Smart lights can be a wonderful accent to any home. They can be dimmed down with commands in order to set the lighting for movie night or be changed to different, brilliant colors to brighten up the holidays.
Unfortunately, they are only useful when the wall switch that turns them on is stuck in the on position.
Thankfully, Philips has a solution to that problem: the Philips Hue wall switch module. Installed behind your current light switch used to power on your Hue devices, this module not only allows you to reach your lights no matter the situation but also gives you the ability to have the switch itself change scenes instead of controlling the power to your lights.
That overall seems like a fair alternative to no longer needing to put gaudy masking tape with a crude, hand-scribbled note to “NOT TOUCH!” when the in-laws come over for the holidays.
The module itself is battery powered and lasts up to five years, which is a pretty long time for you to not have to think about it.
Since it is confined behind the switch and has nothing to do with the replacement of the lights themselves, swapping it out should be relatively painless and easy to do. The wall switch module releases this Summer for $39.95 for a single module or $69.95 for a 2-pack.
Another option for upgrading your wall-panel is the newest version of the Philips Hue dimmer switch.
This switch actually lets you forgo the use of an app entirely and control your lights with a press of a button. It can be installed on a wall plate or can be stuck to any magnetic surface, such as a fridge, or even just placed on a table.
The new “hue” button gives access to your favorite lighting scenes or can be changed to dim according to the time of day. This could certainly be useful when you want to kick your lights over to something more fitting and have the technology do all the work. This new dimmer switch releases on February 23rd for $25.
We may have to wait till summer to solve all our smart home problems, but as someone who has personally dealt with this issue on a day-to-day basis, the wait certainly seems worth it. Check out the Philips Hue website for more information about their products.