6 superior Philips Hue good mild options you’re not utilizing

The Philips Hue app has grown in complexity over the previous a number of years, with an increasing number of new options and settings being tucked into the person interface. That makes all of it too simple to overlook the most recent and biggest in Hue performance. 

Apart from such newer options as mild alarms and “mimic presence,” there are additionally outdated favorites like mild timers and fade durations. Taken collectively, these (typically nicely hidden) options can add polish to your Hue routines, hold your every day schedules on observe, and even shield your private home from would-be intruders. 

Learn on for six hidden Hue options you’ll want to attempt, beginning with… 

Mimic presence mode

Philips Hue not too long ago made the bounce into the house safety market, including a collection of Hue Safe-branded cameras together with door and window sensors and floodlights, However even in case you’re not able to spend money on a Hue digicam, you possibly can nonetheless enhance your safety with this built-in Hue function. 

Simply activate the “Mimic Presence” mode, and the Hue app will routinely flip your lights on and off to “mimic the actions that may be anticipated in these forms of rooms,” excellent for scaring off burglars or anybody else considering of sneaking into your empty dwelling. 

The “Mimic presence” function is tucked into an extended checklist of choices on the Automations display. Faucet it, choose a number of rooms, then choose some or all of the lights related to the room. It’s also possible to set the mode to run all day, or solely when it’s darkish outdoors. 

To set off the “Mimic presence” mode, simply find it on the Automations tab and faucet the “Play” button, or “Cease” to deactivate the mode. It’s also possible to set a Hue button to show “Mimic presence” on or off, or map the mode to a Hue smartphone widget. 

Gentle alarms 

Right here’s one other Hue function that may assist hold your private home protected. Reasonably than utilizing audible alarms to beat back intruders, the Hue app can set off light-based alarms that quickly flash some or your whole Hue lights, ultimate for spooking crooks in addition to alerting your neighbors that one thing’s amiss. 

To make use of mild alarms, you’ll want a supporting system comparable to a Hue Safe digicam, a Hue movement sensor (there are indoor and outside fashions), or a Hue contact sensor. You’ll additionally have to allow the Hue Safety middle (Settings > Safety). 

As you’re configuring Hue Safety, it’s going to information you thru the method of organising a lightweight alarm. For instance, you’ll have the ability to resolve which lights in your house ought to flash when the alarm is tripped, in addition to whether or not your lights ought to flash white or pink.  

Apart from a flashing mild alarm, you may also create automations that set off mild scenes when a Hue sensor detects exercise. For instance, I created an automation that prompts a brilliant mild scene in my downstairs dwelling workplace every time the upstairs kitchen door is opened, helpful for letting me know when my daughter comes dwelling from faculty. 

In my case, I drilled right down to the settings for my Hue door and window sensors (Settings > Gadgets > Sensors > Contact Sensors), chosen the lights that I needed triggered (Workplace), then alter the Habits settings (“Shiny” when the door is opened, “Return to earlier state” when the door is closed). 

Fade length 

The Hue app gives each get up and sleep automations that may step by step enhance or dim the brightness within the morning or at night time, however you may also set any mild scenes to step by step fade in or out. 

I discover the “fade length” setting notably helpful for easily altering daytime mild scenes from, say, a heat morning glow to a cooler daytime look, all with out making anybody within the room do a double-take. (The Hue app additionally has a “Pure Gentle” scene that adjustments the sunshine temperature all through the day, with an non-compulsory “transition time” between every time window. I simply occur to favor my very own scene settings.) 

Everytime you create a customized automation (faucet the Automations tab, then faucet the blue “+” button within the top-right nook of the display), the Fade Period possibility will seem as you’re setting the beginning time for the routine. The length itself can final for anyplace between 5 minutes to an hour.

In case you’re adjusting an current scene, you’ll have to faucet “Begin at” or “Finish at” to entry the Fade Period setting. 

Gentle results 

Hue lights can do extra than simply shine in stable colours or white coloration temperatures. They will additionally flicker, shimmer, and pulse in quite a lot of shades, excellent for simulating a candle, a fire, or a lava lamp. 

Simply choose any of your Hue lights in a room, then faucet the Results button (the one with a shiny icon) subsequent to the colour and white coloration temperature controls. You’ll then see quite a lot of mild results, relying on the kind of Hue mild you’ve chosen. Dimmable-only Hue white lights will supply Candle results, whereas dimmable and tunable White Atmosphere lights will add Glisten and Sparkle results. Whereas and Coloration Atmosphere lights get much more results, together with Hearth, Underwater, Cosmos, and Opal, all with totally different coloration choices. 

Ben Patterson/Foundry

Even higher, you possibly can create your individual customized impact for every class; faucet Create Hearth, for instance, and you’ll decide your individual coloration, in addition to alter the brightness and velocity. 

When you’ve added results for various lights in a room, you possibly can create a scene with these results by tapping the Save button. 

Animated mild scenes  

Talking of scenes, you possibly can animate any Hue scene in a room (that’s, any scenes other than primary scenes like Shiny, Dimmed, and Nightlight) with a single faucet. 

In case you see a “Play” icon on a lightweight scene, attempt tapping it; once you do, the scene will animate itself, pulsing gently in keeping with its personal rhythm. Faucet the Edit button to vary the brightness or velocity of the animation, or to make the scene animate itself by default. 

Gentle timers

Must set a timer however hate the blare of an audible alarm? Simply because the Hue app gives mild alarms, it additionally has mild timers that may activate lighting scenes after a set length of time. 

This function is a part of TechHive’s in-depth protection of the very best good lighting merchandise.

Faucet the “+” button on the Automations display, then choose the Timer possibility. You’ll have to set how lengthy the timer ought to final (anyplace from a minute to 24 hours), which room or rooms can be included (or your complete dwelling, in case you like), and which scene you’d like activated when the timer ends. 

As soon as that’s all set, you’ll see your new timer with a “Play” button on the prime of your checklist of automations. Press the Play button, and when the countdown ends, the timer will set off the lighting scene you chose.