The “Add Group” section within the Amazon Alexa app. Alexa, Google, and Apple all have the ability to assign devices into these groups: This dimmer switch works great with a variety of smart home apps and can help to bridge the gap between your Hue and Lutron smart devices.Īnother way to use both systems at once involves just simply using some of the most nuanced features in your smart tech apps.Įach of the big smart control apps has a feature that lets you group devices together into larger collections that can be controlled together. This is a great solution for people who want that classic dimmer switch feel, but who also don’t want to switch out their current Philips Hue gear.

The Aurora smart bulb dimmer keeps Philips Hue and other Zigbee-certified smart bulbs in the “always ready” mode by locking a toggle light switch in the “on/up” position. The Aurora keeps the Hue lights in their “always ready” mode while still being able to dim them right from the wall: The Lutron Aurora is a switch that is designed to work with Hue bulbs. The first is to incorporate Lutron’s out-of-the-box solution for this problem. Here’s a few ways you can make these two systems play nicely together. The trick comes down to intentionally dividing up your hardware so that you can make the most out of your app’s features.

It’s surprisingly easy to mix and match Hue and Lutron Caseta systems. Philips Hue and Lutron Caseta starter kits Can You Mix and Match Lutron Caseta and Philips Hue? Use Lutron Aurora, which is designed to work with Philips Hue.never try and dim your Hue bulbs with a Caseta dimmer. Try and use a software-based solution to use both Caseta and Hue product, as explored in the next section.Pressing the dimming up/down buttons on the Caseta dimmer could actually damage the Hue bulb, since this will lower the voltage to the bulb – something which, as covered earlier, isn’t compatible with smart bulbs.ĭue to this, you have three real approaches open to you:.So you can’t then use the Hue app (or a voice assistant) to turn the Hue bulb back on. When pressing “off” on the Caseta switch, the actual power to the Hue bulb will be cut.Yes, the on/off buttons will turn the Hue bulb on and off, but there will be some issues: The Problem with Caseta Dimmers and Hue bulbsįor example, using a Lutron Caseta dimmer with a Hue bulb won’t work well. This creates problems for users who are hoping to use Lutron Caseta and Hue together. These two systems don’t typically like mixing together. Typically, this is done by sending commands to the bulb via connected devices like Alexa or a smartphone. The bulb has built in circuitry that allows users to dim the light. Smart bulbs can be dimmed, but this is done internally in the bulb. Old dimmer switches cause modern smart bulbs to experience all kinds of errors from disconnecting to having a “strobe light” effect. They need this connection in order to receive commands from your smart devices. This is because they are doing more than just lighting your room.Įven when your smart bulbs are “off,” they are still using electricity to stay connected to your smart home system. Smart light bulbs are “always on” and require a constant stream of power. This is the old way of dimming light bulbs that doesn’t match with our modern light bulbs. This dimmed the light by giving the bulb less electricity to work with. Lowering the switch also lowered the power going to the bulb. Your old school wall dimmer switches worked by lowering or increasing the power of the electric current heading to your light bulb. You normally can’t dim a smart bulb in the traditional sense. Can You Dim Smart Bulbs?Ī smart bulb dimmed down to 1% brightness, used as a night light. It would make sense that Hue and Lutron Caseta should work well together, but there are a few things to consider about this pairing. While other companies have been scrambling to release their own versions of the LED smart bulb, Hue has remained several paces ahead of the pack with their suite of smart devices. They offer everything from smart light bulbs to modular smart LED strips and all the accessories you’d ever need to make the most out of this tech. They are very focussed on excelling in this particular arena. Hue makes smart lights and smart light accessories. Their products reflect this niche dominance. This brand has positioned itself as the industry leader in smart home lighting. Hue is the go-to choice whether you are creating the ultimate gaming experience or you just want to be in total control of your home’s lighting. Philips Hue is the flagship brand for smart lighting. How I got started with smart lighting: a starter kit and four E14 candle bulbs.

Lutron caseta smart switch