Alpha Plugin: Philips Hue Control

[frogbeater]

I'm not able to retrieve the hue bulb name list.

It seems like everything else configured...


EDIT: I didn't realize I needed to go to the Plugins menu and "Reload Bulb List"

It's working!!!!

[screen]

I'm not able to retrieve the hue bulb name list.

It seems like everything else configured...

I had this problem at first and needed to press the button on the Hue controller and then click the refresh button in the plugin configuration page.

[pwfletcher]

Alistair ... you ROCK

[kennybroh]

So how do the Hue Bulbs interact with an existing Insteon controlled fixture? For example I have have a track light which is controlled by an Insteon dimmer. Do I remove that dimmer and simply control the individual bulbs? How do I brighten and dim all three track heads at the same time?

[nsheldon]

So how do the Hue Bulbs interact with an existing Insteon controlled fixture? For example I have have a track light which is controlled by an Insteon dimmer. Do I remove that dimmer and simply control the individual bulbs? How do I brighten and dim all three track heads at the same time?

You'd need to either remove the INSTEON dimmer, or just keep it on at 100 percent all the time. The Hue LED bulbs don't support wall dimmers.

[kennybroh]

Yeah, I discovered that. So, if the bulbs respond to dim and bright commands from Indigo, why couldn't you link the dimmer switch as a controller to the bulb device, and use the switch to send dim and brightness commands to the device instead of a line level direct control? If I link a controller to a device aren't the commands sent by the controller to the device the same as from a control page or device control?

If that worked, the next question is how to control multiple bulbs, say on a track light, with one device or controller? Can I link a dimmer to multiple devices and control them all together? If so I'd just make a dimmer switch the controller for all three.

Would any of that work?

[nsheldon]

Yeah, I discovered that. So, if the bulbs respond to dim and bright commands from Indigo, why couldn't you link the dimmer switch as a controller to the bulb device, and use the switch to send dim and brightness commands to the device instead of a line level direct control? If I link a controller to a device aren't the commands sent by the controller to the device the same as from a control page or device control?

That only applies to devices that use the same communication mechanism and protocol. INSTEON devices use wired and 900 MHz wireless communication mechanisms with proprietary byte commands. The Hue bulbs use a 2.4 GHz wireless-only communication mechanism to communicate with the hub, and the ZigBee (based on IEEE 802.15.4) protocol. The two technologies are incompatible and thus they cannot communicate directly with each other.

If that worked, the next question is how to control multiple bulbs, say on a track light, with one device or controller? Can I link a dimmer to multiple devices and control them all together? If so I'd just make a dimmer switch the controller for all three.

Would any of that work?

The short answer is that it can't currently be done. Because the Hue bulbs use a different method of communicating than the SwitchLinc Dimmers, you can't just hold down the UP paddle on the switch and brighten a group of bulbs. However, with more refinements to Alistair's plugin, it might be possible (though probably still not as easy).

[nsheldon]

As a follow-up to this, I created my own version of Alistair's plugin that may make some of what you're trying to do easier. It supports active brightening and dimming of any Hue bulb using an Indigo action. Combined with the Dimmer Extender plugin, which adds INSTEON Start/Stop Brightening/Dimming as trigger-able Indigo events, you could create triggers that start and stop brightening of one or more Hue lights when you press and hold down a SwitchLinc Dimmer paddle or a RemoteLinc button.

[kennybroh]

I'm just beginning to play with Hue and am quite surprised at how much of a nice addition to ambience the changes in light color can be. It would really be great if there were a way to manipulate those colors more easily from within indigo.

[nsheldon]

I'm just beginning to play with Hue and am quite surprised at how much of a nice addition to ambience the changes in light color can be. It would really be great if there were a way to manipulate those colors more easily from within indigo.

Agreed. I've been thinking about possible ways to make that easier but haven't come up with anything yet. However, the Hue app is good at that, and since the Hue Lights plugin constantly monitors the Hue bulbs for changes to reflect back in Indigo, you can continue to use the Hue app to make those nice color changes while using Indigo to control on/off/brightness.

[kennybroh]

And I do that but it would be so much nicer to do it all from within indigo. One thing that would help a lot (and maybe it's somewhere in the plugin that I've missed) is a function to return the RGB value of a current bulb so I could set a color i like with the Hue app and create an action with the right value.

Also a useful action for the plugin would be a fade from one value to another over a specified time period.

[nsheldon]

And I do that but it would be so much nicer to do it all from within indigo. One thing that would help a lot (and maybe it's somewhere in the plugin that I've missed) is a function to return the RGB value of a current bulb so I could set a color i like with the Hue app and create an action with the right value.

Also a useful action for the plugin would be a fade from one value to another over a specified time period.

Remembering "favorite" settings is a good idea and is something I'd considered adding. Wanted to get an updated version out that monitored the bulbs first though (which version 0.9 does).

As for the ability to "fade" from one setting to another, that's a feature that already exists in the Hue Lights plugin I linked to above (but not in Alistair's version). Within a "Set Red/Green/Blue Levels", "Set Hue/Saturation/Brightness", or "Set Color Temperature" action, you can optionally specify a "Ramp Rate", which represents the transition time between the current settings and the ones you're specifying. You can enter any number of seconds from 0 to 540 in 0.1 second increments.