hue

In this the second article in my mini Zigbee compatibility series, I thought I would cover the specific topic of the different types of lighting controls.

After a few years of my addiction to interest in home automation, the issue that I have found most problematic for users is that of compatibility. This causes a lot of confusion, and unforunately affects even devices using "standards" such as ZigBee, which in theory should facilitate multi-vendor compatibility. One of the areas of most divergence is that of ZigBee lighting controls, so I thought I'd collate what I know to try to explain what works, what doesn't work, and why.

I was out shopping in IKEA this week (Milton Keynes, UK) when I happened across a few new additions to the Tradfri range of smart lighting: LED drivers!

There are a number of articles around the web about how to use the (cheaper) IKEA Tradfri bulbs with the Philips Hue hub after a firmware update. However, after doing this they will no longer be controllable by any Tradfri equipment. I have not come across anybody who has been able to use Tradfri remotes and dimmers with the Hue hub (or any lights paired with it).