient alternatives…
The main difference between Philips Hue’s White and White Ambiance bulbs
Only one hue is produced by the white lights from the Philips Hue collection: white. The fact that you cannot modify the color of the bulb is self-evident, but it is worth stating again: the bulbs can only produce 2700 kelvin “warm white.” This is the type of light that you would see at the night, and it looks like this:
Currently, the overhead light is on at my home office.
In addition to being excellent for evening work, you can dim it (all Hue lights allow for dimming) to create nice ambient lighting for lounging outside:
A Hue bulb delivers a soft side light that can be controlled with a smartphone.
“Warm white” is a beautiful color, however it might appear somewhat… off during the daytime hours. For one thing, throughout the day, you’ll have natural sunlight (4600-6500 kelvin light) coming in through your windows, which will be followed by a unique hue from your overhead light.
This can be observed in my kitchen below, where even the light coming in via my window is original “cool white” day light, and the light coming in through the ceiling is “warm white” light:
I don’t have any smart lighting in my existing kitchen.
Even if you don’t notice it in certain locations (I don’t notice it in my kitchen, to be honest), you could notice it in other places. Philips Hue’s White Ambiance range is particularly impressive in this setting… Please accept my apologies for the cheesy joke.
When using Hue’s White Ambiance range, you can change the “color temperature” of the white hue, which is a special way of saying that you can go from blue white to yellow white and anything in between:
This is the color wheel and picker for a White Ambiance light in the Hue app.
Altering color temperature and brightness with one of the pre-set sceneries is a faster and more convenient alternative to utilizing a color wheel. Examples of pre-set scenes are:
The scenes in the Hue app are divided into categories according to the room in which they are displayed.
Your Hue light will have a more sophisticated appearance as a result. Okay, I get that the white lights in the Hue system can be dimmed and turned on and off using your voice (or the Hue app), and that’s fantastic – but smart lighting also includes color changing.
People are more likely to transition between bluey-white and yellowy-white colors in regular use than they are to randomly switch to hot pink, which is why white ambiance has such a calming effect.
For this reason, my favorite Hue bulb type is the White Ambiance – you can see the entire spectrum on Amazon by tapping here:
How the price varies between Hue’s White and Ambiance bulbs
Ambiance bulbs are that one is configured to warm white while the other allows you to choose from a variety of white colors to suit your mood. However, there is a price to pay for this…
When it comes to Hue’s White and Ambiance lights, what is the difference between them?
It is true that more LEDs are incorporated in Philip Hue’s white ambiance lights in order to enable the numerous different light colors that may be selected, but this comes at an added cost. Amazon currently has numerous A19 Hue bulbs in stock, as shown in the following table:
| Single pack | Twin pack | |
| Philips Hue White | $14.88 | $29.97 |
| Philips Hue White Ambiance | $24.97 | $44.99 |
| % Price increase | 68% increase | 50% increase |
Prices for Philips Hue A19 bulbs are being compared on Amazon.com.
Even if buying a twin pack is less expensive, the white ambiance bulbs are still at least 50 percent more costly than the pure-white bulbs, despite the fact that they are cheaper.
Even though Hue bulbs are regularly on sale, the discounted price is typically applicable to all of the company’s bulb variants..
Do you really need to pay more for Philips Hue’s White Ambiance bulbs?
The white and white ambiance Philips Hue light boxes are two of my favorites.
Even if you haven’t paid much attention to your light bulbs, you’ve probably been purchasing “warm white” bulbs without realizing it for years. These are the ones that are most typically encountered in retail establishments..
If the white bulbs in Philips Hue’s white lights are also “warm white,” is it really required to upgrade to “white ambiance lighting?” At the end of the day, both are easily muted (as well as switched on and off).
The answer is… it is completely up to you! Continue reading to find out what I do, but if you feel that switching to bluey-whites (or pure white) could be beneficial, the white ambiance is the way to go!
Hue White, from the other hand, will serve if all you need is a light that dims and switches on and off with the sound of your voice.
All I would suggest is that you at least experiment with a single white ambiance bulb. The color temperature of ‘bluey-whites’ wasn’t something I expected to like, yet I find myself reaching for it more and more often. With only $15 extra for a two-pack of Hue lights, we think it’s worth trying our white ambiance at least once (or less in the sales).
You may therefore decide to save money by buying Hue White in the future if you notice that you never deviate from the default color.
Which Hue bulbs I buy (in different situations)
A great place to use full color smart bulbs (both White and Color Ambiance) is in feature lights; but, for the most of my lighting, I just use White Ambiance.
As a result of the fact that I rarely need to transition from bluey-white to yellowy-white (which indicates that full color, at twice the cost of White Ambiance, would be overkill for me).
Operating in “warm white” throughout the day, on the other hand, is something I really loathe. Just the thought of that makes me feel odd. Consequently, wherever feasible, I try to avoid being around Hue White. In spite of the fact that I already have two Hue White lights from a starter package, I only purchase White Ambiance Hue bulbs.
