Philips Hue unveils new Play lamps and improved candle bulbs, plus switches that can bring Hue power to traditional and sophisticated fixtures

• New Hue Play lamps to expand your immersive lighting
• Upgraded Candle Bulbs with Full Spectrum Daylight and Matter Compatibility
• New smart switches, including dimmers

My house is full of Philips Hue smart bulbs, motion sensors, and various kinds of light strips, but one thing I haven’t been able to do is integrate old-fashioned light fixtures into my Hue setup — so for example, if you have a ceiling light that doesn’t use the type of bulbs that can be replaced with Hue, you’re out of luck. Or at least you were. Hue now offers smart light switches that you can use to add non-smart lights to your Hue system.

There are two versions, the Hue Wired On/Off and the Hue Wired Dimmer. Simply replace them with the original switches and you can then control the appropriate lighting with the Hue app or compatible voice assistants.

The big advantage here is that your non-smart lights can now be included in your Hue groups and in scheduled or triggered events. For example, my Hue setup turns on the living room lights when I arrive home after dark. And it’s a boon for rooms such as kitchens where – and I speak from experience here – replacing several downlight bulbs with Hue ones is extremely expensive.

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Just make sure you put the right type of switch in for the type of lighting you have: for example, some older downlights are not designed to be dimmed and can start strobing if they don’t get enough power, so you would need the on/off switch rather than the dimmer for those.

Philips Hue Wired On/Off Switch | Making traditional lights smart – YouTube

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