FabianThis week, a rather interesting question came up in our small Hue community. Just this much in advance: unfortunately, I don’t have a positive answer again. But, somewhere out there, there is light on the horizon. Something might actually happen soon, even if it doesn’t come from Eindhoven. But here’s the question first:
I would like to save a few sockets and was wondering whether it is possible to operate several Hue Lightstrips with one plug? The Hue plugs are not exactly small. There would be three Lightstrip Plus and one Hue Go light. Unfortunately, I am completely clueless when it comes to this topic and am hoping for a solution that is as simple and uncomplicated as possible.
First of all, the good news is that most Hue devices with the familiar power supply unit use the same plug. And Philips Hue even has a power supply unit with three connections that is sold with the Hue Play Lightbar. But this is where the problems start.
The Philips Hue 3-port power supply only delivers 20 watts. This is sufficient for the Play Lightbar, as it only consumes around 7 to 8 watts even in bright scenes. With the Lightstrip Plus, however, the situation is different, with bright, white scenes such as reading or concentration consuming 17 to 22 watts. And that’s where the power supply runs out of steam.
If you only use your Hue Lightstrips as mood lighting with bright colours anyway, then it is perfectly possible to operate them together on the Play Lightbar’s 3-way power supply unit. But soon something more could be possible.
A few months ago, I was contacted by a manufacturer who wants to launch a 45 watt power supply with four connections for Hue products. This should give you significantly more options than the official Hue power supply unit. The third-party solution is due to appear in German stores in autumn. I’ll definitely stay on the ball for you. Of course, it would be even better if Philips Hue simply offered a modern and versatile power supply unit for its many devices.
Philips Hue Solo Lightstrip
from $69.99 / €69.99
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That will be perfect!
I have a large Gradient tube (137.7cm) and two table Gradient Signe (55.3cm) on the same desk, using three power adapters for 20W + 11.8W×2.
That means the 45W power supply could cover the 43.6W needed, instead of the three separate adapters.
I just hope they’ll use Europlugs and not large hybrid CEE 7/7 plugs.
I don’t get it. Each individual LED will only consume whatever it is max rated for. Most Hue lightstrips are 2 m by default, but can be extended up to 10 m. Thus I don’t see why there would be any issues running several shorter strips on a single power supply as long as you do not overextend them?