MelIn September, Philips Hue launched its first filament lamps which look really stylish and high-quality compared to the competition. However, Philips only has three different models on the market, all of which are equipped with the same filament. It has to be said that the market for filament lamps offers a lot more and much nicer alternatives.
I found some really nice specimens on Amazon from the manufacturer LED Crown: the company offers something for every taste. You could of course simply screw the non-smart LED filament lamps into a floor lamp and then switch them with a Philips Hue Smart Plug. Unfortunately, there is a problem: at full brightness, many filament lamps are too bright as a simple decoration.
At the moment, there is no dimmable Hue socket and all other Smart Home sockets I know of are not dimmable either. But Philips had something in its portfolio: The LivingWhites socket outlet. And as luck would have it, this one is equipped with ZigBee and can be connected to the bridge relatively easily via a TouchLink search. This is possible with applications such as iConnectHue, for example. The best way to do this is to reset the plug beforehand using a dimmer switch.
A LivingWhites plug is only available as second-hand goods, on platforms like eBay they are traded again and again for prices of up to 40 to 50 euros. Last week, I got three Philips LivingWhites sockets including shipping for a measly 60 Euro – a good offer.
After successful pairing, the LivingWhites sockets can be found and switched on in the Hue app as White light sources – if desired with accessories such as a dimmer switch. The only drawback is that the dimming function is not accessible via HomeKit and Alexa.
Direct comparison: Hue filament vs. classic filament
Even with the almost identical Edison filament lamps I like the non-smart model a touch better. There are more reflections that create a great lighting effect. And in the end you simply have much more choice from a wide range of shapes and sizes. Together with the Philips LivingWhites plug a simple filament lamp becomes a wonderful smart decoration.
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Fabian
