r/homeautomation • u/KinoftheKing-Ins • 1d ago
NEW TO HA Just getting started in home automation, went to IKEA for something unrelated, snagged this beauty
And there were boxes and boxes of it! Looks like they were trying to clean out inventory to make way for whatever they’re putting out next.
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u/thedonza 1d ago
Zigbee, nice find. I’m assuming you bought the whole lot? 😁
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u/KinoftheKing-Ins 1d ago
I bought all these, there were at least 40 more cases but wife wouldn’t let me buy more 😂
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u/Anomalousity 1d ago
That's a sick haul, I guess you're planning on selling what you don't use or need right? That would be in the works for a very healthy profit!
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u/CoNsPirAcY_BE 1d ago
Might want to hold on to them since they are discontinuing their zigbee products.
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u/redlotusaustin 1d ago
That's awesome and smart bulbs can have their place so I probably would have grabbed them too but smart switches are usually more useful than the bulbs, FYI.
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u/IdoCyber 1d ago
How do you change color with smart switches? They're a different use.
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u/redlotusaustin 1d ago
These aren't RGB bulbs. The most you can do is change the temperature of how white they are.
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u/IdoCyber 1d ago
Exactly and that might come in handy if you want to turn on/off circadian cycle. Or change the color on some bulbs only.
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u/redlotusaustin 1d ago
Changing the color is a "nice to have" thing. The lights still functioning the way the average person would expect, i.e.: being able to use a switch, is way more important.
Smart switches also continue to function if your HA system if offline for whatever reason.
I'm not saying that smart bulbs are useless (I have several myself), only that switches are usually more useful than a bulb.
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u/miata812 21h ago
Dumb switches with smart bulbs also work when HA is offline.
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u/NickCudawn 19h ago
If your smart switches don't work when HA is down that's on you and your choice in hardware.
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u/benargee 14h ago
Agree, when all the smart things are down, it should function like a dumb bulb at a standard color/temperature. Home automation should never take away from basic functionality, it should only enhance it. A layman should be able to use lights intuitively as they have learned since they ever knew how to operate a light switch.
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u/benargee 14h ago
You can still have the lights set to a temperature depending on time of day or when it's your bedtime and the switches just control if they are on or off. Good mix between smart and dumb control. Usually before bedtime you want the lighting to be very warm to minimize blue light exposure. Simulates sunset and triggers your body to get tired. During the day you want cool or medium light.
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u/redlotusaustin 12h ago edited 12h ago
You know what? That's a good use case I hadn't heard/thought about before and, at ~$3/bulb, isn't insanely expensive.
How do the bulbs handle color changes when the switch is powered off? Do they automatically pick it up the next time they have power, or are things going to start to get out of sync depending on what is or isn't on?
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u/IdoCyber 1d ago
You don't make your light smart to be used as an average person, do you?
And you can still use your switch manually when you want to turn on/off your lights and then change the color / spectrum.
In the ideal world, you have both :)
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u/redlotusaustin 14h ago
"You don't make your light smart to be used as an average person, do you?"
When someone is over who doesn't know about, or doesn't want to use, the smart home system, yes, I still want them to be able to turn on the bathroom light without having to guess.
A good smart home design should ADD features and compliment what is there. It should NEVER remove things that people expect to be able to do.
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u/No-Dragonfly3330 23h ago
Color changing bulbs are fun to play around with for the first few days, and then it’s back to white.
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u/Fragrant_Parking3112 17h ago
Speak for yourself. I've used mine every day since 2017. Much more dynamic lighting scenes.
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u/margotsaidso 18h ago
I like my white to change during the course of the day so there's not really a good way around that I've seen.
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u/benargee 14h ago
They have cool and warm white changing lights. You don't need full RGB to accomplish this and the former are usually cheaper than the latter.
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u/SDkahlua 15h ago
I have my two main living room bulbs turn on (white) 30min before sunset then around 9pm they change to blue/pink/whatever color to start to calm down for bed. They are absolutely necessary for some people! I couldn’t imagine having white lights turned on at night. Ick!
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u/coogie 18h ago
Most new LED lighting have a little switch on them that lets you switch the color temperature from 2700-3000-3500-4000-5000K. Even the new standard screw in leds have them now in the cheap brands like Feit. I realize that's not the same as using your app to set color scenes or whatever, but most people never use RGB anyway and just pick one color temperature and stick with it.
If you DO want color changing bulbs and "intelligent lighting" and it's going to be part of the house and not just a novelty, I would really stick to a brand that's going to continue to be in business and have support. Personally I'm in the Lutron Ecosystem so I get the best of both worlds where I can use Lumaris lights for color changing if I wanted (which I don't) and smart dimmers on the same system so I can pick and choose which areas to use which and they work seamlessly.
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u/schfourteen-teen 1d ago
You can get a smart switch that has Zigbee binding such that it talks directly to the smart bulb (assuming that's also Zigbee, like these are). Gets you the best of both worlds: manual control at the switch, doesn't break if the internet is down, color changing, won't disable the bulb if the switch is toggled off, etc.
It's game changing
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u/Mandrutz 23h ago
Note that most European and Chinese switches do not have outgoing binds (at least not on ZHA/Z2M).
I'm using custom firmware for my Tuya switches so I can bind them to my lightbulbs: https://github.com/romasku/tuya-zigbee-switch/
What are you using?
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u/criterion67 21h ago
Were there any color bulbs or just the white spectrum on close-out? 🫤
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u/zolakk 17h ago
Mine was still selling the bulbs retail still but had all the plug with remote packs on blowout so maybe it's store by store at this point? I needed an RGBW GU10 bulb and they only had a small handful on the shelf but tons of white only ones.
Btw, I recently discovered you can shop the "as is" online and it has stuff they have in the warehouse but not in the as-is part of the store yet. We were able to pick up some of the Gammalbyn chairs a few weeks ago new in box for half price when they were still marked full price on the showroom floor that way. You can either buy it for pickup or just go to the window in the as-is section and ask if you see it on the site and they will get it for you.
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u/criterion67 17h ago
I wish there was an Ikea near me but the closest one is about 7 hours away. My only option is to use the website/app. I'd like to buy several of the GU10s and some of the E26 bulbs at a blowout price. How do you shop the as-is online? I didn't see anything on the website or the app. Of course, I could be looking in the wrong place. LMK if you know.
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u/zolakk 17h ago
If you go to the main menu on the website, then deals, there's an option for "as-is online". Here's the link for mine, you might be able to use that and just change the store to see what yours has: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/customer-service/shopping-at-ikea/as-is-online-pubce1eedc0/#/las+vegas
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u/criterion67 14h ago
Thanks. Unfortunately, the as-is items are only available online for either in-store or pickup at your local store. They don't offer shipping. 🫤
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u/gafonid 10h ago
Do I have to physically go into an IKEA to see these prices?
If I called, would they be able to say over the phone if they're cheap there?
My local IKEA is insanely crowded and I do not go inside unless I have a very specific target
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u/KinoftheKing-Ins 10h ago
Check the “as-is” section, it’s their clearance and returns! Just go straight to the checkout area and it’s behind the registers
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u/Secret_Enthusiasm_21 1d ago edited 20h ago
well I hope you live alone because smart bulbs are basically nothing but a guarantee for marital arguments. No way you are going to get your wife to not use the light switch.
You can save yourself that hassle by getting smart switches instead. Also last a lot longer than those bulbs.
Edit: jeezus I know you can use smart switches to control smart bulbs. OP didn't get smart switches. He got smart bulbs.
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u/destinynftbro 1d ago
You can have both. If you have a smart switch, it can control the smart bulb. I then tend to build in overrides for manually triggering the relay.
For our home, dimmable lighting is more important than being able to toggle the power immediately. It’s a trade-off that some people are happy to make.
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u/cr0ft 1d ago
If you have neutral in the wall, and get the right smart switch, you can decouple it and make it control a smart bulb instead. Even without a dimmer per se, you can program it to run a scene that switches between various brightness levels and even colors. All with the one smart wall switch. You still have the relay as well you can control from the hub (like home assistant) in case you need to re-pair the bulbs with 6 on/off cycles, or just want to turn off power manually for whatever reason.
But you should also automate the lights more so that the wife doesn't have to go near a light switch because the light is already right.
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u/criterion67 21h ago edited 21h ago
Search for the term "Zigbee Binding" to learn how to directly connect smart bulb & smart switches together without any hub or HA system. They directly communicate with one another. Martial bliss as it all works like the old dumb bulbs & switches.
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u/limpymcforskin 1d ago edited 1d ago
Ikea is discontinuing all their Zigbee stuff in favor of Matter over Thread starting in Q1-2026. Most likely the reason for the fire sale. Great price though.