Difference between smart vs regular bulb switching

Just starting to think about my home automation needs. I understand that I can install a smart bulb, and replace the physical switch with a smart switch, or I can leave the standard dumb bulb in place, and just replace the switch to a smart switch. Both of these, should allow me to turn the light on or off from Hubitat. My question is, for both the above scenarios, are there different types of switches to be installed, depending if I need to control a dumb bulb vs a smart bulb?
I am assuming that to control a smart bulb i just need zigbee in the switch, but for dumb bulb that switch will actually need to turn off power to the bulb.

Some care is needed with that first option, and there's a third one (albeit perhaps undesirable for some) that was not mentioned: smart bulbs with your existing "dumb" switches. That will work as long as you remember not to actually turn the switches off, otherwise the "smart" part is lost. :slight_smile: (So it would also require you to have some other way to turn them on/off--perhaps a motion-based automation, a remote/button device also paired to Hubitat, a dashboard, or voice control.)

The care that is needed with the first option is that any old smart switch won't work, which I think feeds into the second part of your question. Traditionally, a smart switch just cuts power to the lights (the load, electrically speaking)--but the switch itself can still be turned on/off remotely since that is where the smarts live, and those are always powered. This works well for "dumb" bulbs, and similarly with a smart dimmer for dimmable "dumb" bulbs.

But now put smart bulbs into the picture. Using a smart switch with those and turning the smart switch off is basically the same (but more expensive) problem as using a regular/dumb switch: the smart bulbs are off and not smart anymore, since you can't turn them on--at least not directly. The best thing to do here is to avoid turning the bulbs off. Many newer smart switches/dimmers have an option to "disable the relay," "enable local protection," or "disable local control"--all meaning more or less the same outcome, that phyiscal taps on the switch/dimmer do not affect the actual load connected to the switch. So, your smart bulbs remain on. What you'd need to do instead is respond to events from the switch on Hubitat and create an automation to manipulate the smart bulbs accordingly. For most newer devices, these would get translated into button events on Hubitat, and you can do something with those--e.g., button 1 pushed (usually the top paddle) could turn on the lights, and button 2 pushed (usually the bottom paddle) could turn them off. Or on other switches/dimmers, the switch/dimmer may mantain an internal on/off state or level (without actually changing it electrically) that you could "mirror" to the actual bulbs. How your switch/dimmer works will depend on how that manufacturer implemented these features and, sometimes, on what options you choose on the device.

This last option is, effectively, quite similar to doing that unmentioned second option--but now, instead of a separate remote/button device, you've converted the existing light switch into one. It's probably the most expensive, though in the end it's also likely to work the most similarly to an existing "dumb" (or smart) switch and be the least confusing if you have guests or family who aren't as into this as you are. But there's no need to replace the switches if you (and everyone who may use them) don't really use them and you want to use smart bulbs instead of smart switches/dimmers.

3 Likes

My advice to you is to keep it simple. If you're just starting out, the best practice is to simply replace in-wall dumb switches with Smart Switches (or Smart Dimmers). Leave the bulbs as dumb dimmable LED bulbs. This way, everyone in your house can still manually control the lights, using the same muscle memory that they have developed over their entire lifetime.

If you want to add a splash of color, use some smart bulbs in table and floor lamps. Maybe add some color LED strips or other accent lights.

My strategy over the past 7+ years of this hobby is to choose hardware that is considered the most flexible and reliable. For me, that means I use

  1. Lutron Caseta Switches, Dimmers, Fan Controllers, and Pico remotes (plus the requisite Caseta SmartBridge Pro2) for all of my in-wall smart switches.
  2. Philips Hue smart bulbs for all table and floor lamps, along with the recommended Hue Bridge.

These are two amazingly robust and reliable home lighting solutions, that complement one another very well. Both can easily be integrated with Hubitat using built-in integrations, and are 100% local. Additionally, both systems offer native integrations with Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Apple HomeKit, Logitech Harmony Hub, plus others. Also, both are supported by SmartThings, Home Assistant, NodeRed, and others - thereby future-proofing your investment into these lighting systems for years to come.

With Hubitat as the main controller, I am able to use Lutron Pico remotes, mounted alongside other wall switches, to control the Philips Hue bulbs in my table, floor, and night-stand lamps. This works really well, and the response time is nearly instantaneous. I also use a bunch of Zigbee motion, contact, and leak sensors - all paired to my Hubitat hub - to provide a means for automating most all lighting in the house.

IMHO, trying to use a Smart Switch plus a Smart Bulb on the same electrical circuit is simply going to lead to issues down the road. Imagine the scenario where your Hubitat hub has died, and you're using the very viable option @bertabcd1234 described above where a Smart Switch is used that allows its output to remain on at all times, in order to maintain power to the smart bulb. With the hub dead, you will have zero control over those smart bulbs. This leads to a very low spousal acceptance factor (i.e. a very unhappy family when they cannot turn on the bathroom light, because something happened to the hub! :wink: )

By using smart switches, with dumb bulbs, the switches will simply always work when manually activated. This is priceless, IMHO, and should not be overlooked by making an overly complicated lighting design. If you live alone, that is one thing. If you have a family, it becomes a whole different story! :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

3 Likes

one thing to consider is the cost of each. to give you an example, when i was fitting my home, i could've bought 7 bulbs (total a couple hundred bucks), or 2 switches (under a hundred) to control those lights. i ultimately decided on the switches as i didn't want to have someone cut power to the bulbs by mistake and mess up my mesh (it was also the more economical option for me).

when building my smart home, i put into thought various scenarios. the one that also helped me decide on switches was if i have guests come over, they are used to flipping switches, and would 99% mess up my mesh by cutting power to the bulbs.

you could always look into something like the inovelli switch that can operate with dumb bulbs and be switched to a smart bulb mode (where it won't cut the power but can be used as a button), but this all adds to cost

if all you need is some automation/remote control, get the switches and save having to get a ladder to change out bulbs (just my 2 cents)

I should note that the suggestion in my post to use both smart bulbs and (carefully configured) smart switches is probably not where I'd start your automation journey, and the suggestions in the rest of @ogiewon's post are generally an easier place to begin. :slight_smile: (I suppose the exception--and really the only reason you'd need to think about bulbs at all--is if you need something a switch/dimmer can't provide, like color or color temperature control. Otherwise, save yourself the hassle for sure!)

But even in this scenario, all hope isn't lost, as long as you're around to fix the problem (or, again, anyone else in your home is as into this as you are). Both Inovelli and (at least older, but I assume the 7x ones have something similar) Zooz allow you to easily re-enable local control with a special tap sequence on the switch. This will work even if your hub is dead, and it would get you back to at least on/off control like a dumb switch. You're still back to the lights being basically dumb, but your hub is down in this case, so I suppose that's really what you want now. :slight_smile:

2 Likes