Hue Light Hack - Hackdot

Re:Hue Light Hack by dylan604 on Thursday May 04, 2023 @12:12PM (#35817775)

I've tried using other products that were "cheaper". They work at first, but then issues. First, I bought a compatible bulk LED strip. The listing suggested the power supply to use, but it was way too weak to push the entire strip. Luckily, I bought the strip to cut into sections for using in multiple places. The suggested power supply was still to weak for the smaller sections. Knowing how to calculate the draw per inch of strip length is imperative. Once that was done, the strip itself left a lot to be desired. I bought the proper controller for the RGBWW config, and once synced, the color settings would drift. I would set them in the Hue app, and once happy just forget about it and go about my day. After some time, the color would just be different. After some time, I noticed that one section of my strip had smoked all of the LEDs for one color. Luckily the did not result in a fire, but every LED in this section is clearly burned and obviously no longer working. The other LEDs in the RGBW are working still.

In the end, it would have been cheaper and less time consuming had I just bought the Philips Hue strips.

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Re:Hue Light Hack by AceJohnny2 on Thursday May 04, 2023 @01:07PM (#35818722)

I got a Sowilo LED Strip (the discontinued Bifröst-147, replaced by -168) with their recommended power supply and Hue Controller, and I couldn't be happier. Its advantage over Hue is that it's much brighter.

https://sowilodesign.com/

I'm told there are cheaper equivalent solutions out there, but Sowilo's mostly turnkey solution was good enough for me. It helps keep S.A.D. at bay.

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Re:Hue Light Hack by christoph on Thursday May 04, 2023 @01:18PM (#35818903)

I did the underside of all our kitchen cupboards in CCT RGBW LEDs linked to a Hue bridge (nearly 5 metres split over three controllers and PSUs), I’m thankful I thoroughly researched the topic before buying anything as nearly a year on, I’ve never had a single issue with any of it.

The key learning from my research was to buy commercial grade PSUs and LEDs from a proper retailer that supplies industry and over spec the PSUs - if you calculate your LEDs need 40w, get something like a 60w PSU. I don’t think it cost significantly more than if I purchased cheap no name Chinese stuff off Amazon.

As a side note, I didn’t go for the Hue strips because the LEDs would have been a lot less bright, the cut points were far more restrictive and it also would have worked out more expensive.

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