New user to Hubitat. I need to install some Zigbee 60 watt bulbs in my setup on my new Hubitat Hub. Any recommendations for an easy to use bulb. Thank you.
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If you haven't already, give this article from the docs a read: How to Build a Solid Zigbee Mesh - Hubitat Documentation. Specifically, pay attention to the note about Zigbee bulbs at the end (but the whole document is good to read).
With that in mind you have a few options:
- Sengled bulbs paired directly to Hubitat. These are the only ones I am aware of that do not repeat and therefore cannot cause the problems mentioned in the docs above.
- A Hue Bridge with whatever compatible Zigbee bulbs connected that you want (Hue bulbs give you access to all features, like default power-on settings ans Siri/HomeKit, but any Zigbee Light Link/ZLL or Zigbee 3.0 bulb should work; Sengled and Sylvania/Osram/Lightify are two I'm aware of that don't do to being Zigbee Home Automation/ZHA). Hubitat has a Hue Bridge integration (and I also wrote a custom one with more features) that you can use to get these devices into Hubitat. Personally, this the setup I prefer.
- A second Hubitat with whatever compatible Zigbee bulbs that you want, which should be anything that works with Hue or Hubitat (so pretty much any of the above). This is the most difficult to set up, in my opinion (you'll need something like HubConnect to share the bulbs or other devices, depending on how you want to set things up), but it does give you the most options. I've still had bad luck with the particularly problematic bulbs in this setup (Cree, in my case, but it works fine on a Hue Bridge).
All of that doesn't really answer the question of what kind of bulbs to get, but it's probably the most important consideration when dealing with Zigbee bulbs, so I couldn't not mention it. Knowing that information, I'd just find whatever bulbs meet your other requirements (probably around 800 lumens for a 60W-equivalent? do you need color or color temperature or just dimming?). I'd also consider how many you need. LIFX isn't officially supported at the moment, but a community integration handles them. They're WiFi, so I wouldn't fill my house with them, but they may work for just one or a few if you want to avoid Zigbee woes. There are also a few Z-Wave options (Inovelli's are probably the best and cheapest, but I'm still not sure I'd use a lot of Z-Wave bulbs, at least not in the same room if I wanted them all to respond at the same time).
Going back to Zigbee, Sengled work work with minimal hassle. However, I've still had bad luck trying to control a bunch of directly connected bulbs (these included) at once, hence my preference for a Hue Bridge which is both reliable and handles a lot of things for you behind the scenes (like group messaging for rooms/zones and...actual scenes, should those be of interest too).
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I think Sengled are the only ones that work well in a mixed Zigbee mesh. Every other brand tries to act as a repeater and don't do it well which causes mesh problems. The Sengled don't try to repeat so don't cause any issues. I have 20 odd Sengled Element Classic and they work well.
Edit @bertabcd1234 beat me to it with a fuller explanation too. 
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I'm currently (very heavily) working on a Lightify gateway. Lightify's bulbs are pretty solid, and while you can connect them to a hub directly, there are a few reasons to use them on a gateway.
The best part --- they're only $10/RGBW bulb. 
Othwerwise, Sengled is a solid choice!
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Wow....fast replies....thanks. I just ordered the Sengled bulbs from Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072M5RT6L/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I tried some cheaper Sylvanis/Osram bulbs but they were problematic and returned them. Some people commented that the Singled bulbs worked well so hopefully these will work for me. I am migrating from Insteon to Hubitat and so far I love the new Hub. The Insteon cloud based system was a real pain especially if your hub fried which I had two failures and trying to restore your devices. I tried Homeseer but found it too clunky and the plug-ins were not always easy to use. So far I have nothing but praise for the Hubitat.....thanks again.....
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Thanks for the info...
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TY:smiley:
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Oh --- and welcome to the community!!
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Thanks...I saw the Cree listed on the supported devices page but the Singled seem to be the best recommended Zigbee bulbs.....I wonder why there are not more Z-Wave bulbs listed....Price or just no demand?.....
Price is a factor. There was a post here yesterday explaining the difference between zigbee and z-wave. It was really informative. I have a couple of z-wave bulbe, but they are considerably more expensive than zigbee. After watching that video, I have a better understanding. I tried to find it back, but it's escaped me. Perhaps someone will link it for me.
[Found it]
https://community.hubitat.com/t/z-wave-vs-zigbee-vs-wi-fi/34148
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No z-wave group messaging, so unless you like watching your lights come on one by one......
The Lightify bulbs have a major weakness I've found. If you do have them in a fixture that can be turned on/off manually, they will go into an on/off cycle when powered on manually instead of just staying on. If you are able to put them in fixtures that can't be switched, or you have a more well trained household, then it shouldn't be an issue.
I have over 60 Sylvania RGBW lights and have never seen this happen. I’m curious how this is happening for you. Are they connected to the Lightify geteway or Hubitat?
If I power them off and on from a switch they just come on to the last setting.
I have 4 of these bulbs. They did the same thing on rapsBee/Deconz and Hubitat The ones I have are the A19 Warm White bulbs.
Are those the old Osram labeled ones? I assure you that I haven’t seen this with the newer ones on ST, HE, or the Lightify gateway. I would recommend having a Lightify gateway for updating the firmware though (on the new ones at least), as the updates fixed the issues I had with them.
They used to flash and reset if I used the ramp up dimmer command with a button controller and held it too long. That was a pia. All fixed thankfully with the latest firmware (Feb 2019).
If @J.B.Kuma has Deconz running than the bulbs can be updated with the firmware from the Ledvance website:
https://update.ledvance.com/firmware-overview?submit=all
I am a big fan of Zigbee bulbs on the Hubitat network. I did find the original OSRAM Lightify bulbs (sold in the US, the replacements are branded Sylvania Smart+) with the Marvell SOC to cause issues but have had good luck with the newer bulbs. I have Sylvania, Ecosmart, and a Tradfri bulb. Ikea is the only vendor I have found that actually upgraded an older product the Zigbee 3.0. Not that it makes a difference but it seems the Zigbee 3.0 products are less complained about.
Now, thanks to @adamkempenich ‘s Lightify integration, you can put the older Osram lights on the Lightify gateway and use them without messing up the mesh.
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I think the so called "Zigbee bulb issue" has more to do with Marvell's SOC than bulbs. I had some Quirky products with the same SOC and they were trouble makers on the network. Also I suspect there may have been some difference in the testing for ZLL and ZHA. The Zigbee alliance certifies both the platform (SOC and network stack) and the actual devices (bulbs, sensors, hubs). So if a certified platform is used to create a bulb and say a plug, it is highly unlikely that they made changes to the bulb firmware that would cause problems. That is why I find all this talk about bulbs to be overly broad.
That being said those original bulbs that caused issues are still being sold some places and of coarse people already have them and they will cause issues.
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100% what you said
