Do dimmable lights with warmth transition exist?

RoGuE_StreaK

Enlightened
Joined
Apr 15, 2010
Messages
615
Location
Brisbane, Australia
I haven't been around for a while so may have missed something, and my brief searches didn't turn anything up; do LED "bulbs" exist that transistion from neutral to warm as they are dimmed down? I found a few research proposals but no existing products.

I was just contemplating what kind of lighting would best suit our dining and lounge rooms, and to me it seems that I'd want a neutral colour when bright (eg. 1000lm), and warm when less bright (eg. 500lm). I'd imagine that it wouldn't be too difficult to pull off if a company such as Philips put their minds to it.

I've seen bulbs from Aldi that either switch from warm to neutral or high to low by a quick off-on of the power switch, but so far none that change both temperature and brightness, and that triggered the thought of dimmers. Though if anyone knows of an off-on type that does neutral-high to warm-low (230V B22) then that would be useful, as I don't actually have any dimmers.
 

eh4

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 18, 2011
Messages
1,999
This is a very good idea, I hope these become available, I'd love this in flashlights as well.
 

StarHalo

Flashaholic
Joined
Dec 4, 2007
Messages
10,927
Location
California Republic
The Philips HUE system allows any brightness level (in individual percent from 0-100) with any Kelvin or color, which you can then save as a mode.

My most-used modes are two of the included factory settings; one called "Read" is a very convincing ~60W incan bulb impersonation, and fits in perfectly with other actual incan bulbs around our living room. At night I switch to "Relax", which is a warmer (I'd say ~3000K) 60% mode, very naturally comfortable on the eyes.

Once you set and name your mode, you can automatically recall it using whatever voice assistant your device uses. I say "Hey Siri, set Relax" and the lights go to ~3000K 60%.
 

RoGuE_StreaK

Enlightened
Joined
Apr 15, 2010
Messages
615
Location
Brisbane, Australia
Seems the "notification by email" thread option did't work! :ohgeez:
Was just popping back in to say I've now stumbled across the Philips SceneSwitch, which appears to be pretty-much exactly what I was saying in the latter part; using toggling of the light switch to change both brightness and warmth! Seems the term "toggle" is what I was missing in my searches?
https://www.philips.com.au/c-m-li/choose-a-bulb/sceneswitch
Hmm, there may be different generations/versions of them, seems most that I can find are only daylight/warm switching, without the three-level switching; something to be aware of when going to grab some!
 

StarHalo

Flashaholic
Joined
Dec 4, 2007
Messages
10,927
Location
California Republic
https://www.philips.com.au/c-m-li/choose-a-bulb/sceneswitch
Hmm, there may be different generations/versions of them, seems most that I can find are only daylight/warm switching, without the three-level switching; something to be aware of when going to grab some!

The HUE system has two different physical switches, the Dimmer and the Tap; either has a wall mount it can unclip from and then also be used as a handheld remote control - the Dimmer can work as an on/off/dim up/down and can also flip through four modes by repeatedly tapping the on button. And the Tap more obviously has four buttons for on/off/modes. Aside from these switches, any device on your local network that has the HUE app on it (any phone/tablet/computer) can also have full control of the lights.
 

RoGuE_StreaK

Enlightened
Joined
Apr 15, 2010
Messages
615
Location
Brisbane, Australia
Thanks StarHalo, but from what I can see you are looking at several hundred dollars to install a HUE system? Whereas the simple toggling SceneSwitch appears to be sub $20 per bulb, if I can ever track one down locally...
 

StarHalo

Flashaholic
Joined
Dec 4, 2007
Messages
10,927
Location
California Republic
If you just want the adjustable Kelvin/brightness without the colors: HUE White Ambience Starter Kit; includes the Hue bridge, 2 bulbs, and the Dimmer switch, $100. Extra bulbs are $50/2.
jcXzgeO.jpg
 

ssanasisredna

Enlightened
Joined
Oct 19, 2016
Messages
457

Chip:esp8285
Lamp Base: E27
Rated Power: 6W
Typical Lumen Output: 600lm
Beam Angle: 120 Degree typical
Color Temperature: 2800K-6500K & RGB full color
Dimmable: Yes (via app/Amazon Echo/Google Home)
Wireless Standard: WiFi 2.4GHz
Rated Input Voltage: 90-260V AC 50/60Hz
Stand-by (Light off) power: 0.5W Max



Well there is certainly more margin in the Philips Hue, they are not in the same ball-park w.r.t. performance:

The HUE full-color bulbs are not simple RGB or RGBW, but have additional colors to ensure more accurate color points and better CRI across the range.
They go down to 2200K. 2800K in this light is not overly warm. 2200 is about the minimum for what most would consider the "warm" point for a dimmable incandescent. 1800 would be even better.

Having seen a range of these types before, unit to unit consistency tend to be poor when trying to set all to the same color, especially at low dimming levels. That is not an issue with Hue.

I am not saying Hue is perfect, but you get what you pay for.

I guess there is always the option of modifying a Philips Warm-Glo to get more the color you want as it dims.
 

RoGuE_StreaK

Enlightened
Joined
Apr 15, 2010
Messages
615
Location
Brisbane, Australia
I did end up finding the three-mode SceneSwitch bulbs at one of the big supermarket chains, and on a bit of a sale too! Aus$13.50, $3.50 off normal price. They don't come up if you search the supermarket website though.
Put it in the dining room as a test, and so far looks good. Has memory, so if you turn it off at "mid" and leave it a little while it will always come back on in that setting, only changing if you do the quick-switch. High mode seems good for working on something at the table, mid's about the same as the CFL that was in there before and a good medium, and low is good for ambient when watching TV etc. Supposedly temps are 2700K on high ("100%"), 2500K on mid ("40%"), 2200K on low ("10%").
 
Top