Reset C by GE Light Bulbs [video] • Hacker News Board

Re: Reset C by GE Light Bulbs [video]

#31

Post by frogpelt » Sat, Jun 29, 2019, 8:41 PM UTC

Ok, but let's talk about your keyboard. Why does it have so many function keys?

Re: Reset C by GE Light Bulbs [video]

#32

Post by nja » Sat, Jun 29, 2019, 8:45 PM UTC

I live in a 300sf studio in a tenement building built in 1917. There's a single overhead glass dome fixture for each room, but with 10ft ceilings they don't shed much light at all. I've added several hue lamps around aimed at the walls so there's plenty of light (I've also added some under-counter ikea halogen lights on a tp-link smart plug). If I had added these bulbs as regular bulbs, I would have to go around turning on/off each bulb every time I wanted the lights on/off. Instead, I can say one command to my google home (picture: walking into the apartment with hands full of groceries -- "ok google lights on" - done) or tap a button on my phone. I've also set up a cron script on a spare raspberry pi to change the color temperature when the sun sets (like flux but for the apartment lights), which helps with sleep cycle and eye strain. By this point, all but one of the dim overhead lights has burned out (I'm responsible for changing bulbs per my lease, but also since I'm living in a small apartment I don't have room for a 10ft ladder, so it's always a hassle to replace them) and I just don't use the wall switches at all.

Is this a major life improvement? Nah, not really. But having lived here for almost a decade, I can say that I like having a reasonable level of light, and the convenience that comes with the smart lights makes that less of a pain. Not like my lease would let me put in more outlets or light switches (the whole apartment is on a single 15A slow-blow fuse circuit).

But thanks for the _order_ to stop buying smart bulbs. Not like anyone has slightly different use cases for these things than the "_horrible_" replace-a-light-already-on-a-switch case that you demonize.

Re: Reset C by GE Light Bulbs [video]

#33

Post by ocdtrekkie » Sat, Jun 29, 2019, 8:46 PM UTC

The smart switches I'm used to are the wide paddle style and sit in the center, not the on or off positions, so you can always press either side. They also have a status light that shows on/off/dimmer positions as well.

Insteon 2477D is an example you can look up, though I don't recommend people go with the Insteon protocol for a new build.

Re: Reset C by GE Light Bulbs [video]

#34

Post by xur17 » Sat, Jun 29, 2019, 8:50 PM UTC

> Stop buying smart bulbs. It’s an absolutely horrible idea from beginning to end. What people want is a way to switch a lamp on and off. For that you need a smart switch. For it to work you can’t have a dumb switch in your wall first - because when the dumb switch is in the “off” position, the smart lightbulb doesn’t work!

While I agree, a large part of the challenge is that people live in apartment buildings, where replacing light switches is out of the question, but replacing lightbulbs is doable. I personally use smart bulbs for exactly this reason.

That said, if I had a house I would either:

* use smart switches

* use smart switches + smart bulbs

Re: Reset C by GE Light Bulbs [video]

#35

Post by digitalsushi » Sat, Jun 29, 2019, 8:50 PM UTC

I think smart bulbs had a nonobvious way into our homes - pioneering, younger folks with less or no regular income would treat a 30 dollar bulb as a significant investment, a great way to get some social buy-in by augmenting one key area of a locale, one they probably don't own - as a cool place.

And then as the look became popular to have a couple of bulbs sprinkled throughout various dorm rooms, nerd spots, lairs, et cetera, maybe parents relented and bought more for uniformity or even just the same social buy-in with their kids. Whatever it was, it was done a light bulb at a time, and rarely as a lighting improvement project. A smart switch is something rich people buy, but a smart bulb is something everyone can buy.

So we're stuck with this lousy inverted model for a while yet.

Re: Reset C by GE Light Bulbs [video]

#36

Post by jws » Sat, Jun 29, 2019, 8:51 PM UTC

About having to leave light switches in the on position…

Your pain has been felt. Searching the web for "smart light switch cover" will find secondary switch plates which snap on top of your existing switch. They prevent anyone from turning the physical switch off, and instead present a switch or dimmer control for your smart home to use.

Much cheaper for people not comfortable with swapping a light switch, and probably much safer for anyone that doesn't want a piece of low end garbage grade electronics from a mystery vendor inside their walls. Actual UL/CE approved in wall smart switches through a trusted supply chain are still kind of pricey, especially since the compatibility wars are still being fought.

Re: Reset C by GE Light Bulbs [video]

#37

Post by anyfoo » Sat, Jun 29, 2019, 8:53 PM UTC

I bought a few Hue smart bulbs out of curiosity, and liked it so much that I bought more. I did not buy a smart switch.

First, let’s talk about switching on instead: It turned out that there are a lot of situation where I really want to switch the bulb on using the button. However, you can set up what the bulb should do when it starts getting power, and I set it up to turn on at reasonable brightness. So when I come into a room, I just quickly switch the switch twice (off-on). This works very well.

As for turning off, which was your complaint, it turns out that even as an energy conscious person, I rather want to turn off the light when I reached my destination. Usually, I will at least quickly be on my phone, iPad or laptop anyway, and it’s very easy to flick the control center to turn the light of the room I came from earlier (plus a few others maybe) off.

And while I don’t have a smart switch, I don’t see why you would “remove” any reasons there. One great thing I like about the smart bulbs is that they turn on when I come home, and turn off when I leave. I also have smart sockets by now, and they conveniently cut power to all my entertainment stuff when I leave, eliminating standby power.

The other benefit is sitting on the couch at evening, realizing that everything is too bright right now, and just turning most lights off and dimming the remaining ones from where I sit, not having to get up and go through the entire house.

Re: Reset C by GE Light Bulbs [video]

#38

Post by Hamuko » Sat, Jun 29, 2019, 8:53 PM UTC

It's just a standard full-sized Apple keyboard. Nineteen (19) function keys. And since the small Apple keyboards only have twelve (12) function keys, you can use them pretty freely to bind your own stuff.

Re: Reset C by GE Light Bulbs [video]

#39

Post by anyfoo » Sat, Jun 29, 2019, 8:54 PM UTC

A somewhat recent update to Hue bulbs lets you set up what they should do when they receive power, including the ability to tell them to just revert to the previous state. As stated in another comment however, I prefer them just turning on at (almost) full brightness, as I use the regular switch for turning them on when coming into a room.

Re: Reset C by GE Light Bulbs [video]

#40

Post by pharrington » Sat, Jun 29, 2019, 8:55 PM UTC

Smart bulbs allow the automation of controlling the full color spectrum and intensity of the bulb. Buying smart bulbs only to use them as binary on/off lights is a humongous waste of money.