MelThe Friends of Hue switches from various manufacturers have been available for about a year now, and for us in Germany, Busch-Jaeger and Gira are of particular interest. In cooperation with the Berlin start-up Senic, Gira launched a Friends of Hue switch on the market last September. Happily, it can be integrated into the Standard 55 system.
At the start, however, the Friends of Hue switch from Gira and Senic was only available with matte coatings in black and white. Unfortunately, the widespread glossy white for light switches and socket outlets was not available. This has changed, the switch from Gira and Senic is now also available in “pure glossy white”.
Apart from the optics, all Friends of Hue switches are known to be identical. There are several possibilities for mounting: either you remove an existing light switch and screw the Friends of Hue switch onto the empty box. A quicker way to install: you fix it on a smooth surface with adhesive tape or extend an existing switch frame with the Friends of Hue switch.
In terms of functionality, the battery-free switches are also convincing. In combination with third-party apps you get many possibilities: each of the four buttons can be assigned a short or long keystroke, and you can also press the two upper and lower buttons simultaneously to perform actions.
Fabian
