RGB Bulb (A19 or A21) compatible w/ Vera Plus for outside lamppost or other idea

Other Devices & Integrations Lighting & Load Control
#1

Morning all, I have an outside lamppost that is connected to my GE Zwave switch in the house. I’m wanting to add a color changing A19 or A21 bulb to the lamppost and be able to change it during holidays or anytime I want. I haven’t found a good solution that would integrate with vera. Any thoughts or other options for what i’m looking to accomplish?

Thanks!!

#2

Your requirement for color changing is the “issue”. You could use the Zipato Z-Wave RGBW LED Light Bulb (RGBWE27ZW.US) or the similar one form Aeotec. But, you’ll need to leave teh GE switch turned on and control the bulb.

I’ve seen people on the forum claim a level of success with [url=http://amzn.to/2gLZV0c]SYLVANIA LIGHTIFY RGBW Color Changing bulb/url. But I’ve seen many more people complaining that it doesn’t work properly. If you have a Vera Plus, you might give that try. But, I would not recommend it.

These LE Dimmable A19 E26 RGB LED Bulbs, Color Changing stand alone bulbs with remote control would likely be the best option, though they can’t be integrated/controlled with Vera.

The most cost effective by far, would be to replace the bulb with a standard bulb of your preferred color.

#3

Thanks!!! Good info - yea I know most cost effective would be to physically change, but since I have this nice Vera plus and other home automation components was hoping for “easy” integrated option vs sending the wife out to change the color of the bulbs. Lol.

I def don’t want a secondary remote.

I’ll look into the two you mentioned. Amazon has great return policy :wink:

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#4

Why not have a look at the Milight bulbs in combination with the Milight plugin?

#5

I’m definitely open to something like that as long as it integrates. Have you have experience with milight?

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#6

Yes I have, but I’ve switched to Philips Hue because those bulbs are much better. Also a lot more expensive :wink:

But if you are looking for a cheap way to do some fun stuff with colored light I think Milight is the way to go. And via the Milight plugin they integrate nicely with Vera too. (MiOS Apps) Check the Milight subforum here: http://forum.micasaverde.com/index.php/board,72.0.html

Just be sure to buy the strongest bulb, which is (I think) 9W. I didn’t and ended up with a 6W bulb that just didn’t give enough light.

This is what I recently did with my obsolete Milight White bulb: http://forum.micasaverde.com/index.php/topic,11964.msg300773.html#msg300773

#7

Note to self: Listen to guru @Z-Waver I bought the Sylvania RGB and while it adds to Vera Plus without issues, there is no option to change the RGB colors. Good thing it’s AMAZON, prompt return to come if I can’t figure it out… LOL

#8

Go with MiLight 9W bulbs and the WiFi bridge; Had it up and running with the vera plugin in no time. Full control from Vera of ALL the bubs functions.

#9

Re the bulbs, we are using an Aeotec bulb with the RGB controller plugin on a Vera Plus for the study here. We’ve had no issues with that bit.

Our reason for getting the bulb was that we desired both a cool and warm light from the central bulb. It’s met that aim reasonably well. The colours are just a bit of added fun really.

We are just using a simple manual set up with a 4 button Nodon Z Wave remote for the wall switch. Along the lines of button #1- toggle between the whites, #2- off #3- toggle between say 6 RGB colours we liked, #4- start the slow rainbow animation.

#10

For those that have gottent this to work, I’d like to understand your setup/scenes. I’m new to Vera, but quickly learning all the advanced features. What I would like to do it at sunset turn on the porch lights. Then after a few seconds, change the color based on the day. I understand this will take a few scenes, but what I’ve seen with the Philips Hue lights, is that I cannot change the color within a scene. Do the Zipato lights allow this?

#11

Just one other thought to add to this discussion; if you’re looking for a bulb to have outdoors, make sure the one you select will work in your climate. I live in an area that gets down to negative temps routinely during the winter. Not even all regular bulbs can tolerate extreme cold. I learned this after losing a bunch of CFL bulbs before paying attention to the specs. Smart bulbs are way too expensive to waste them.

Good luck in your search! I’ll be watching this posting as well because I’m considering something similar.

#12

Good thinking. The Milight bubl next to my front door still holds after the temperature dropped to -7 C last night.

With PLEG it will be a piece of cake to set up what you want. Also changing the colors of hue within a scene is possible. Just don’t use the ‘normal’ hue scene name, but find the 13-digit integer in the Phillips Hue Plugin/advanced/Variables that corresponds with the scene name and use that in your scene.