7 superior Philips Hue sensible gentle options you’re not utilizing

The Philips Hue app has grown in complexity over the previous a number of years, with increasingly new options and settings being tucked into the consumer interface. That makes all of it too simple to overlook the newest and best in Hue performance. 

In addition to such newer options as gentle alarms, “mimic presence,” and—flashiest of all—Hue’s motion-sensing MotionAware know-how, there are additionally previous favorites like gentle timers and fade durations. Taken collectively, these (typically properly hidden) options can add polish to your Hue routines, hold your every day schedules on monitor, and even defend your private home from would-be intruders. 

Learn on for seven hidden Hue options it’s worthwhile to attempt, beginning with… 

Mimic presence mode

Philips Hue just lately 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 for those who’re not able to spend money on a Hue digital camera, you possibly can nonetheless increase your safety with this built-in Hue characteristic. 

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

The “Mimic presence” characteristic is tucked into an extended listing 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. You may as well 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. You may as well set a Hue button to show “Mimic presence” on or off, or map the mode to a Hue smartphone widget. 

Mild alarms 

Right here’s one other Hue characteristic that may assist hold your private home secure. Relatively than utilizing audible alarms to chase away intruders, the Hue app can set off light-based alarms that quickly flash some or all your Hue lights, superb for spooking crooks in addition to alerting your neighbors that one thing’s amiss. 

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

As you’re configuring Hue Safety, it should information you thru the method of organising a lightweight alarm. For instance, you’ll be capable of 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 crimson.  

In addition to a flashing gentle alarm, you may as well create automations that set off gentle scenes when a Hue sensor detects exercise. For instance, I created an automation that prompts a vivid gentle scene in my downstairs house workplace at any time when the upstairs kitchen door is opened, useful for letting me know when my daughter comes house from faculty. 

In my case, I drilled all the way down to the settings for my Hue door and window sensors (Settings > Units > Sensors > Contact Sensors), chosen the lights that I wished triggered (Workplace), then alter the Conduct settings (“Brilliant” when the door is opened, “Return to earlier state” when the door is closed). 

MotionAware motion-sensing know-how

One of many coolest new Philips Hue options can also be one which’s restricted to the brand new Hue Bridge Professional. Dubbed “MotionAware,” the characteristic allows you to flip your Hue lights into movement sensors, good for triggering gentle scenes when individuals enter or depart an space.

MotionAware works its magic by detecting disturbances within the wi-fi Zigbee alerts used to attach Hue lights to the bridge, and also you’ll want not less than three MotionAware-capable Hue lights in an space to enabled a movement zone.

MotionAware does have its foibles and as I simply talked about, it solely works with the Hue Bridge Professional, not the usual Hue Bridge. Nonetheless, it makes for an effective way to shortly deploy movement zones all through your private home, and whereas the $98.99 Bridge Professional is roughly twice the value of the common bridge, it’s nonetheless cheaper than paying for particular person Hue movement sensors in every room.

Ben Patterson/Foundry

Fade period 

The Hue app presents each get up and sleep automations that can step by step increase or dim the brightness within the morning or at evening, however you may as well set any gentle scenes to step by step fade in or out. 

I discover the “fade period” setting notably useful for easily altering daytime gentle 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 Mild” scene that adjustments the sunshine temperature all through the day, with an non-compulsory “transition time” between every time window. I simply occur to desire 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 Length possibility will seem as you’re setting the beginning time for the routine. The period itself can final for anyplace between 5 minutes to an hour.

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

Mild results 

Hue lights can do extra than simply shine in stable colours or white shade temperatures. They will additionally flicker, shimmer, and pulse in a wide range of shades, good for simulating a candle, a hearth, 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 shade temperature controls. You’ll then see a wide range of gentle results, relying on the kind of Hue gentle you’ve chosen. Dimmable-only Hue white lights will provide 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 completely different shade 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 choose your individual shade, 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 gentle scenes  

Talking of scenes, you possibly can animate any Hue scene in a room (that’s, any scenes except for fundamental scenes like Brilliant, 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 based on its personal rhythm. Faucet the Edit button to alter the brightness or velocity of the animation, or to make the scene animate itself by default. 

Mild timers

Have to set a timer however hate the blare of an audible alarm? Simply because the Hue app presents gentle alarms, it additionally has gentle timers that may activate lighting scenes after a set period of time. 

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 will probably be included (or your complete house, for those who 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 listing of automations. Press the Play button, and when the countdown ends, the timer will set off the lighting scene you chose. 

This characteristic is a part of TechHive’s in-depth protection of the very best sensible lighting merchandise. Up to date with particulars about Hue’s MotionAware motion-detection know-how.