RGBW Low Voltage Spotlights - UK

[Guest andyhud]

Hi all

I have flush ceiling spot lights all around my house (I'm in the UK) and wondering if I can swap them out for RGB/RGBW LED spots (instead of normal halogen ones) and use the Fibaro RGBW controller to control them?

Does anyone have any UK reseller of such LED spots?

Cheers!

Andy

something like this? :

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[Daniel.Knight 1]

Hi Andy,

Okay so there is an inherent problem here in that the spots you have are likely GU10's, which have 2 electrical connections (live and neutral) on them.

For true RGBW control you need 5 (4 if you just want RGB) - "+, R, G, B, W"

So, essentially there are just not enough connections inside the fitting to work with an external controller. The bulbs you have found have the equivalent to a little RGBW Module inside them, but it's not ZWave, so you just have the option of an IR Remote control.

In theory, you could still control them using some form of IR blaster in the room from something like a Global Cache, but it would be one way only and not the same as you'd expect from a proper RGBW Module.

I hope this makes sense.

Kind regards,

Daniel

[Dalle1985 15]

I have replaced all my GU10 bulbs with Philips Hue bulbs -

cheap? NO!

cool? YES!

I use a custom vd to control them from the HC2 as a normal light, though I might be migrating to a plugin once the HC2 4.X firmware is stable.

There is only one Zwave LED bulb avaliable, and by the sound of it, it isn't fantastic. Therefore I went with the Hue. It is (IMHO) by far the best product available on the market for remote controlled lighting. Once you are set up with a user for the bridge, it is pretty straight forward to control them from the fibaro unit through the wifi and a Hue bridge. They have very good light reproduction, they can change to almost whatever color you'd like, and they can be adjusted for color temperature.

The only real downside I've found, is the price. I have 12 GU10 spots with 6 more ariving soon and another 10 sometime later in the year. I tried to get a discount due to the size of the order, but Apple won't budge and Philips won't sell them directly. So I've bought 30 bulbs and payed roughly €2000 for the lights... So as I wrote - it isn't a cheap fix, but it is a damn cool one!

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[Daniel.Knight 1]

Hi Dalle,

I like your thinking! How do you get around the issue of switching off the Hues at the wall switch? Is it something you just live with or do you keep them powered and use some other form of wall control?

Kind regards,

Daniel

[UrSv 6]

The only real downside I've found, is the price. I have 12 GU10 spots with 6 more ariving soon and another 10 sometime later in the year. I tried to get a discount due to the size of the order, but Apple won't budge and Philips won't sell them directly. So I've bought 30 bulbs and payed roughly €2000 for the lights... So as I wrote - it isn't a cheap fix, but it is a damn cool one!

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The seem to be available for order in the Philips on-line shop?

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[fergalmccarthy 5]

I think you should check out limitless led, I got a couple of the white ones, there is a WIFI bridge like the Philips Hue, but they are a fraction of the price. They come from New Zealand, very quickly i might add, you may need to pay some import duty, but its probably not much and still works out cheaper, they come with screw or bayonette connection which is more than the HUE and I was able to create a VD very simply and it works very well. Light is good, can't compare it to the HUE as i dont have them, but very impressed for the price. I think i got 2 bulbs and the bridge for $51 US dollars ( ~40 euro ) and delivery. Delivery is a bit dear as expected but if you were to buy alot of them it would be worth it.

[Guest gembrain]

If buying RGBW with the intention of using it as a white bulb most of the time then check the manufacturer details.

Happened to notice that Osram had a specific note on one of their products that it was designed for a colour mix and that using predominantly white would shorten the life considerably.