Administrator Marc Posted December 20, 2015 Administrator Share Posted December 20, 2015 With my recent media room build/reno, I wanted lighting that I could control from phone/tablet etc but more importantly be able to control colour/hue/brightness. After looking around at the number of options on the market, I settled on the LIFX GU10 option - http://www.lifx.com/ Not overly cheap, but long term I think its fairly reasonable. I'll attempt to get some photos of the lighting options and maybe a video later. Just thought I'd start a thread on this great product. Anyone else using them? I needed 12 GU10's plus a couple of bayonet globes for the floor lamps. Had some initial connectivity issues but after a series of firmware upgrades it's been very reliable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaileyAV Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 personally my automated lighting has always been cbus. Lutron is meant to be another good one but i dont know a single person in WA that uses it. ive never once had a client request colour change stuff so i havent had to search for it. How do you find the responsiveness of the system? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Marc Posted December 21, 2015 Author Administrator Share Posted December 21, 2015 When I first received them, 9 of 12 downlights were super responsive. However the others would become orphans or get forgotten. Each globe registers itself on the network and receives an IP address, so with already more than a dozen IPs on the network, this could have been posing a problem. With some handy IP and network apps however, I realised I was on a dodgy WiFi channel. Using an app I found a clear channel and changed it, along with a number of firmware upgrades and it's been perfect since. I can setup macros using IFTTT which is great to automate the whole movie sequence, or use my smartwatch to turn the lights on and off. The kids love the Music Visualiser function when playing music. Turns the room into a disco. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaileyAV Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 nice. seems like having your whole house with these bulbs would make for one massive local network!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaynin Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 This product is gold. Absolute gold. I showed my wife and she was sold straight away. A "must have"! Where did you get yours from @@Marc. I went in to Harvey Norman today but they don't stock the model I'm after - Colour 1000 Edison screw. It looks like you can order directly on their website, but just wondering if there's another retailer that I haven't found... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qwertyqaz Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 What does it cost, mind you the lens I have were free Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Marc Posted December 22, 2015 Author Administrator Share Posted December 22, 2015 This product is gold. Absolute gold. I showed my wife and she was sold straight away. A "must have"! Where did you get yours from @@Marc. I went in to Harvey Norman today but they don't stock the model I'm after - Colour 1000 Edison screw. It looks like you can order directly on their website, but just wondering if there's another retailer that I haven't found... I had trouble locating them locally also. While an Australian company, it looks like they've based themselves in U.S now. Mine were shipped in no time at all. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaynin Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 Yeah, I read on their website that they ship from the USA, Hong Kong and Australia, so hopefully won't be too long, allowing for Christmas of course... I ordered 3 for a test run, and can then work out where we need more/if they'll fit in some different enclosures. Disappointed with Harvey Norman. They seem to be the only retailer who carry them, but don't sell the whole product line... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proftournesol Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 I was going to put LIFX in my new house, in fact i helped Kickstarter it but I also have my eyes on this - limited availability at the moment but watch that space. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaynin Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 This product is brilliant! Loving it... So easy to set up. Just screwed in the bulb, synced to my home wi-if, downloaded the app and haven't stopped playing with the lights since! Postage was quick once ordered, took about 7 days over Christmas time. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blybo Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 I've just put these puppies in my HT room. I've had them for a couple of months but needed to get a weekend when my sparkie could come over to swap my halogen down lights to a screw in, in ceiling mount. Had a bit of an issue getting them all connected initially and ended up putting them on the network 1 by 1 using a lamp next to my modem/router. It turned out they just needed to be power cycled 5 times each to reset them. Like Marc I also found swapping to an unused wifi channel helped even though apparently the next model up from my router has successfully had 100 globes running. I use a Harmony Elite remote in my HT room which will also control these lights and I've set up 2 groups for the room. Love the way I can use 3 different methods of control depending on how much customising I wish to do, standard light switch, Harmony or iOS app. Haven't used colour, just warm white although did a 6 light colour flicking display for my sparkie to put on his facebook page.. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaynin Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 ...did a 6 light colour flicking display for my sparkie to put on his facebook page.. Lol, my sparky couldn't get over them either. He's an older bloke, doesn't have Facebook, but the apprentice couldn't get his phone out quick enough. We run them in the master, kitchen/dining/lounge which floods the alfresco with light, and hallway to spare bedrooms. Love them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gee Emm Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 $60 each for colour. Wow, wasn't expecting that sort of pricing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blybo Posted June 7, 2016 Share Posted June 7, 2016 $60 each for colour. Wow, wasn't expecting that sort of pricing. US$60. They were more than that a few months back. I see they are in Harvey Norman now for $86.00 each, I got a discount for buying a 6 pack. They ship from Cremorne VIC, in the next street to the recent Maggie gtg Peter held. I did find it weird to pay US dollar for a locally stocked product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gee Emm Posted June 7, 2016 Share Posted June 7, 2016 But my light fittings hold 18 bulbs. $1080 per light Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Marc Posted June 7, 2016 Author Administrator Share Posted June 7, 2016 But my light fittings hold 18 bulbs. $1080 per light Photo? I don't think this is for you at that outlay ... Would be awesome though! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gee Emm Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 Photo? I have 2 of these lights actually. Lounge room, and adjoining dining room. Lounge room Dining room (foreground) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Marc Posted June 8, 2016 Author Administrator Share Posted June 8, 2016 That would look so cool with LIFX bulbs. Start saving! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gee Emm Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 In a pig's eye... I've got better things to spend money on, like toys for my shed. Let's see, I need a big-ar$e band saw, a 3 hp compressor, a spiral cutter for my over & under thicknesser, a super duper Gary Cooper trailer, etc, etc... Current list needs about $8k 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blybo Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 They are cheaper if you buy in bulk @@Gee Emm. They also have candle flickering effect that would look awesome in those fittings. Can also get the cheaper white globe where you can adjust the white temp rather than colours which are a bit gimmicky IMHO even though I bought them I doubt I'll ever use the Colour choices Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gee Emm Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 They are cheaper if you buy in bulk They'd wanna be They also have candle flickering effect that would look awesome in those fittings. Yes, yes they would. But, a 14" band saw would look better in my work shed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaynin Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 (edited) @@Gee Emm yep, those fixtures require way too many, just not feasible for the effect you're after. It you're keen on them, I'd be inclined to look at a single floor standing or desk top lamp in the room. They will have a very similar effect to having them in the ceiling fixture. In our master I put one each in our bedside table lamps, and they filled the room with light no problems. We've just switched to bedside lamps that hang from the ceiling, and they're just as effective. A single globe in a floor standing lamp will be very, very effective. If you have the choice, I'd definitely go the colour ones. You can go cool or warm whites, but colour when you choose. Personally, we use the different colours 80% of the time. Edited June 11, 2016 by Kaynin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gee Emm Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 Good ideas @@Kaynin [emoji3] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blybo Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 @@Gee Emm yep, those fixtures require way too many, just not feasible for the effect you're after. It you're keen on them, I'd be inclined to look at a single floor standing or desk top lamp in the room. They will have a very similar effect to having them in the ceiling fixture. In our master I put one each in our bedside table lamps, and they filled the room with light no problems. We've just switched to bedside lamps that hang from the ceiling, and they're just as effective. A single globe in a floor standing lamp will be very, very effective. If you have the choice, I'd definitely go the colour ones. You can go cool or warm whites, but colour when you choose. Personally, we use the different colours 80% of the time. Funny... I have colour globes and expect to only use Colour to show off potential.When they release the GU10 globes again I'll put them in my kids rooms and upstarts hallway replacing the existing MR16's. Then we can use them as night lights on timer schedules 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zardoz Posted July 3, 2016 Share Posted July 3, 2016 I've been playing extensively with both the LiFX and Philips Hue systems. Currently writing a review, since smart lighting systems seem to be a hot topic right now. The Hue system has some advantages with the ecosystem (including GU10, other light fittings and strip lighting that's super nice to deck out a theatre room, physical light switches and a remote) and Apple HomeKit is available today without any third party gateways on their gen2 bridge. LiFX provides better brightness and colour range with their standard globes (1050 lumen vs. 800 but I am doubting the 800 from the Hue as it seems a bit less) but no GU10 options, no hardware switching etc. At the lowest brightness setting, I can detect a very slight flicker with my eyes with the LiFX globes that appears absent on both generations of the Hue. Light quality is significantly different for coloured light with some colours. White light from the colour globes seems to have a green tint with LiFX and a red tint with the Hue; both manufacturers claim a CRI of 80, though - so expect better light quality than the equiv. compact fluorescent globe. LiFX globes also remember their previous setting when switched on; Philips globes return to the standard warm white setting after power cycle. I'm hoping that once LiFX drop HomeKit support into their globes, I'll have a simpler way of controlling lights from both systems easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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