Smart plugs are inserted into a power socket, and gadgets are connected to them; you may then switch on or off the plugged item into the smart plug.
On the other hand, Philips Hue is a brand that specializes in smart lighting products and services.
They seem opposed to one another, so why are so many people concerned about whether a smart plug is compatible with the Hue lighting system?
There are a variety of smart plugs available that are compatible with Hue, ranging from the Inner Zigbee Plug to Hibro’s and Hue’s own brand smart plugs. You may use them to connect regular (or “dumb”) plug-in bulbs and then import them into the Hue app for smart automation, albeit with certain limitations.
A brief recap on smart plugs and Philips Hue
Before I look forward to the meat of this exposition, I’d want to point out that and explain why it’s worthwhile to invest in Hue-compatible smart plugs, and I wanted to take a moment to summarize what these two devices are capable of quickly.
Instead of directly putting an electrical item into a wall socket, you may use a power strip. Alternatives include connecting a smart plug to the socket — and then connecting your gadget to this. After that, you may use the smart plug’s app to switch it on and off from anywhere you are in the world. This is excellent for various tasks like setting on a slow cooker while at work, blocking the internet (by turning off the network) during meal times, and much more. Additionally, you can often link the smart plug into Alexa or Google Assistant routines, enabling you to begin automating your smart home right away.
Signify owns the Philips Hue smart lighting line, including the Philips Hue Ambient Lighting System (previously owned by Philips Lighting). Hundreds of different lights and bulbs are available for purchase, some of which create just white light while others can produce 16 million various colors. You can manage your Hue lights using the Hue app and through the connectivity with Alexa and Google Assistant. Besides that, you can program light routines (in which a collection of lights will change color, switch on, or fade at the same time), as well as add third-party features through the Hue Labs, which can coordinate with music, recreate Star Wars battles, and a whole lot more.
Why buy Hue-compatible smart plugs?
Because they’re such disparate goods, it’s understandable that customers may wonder why they’d want to purchase smart plugs that can sync with Hue’s system in the first place. In this case, the explanation is that Hue bulbs are not inexpensive, and It’s possible that you won’t want to convert an existing dumb light (i.e., one that isn’t smart) to a Hue light in certain situations.
Even though Hue offers a wide variety of bulb types for purchase, they may not even have a bulb that would work with certain of your lights. Particularly true with older table, side, and floor lights, this may be especially true.
This might indicate that most of your home is equipped with smart lighting but that a few plug-in bulbs are not. Due to the inconvenient nature of this situation, you will be unable to create light routines that will govern a whole room or your entire home since those dang stupid lights will continue to remain on (or off) regardless of your smart light routines.
It is thus necessary to acquire a smart plug that is compatible with your Hue Bridge and that “speaks the same language.” This means that most smart plugs communicate with one another through WiFi (i.e., they connect to your router wirelessly). Some smart plugs, on the other hand, communicate through Bluetooth.
Your Hue Bridge, on the other hand, “speaks” ZigBee, a less well-known smart home protocol, but one that is ideal for the way Hue lights operate. To put it another way, If you discover a smart plug that also speaks ZigBee, you can connect it with your Hue Bridge, allowing the plugged-in device (such as your floor light) to be controlled from your Hue Bridge as well. This implies that the lamp may be switched on and off as part of your smart lighting routines for the whole room or the entire home.
To put it another way, you can convert your inefficient lights into smart lights (kind of), but at a lesser cost than purchasing all-Hue bulbs. Noice.
What do you need for smart plugs to support Hue?
In the preceding section, I mention that you will need a Hue Bridge (not ‘Hue Bluetooth’ lights that are not connected to a Bridge) and a smart plug that is ZigBee/Hue compatible.
It would have been rather straightforward when this issue first occurred: all Hue lights needed the Hue bridge. Nonetheless, since that Hue has launched a selection of Hue bulbs that enable Bluetooth, there is no longer a need for the Hue Bridge to get started with smart lighting (the lights may instead connect with your phone and hence the Alexa/Google Assistant through Bluetooth).
To make your dumb lights smart (through smart plugs), though, you’ll need the Hue Bridge, which you can purchase separately. You may purchase this item on its own for roughly $50, but there are various options available for starter kits. They include the Hue Bridge and 1-4 bulbs and are much less expensive than purchasing the components separately — it may be worthwhile to purchase the Bridge this way rather than separately.
Next up, You must make certain that the smart plug you purchase is compatible with Hue. As a general rule, the product information will state whether or not a product is “Hue Compatible” or whether or not it supports “ZigBee.” For a complete list of these goods, please see the conclusion of this page. For the sake of this article, What should define the term “ZigBee” smart plug as one that can be imported (together with the plugged-in bulb) into your Hue app and used to automate your dumb lights.
Using dumb lights within smart light routines
You may search for the new device in the Hue app by going to Settings -> Light Setup -> Add light once you have bought a smart plug compatible with the Hue lighting system.
Smart plugs are also mentioned in the description (although Hue’s own, for obvious reasons), demonstrating that this is a way fully endorsed by the manufacturer.
You may give your new light any name you choose once it has been added. In the example below, I’ve designated my newly found smart plug as an “Office type room light,” and I’ve allocated it to a certain room (Study).
Limitations of Hue-compliant smart plugs
In general, smart plugs that are compatible with Hue/Zigbee perform well for normal tasks. On the other hand, smart plugs do not support dimming, even if the bulb that is put into the lamp does allow it.
This is because smart plugs only have two states: on or off. They do not support voltage variations, which is the mechanism by which light fading is accomplished.
If you have an expensive dimmable lamp and you put it into a smart plug and then import it into Hue, you will not be able to dim the bulb with any automation (i.e., dull routines) that you have set up for the lamp.
It is possible to dim the light manually in whatever way you like, so this may be a reasonable compromise in certain cases.
Other hubs that support smart (Zigbee) plugs
The SmartThings Hub and Amazon’s Echo Plus are commonly mentioned in the marketing of a Zigbee smart plug, as are other hubs that the smart plug is compatible with.
This is because both of these splendid focuses are likewise ZigBee viable. Some consumers are unaware that the Echo Plus has a ZigBee chip, believing that it is only a voice assistant. However, it contains a ZigBee chip, which means that you may connect your Hue lighting also, shrewd fittings to your Reverberation In addition to (or SmartThings center) rather than your savvy home center.
As a result, if you have Zigbee-compliant lights and a Zigbee-compliant smart plug, you won’t need the Hue Bridge to connect them. However, if you do have Hue lights, bypassing the Hue Bridge and connecting them directly to an Echo Plus or SmartThings Hub will result in some functionality being lost.
Recommended smart plugs that support Philips Hue
Assuming you’ve come around to the notion of turning your dumb lamps (and other plug-in lights) smart by utilizing a Zigbee/Hue compatible smart plug, what alternatives do you have for getting started with this project? According to Amazon’s searches for “Zigbee smart plug” and “Hue smart plug,” what discovered the following products:
- For $34.99. you can get the Inner Zigbee Smart Plug 2-pack. This is one of the best-selling products in its category, with a current rating of 4.6/5 stars from 406 customers.
- HIBRO’s Zigbee Smart Plug Outlet costs $14.88 (thus less than $30 for two, compared to Inner), and although it has somewhat lesser ratings (4.2/5), it still by, and large has positive audits and functions admirably with the Shade environment.
- The SONOFF S31 Lite costs $17.99 and has a rating of 4.2/5 stars, although there are a significant amount of 1/5 reviews.
- With a price tag of $29.99, Philips Hue’s official smart plug is not a cheap device, but it is a reliable one that has received 4.7/5 reviews. Even though it is a Hue device, it can still dim lighting — even if the lamp includes a Hue light bulb. This is completely anticipated, but it’s worth mentioning if you were under the impression that paying a higher price meant getting more features.
- Finally, SYLVANIA’s SMART+ ZigBee plug costs $18.93 and has a rating of 4.3/5 stars on Amazon.com.
Up to an item hasn’t got negative criticism; there isn’t much difference between any of them. You only need a smart plug that is Zigbee-compatible, and it should be able to be imported into the Hue app without issue. I don’t understand the point of paying a higher rate for insurance. To use Hue’s certified smart plug, for example, if I can avoid it.
