Why is Philips Hue so Expensive?

Philips hue has been leading the way with smart lighting and is constantly adding to their product range with new lights and accessories, Hue lights are certainly not the cheapest, but the additional cost may be a better investment as we take a look. 

Why is Philips Hue so expensive? Philips Hue is a market leader in the smart lighting space and is also a more premium product which gives it a higher price point compared to cheaper alternatives. The build quality, reliability, features, app and full range of Hue products in its eco system, support and compatibility with other smart home devices not only give advantages over other smart bulbs but also add to the overall price and premium image. 

Philips Hue has been around a while, since 2012 it has been leading the way in smart home lighting, it has continued to develop, improve and expand over the years, increasing the features and lighting range. 

Is it worth getting Philips Hue?

This is an easy to screw lighting system and bulb that enables the user to control the light in the home via an iPhone app and smartphone or tablet. As a wireless lighting system, Philips Hue enhances your everyday life by getting your energized,making your feel safe, improving your mood as well a creating a conducive entertainment environment.

Home owners can connect to the smart lighting system using the tablet and smartphones via ZigBee, WIFI and Bluetooth technologies.

It supports multiple colors and is one of the best choices if you are looking to fit your home with a smart lighting system.

The Philips Hue Home Lighting System presents a new way to experience the lighting in your home. Consumers will be familiar with the popular Philips brand of products and will be excited to experience Hue, the newest twist on lighting in your home brought to you by Philips.

The Philips Hue Home Lighting System allows you to customize the lighting in your home to suit your lifestyle and creativity, all while controlling the system from your smartphone or tablet. With all of the different settings and products, there is an endless number of options for your home, meaning that there will be something perfect for everyone.

To get started with the Philips Hue Home Lighting System, customers can purchase a starter pack that contains three light bulbs to screw into your existing light fixtures and a bridge that plugs into your home WIFI router.

Philips Hue makes it easy to transition to this lighting system because you don’t need to purchase new light fixtures, which could be quite costly. Rather you can slowly start to integrate the system into your home over time by first purchasing a starter kit and then amassing more items over time. One bridge can control up to 50 Philips Hue products allowing you to integrate a lot into your home all on one device.

The Philips Hue Home Lighting System allows you to control the lighting in your home like never before. You can change the color and intensity of the lighting all through an app easily downloaded onto your smartphone or tablet.

The different shades of white light that the Philips Hue system offers are perfect for different times of day – from early in the morning when you want to be energized to late in the evening when you want to relax.

The app also gives you the ability to set timers and alarms for your lighting system, allowing you to to use the light as a wake-up call by setting it to slowly increase in intensity as if you are waking up to the sunlight. This system also can give you peace of mind while on vacation – by setting the lights to turn on and off a specific times it makes it seem like someone is at home even when you’re away on vacation.

Philips Hue has also updated their bridge to now be compatible with Apple HomeKit technology. This means you will be able to control your lighting with your voice through Siri. You can also link your Philips Hue Home Lighting System with other accessories that are enables through Apple HomeKit. With all of the other accessories that Philips Hue also offers, you will be able to find everything you need to make your lighting experience perfect for your home and lifestyle.

Setting up

The system is simple and quick to set up, there is a bridge, which is basically the clever device that talks to all the bulbs, this is connected to the mains and wired to your internet hub via an ethernet port. This shall detect all your bulbs and then using your phone you can control the bulbs. You will need to download the free Philips Hue app for your phone.

You place the bridge in which the 50 bulbs can be controlled from and is mountable where ever you need or want it placed. You then insert your first bulb into its socket base, which then allows for dimming without any special hardware. You have 16 million colors, all controlled from you Apple handheld. However, if you want to use the Apple HomeKit you need to be running iOS9 and up.

With the basic system in place, you then have a voice, touch, and swipe controlled lighting system or one that can be run from Hue 3rd party Apps as well to set you room’s mood and light levels for any purpose orreason you desire.

You can then either using your iPhone, iPad/tablet or virtually any Android Smartphone to take charge of your lighting ambiance. Later on, of course, you can add more bridges until your whole home’s lighting is automated and is at your disposal.

You then add more light, switches, and other accessories as you desires and needs change. You can run light strips to high Leigh a room and provide light exactly where you need it.

Nothing can be simpler that this the system is plug and play and you can even name your lights and then you can have them perform for you while playing video games and you can even paint a room with a simple touch of your fingertip across your tablet. The things you can do with this revolutionary way to light your home is unlimited and your home can change its character in an instant to reflect your lifestyle or emotions and then change it at will instantly.

Features

Longer lifespan
The smart light bulbs have a long lifespan of 15000 hours which ensures that home owners are able to use it for a long period of time. This makes the smart lighting system an ideal investment to make as one is assured that it won’t get damaged easily especially when proper care is ensured.

Smarter control of the lights
Thanks to creative engineers at Philips, users have the ability of controlling lights using Siri voice control downloaded to a smartphone or tablet. The third party Home kit apps provides different settings that the user can utilize.

Brightness level of the bulb is one useful setting that users can utilize. Changing brightness levels can be done in order to create a certain mood which is ideal for reading, watching movies or romantic dinner. You no longer need to fiddle with light switches and dimmers in order to get the right lighting for the perfect mood.

Remote control your lights
Thanks to its wireless capability to connect to wireless networks or via Bluetooth or ZigBee, users are able to control lights remotely from any location. All you need is to connect your tablet or smartphone to your wifi network or be within range of the smart device and you will be able to control the lights.

You can decide to set when the lights should go on when you arrive at home, set the lights when they should go on and off especially when you are on vacation.

Multiple colors to choose from

The bulbs are fitted with LED components available in primary colors. Through the apps color palette, the home owner can change the lights color upto a combination of 16 million. For example, if your have a romantic dinner or celebrating Valentine’s, you can select various shades of red.

Easy to screw bulbs
Acording to Philips Hue review, the bulbs come with E27 fitting ends that have threads therefore making it easy to screw into your already fitted bulb fitting. This not only saves you money as you don’t have to install new bulb fittings but it’s compatible with a wide range of Hue bulbs.

Ability to connect to other smart devices
With the smart lighting system, you can connect to other smart home products from different brands. Nest is a home automation smart device that controls and displays the temperature in your home. Apart from that, it can be used for other tasks such as controlling your smart lights as they are developed to be compatible.

Energy saving
The smart bulbs are designed to be energy efficient therefore ensuring that home owners are able to save when it comes to energy consumption. In today’s world where energy costs rise each day, with smart lighting, you don’t have to worry.

Upgradable software
Smart lights are controlled via smartphones and tablets which have apps downloaded from various app stores. Apps are easy to upgrade with new features and this can be done over the internet with ease.

Ease of use

Once set up, it is very simple to use, you can still use your light with on and off, but from your phone you can dim, change colours, create mood lighting scenes, turn lights off in a room, turn all lights on or off, the possibilities ares huge.

There are also an array of great apps your can download that take your lighting system to the next level, disco party apps that create a lighting effect based on your music, or apps that will change the lights based on what is being show on your TV. There are also some very clever online apps that will change the lighting if it is going to rain so you can bring your washing in!

This is a wireless way to control all your home’s lighting with The Apple Home Kit. This means Siri can now change a room from boring to exciting and all you have to do is give the word. Your iPhone now can control the look, feel, and mood of a room in the blink of an eye with 16 million colors and combinations of brightness.

This opens up unlimited possibilities for changing how your home looks and more importantly how it makes you feel. For example, a room may be set up for healing as certain colors stimulate the body’s ability to heal itself and remove stress.

Music and even your TV can change a room to match the beat, tempo, and rhythm of your favorite music or film. Now you can experience music and movies in an entirely different way. You are in effect painting your room in color every time you turn on the TV or listening to music.

This can bring a room from quiet contemplation to help a student study to an exciting vibrant energy filled environment for parties and fun. Romance too is enhanced as the room takes on the ambiance of love, closeness, and romance.

You can turn the lights on and off from your car or office and let your lighting run on a schedule that wakes you in the morning and dims and shuts off the lights when you sleep.

It can even be controlled to turn on lights when you are away to fool would be buglers into believing you are home when you are on vacation or out for the evening.

Benefits of the Philips Hue

Peace of mind
With traditional lighting system, one will need to arrive at home in order to switch lights. This means that they will get to fiddle with the switch and dimmers in order to create the perfect mood.

With smart lighting, you can create lighting schedules for example you can have the lights switch on during the evening just before you get home or set the lights to come on just before you wake up. This ensures that you have peace of mind when it comes to light management.

Create different moods
Thanks to creative apps, users are able to set various levels of brightness depending with the mood. When combined with the 16 million colors, one can create any kind of mood lighting they desire.
This is perfect when one is celebrating an important occasion such as a romantic dinner or anniversary.

Saves on power
Normal lights that stay on during the night utilize a lot of power which means that energy costs will increase. This will require one to foot a huge bill therefore interfering with one’s budget. With smart lighting, one can dim the lights, reduce their brightness as well as set a schedule to switch the lights off when not in use.

Sync with music and movies
Smart lighting can be synced with the television and home theater music systems therefore creating different effects according to the music or movie being played. This not only enhances entertainment and experience but it can be used in different occasions such as parties when one has guests and wants to mimic a discotheque.

Natural light to brighten your home
The smart lighting system projects a natural light that helps to energize the home owner every day they wake up therefore being able to tackle tasks with ease. Apart from that, the natural light displayed by smart lighting systems allows one to concentrate in their reading as well as relax.

Bottom Line

For those customers looking for a new way to interact with the lighting in their homes, the Philips Hue Home Lighting System is the perfect solution. Philips Hue offers the ability to customize your lighting like never before and customers will be able to use the system to provide the perfect lighting solutions for the lifestyle and creativity needs of their home.

Users can now control their home lighting anywhere in their house, from the bedroom to the kitchen to the backyard, right from one spot. The Philips Hue app lets customers control their entire home lighting system straight from their smartphones. The system can even respond to voice commands via Apple’s Siri. 

Mike Ford

Founder & Editor

Mike is the founder of Hue Home Lighting, a huge Hue fan with far too many lights, covering home and garden. A smart home gadget addict and also enjoys the odd bit of DIY