Do All Philips Hue Lights Change Color?

Back in October of 2012, Philips introduced the Hue smart bulbs that do much more than just light up a room. Some of them even change colors!

We decided to write a detailed guide on color-changing light bulbs with Hue lighting to better understand how they work and what you can do with them.

We dove into the technical details of the Hue bulb, how to set up and use the app to control them, and which features are most important in making them part of your smart home.

What Exactly Is A Color-Changing Light Bulb?

You might be wondering what the heck a color-changing light bulb is. Well, let me break it down for ya. These bad boys can switch up the color of their light like it’s no big deal. They come in all shapes and sizes, but most of them fit into your standard light socket, so there is no need to go all handyman on your home.

You might think, “But which brand should I go for?” Don’t worry. There are plenty of options! Philips, GE, Sylvania, and more got you covered.

But if you’re looking for the OG color-changing bulb, you gotta check out Phillips Hue Lighting. They were the first to bring the connected home lighting game; their product line is fire! You’ll find something for every room in your house and even your outdoor space.

Getting Started With Philips Hue Color Combinations

When setting up hue lighting in your home, you’ll first want to choose a starter pack that includes some bulbs and a hub that connects them to your network.

Philips Hue Color Starter Kit

The Philips Hue Start Kit includes everything you need to get started in the world of color lighting. These kits include:

• Three light bulbs – These smart light bulbs can change between millions of colors.
• Philips Hue Hub or Bridge – This unit uses a Zigbee protocol to connect and control each light from your smartphone or tablet. It connects to the internet via your home network via an Ethernet cable or WiFi connection. It also connects to your smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth Low Energy, so you don’t need an Ethernet cord running to your device to use it. Once you plug the hub in and connect it to your home network, you can download the app to your phone or tablet and begin using your new lights. The app is available for iOS and Android devices.
• Light switch – This smart light switch can control the lights from your wall. The magnetic controller can also detach from the switch and be used as a remote control.

If you want to get started with this, I recommend starting with this starter kit, which you can expand on for your unique needs. It also gives you complete instructions on how to get started.

Philips Hue Color Chart

Here is a list of the color palette available with these bulbs. As you can tell, it hits pretty much the entire color spectrum.

Now, there are actually millions of colors that you can get from these bulbs, but the chart above basically gives you the primary colors.

Philips Hue Color Lumens

Lumens are the measure of brightness that a bulb can emit. The higher the lumens rating, the brighter the light will be. Different colors will also emit different lumens depending on their intensity, but this is a pretty good approximation of what you might expect from each one with an 800-lumen-rated Philips Hue color bulb:

• Blue: ~450 lumens
• Red: ~800 lumens
• Green: ~500 lumens
• Yellow: ~600 lumens
• White: ~800-900 lumens
• Pink: ~300-400 lumens
• Purple: ~500-600 lumens
• Orange: ~600-700 lumens

Philips Hue Color Temperatures

When you’re in a room with incandescent bulbs, and everything feels cozy and warm? That’s all thanks to its yellowish glow, which gives off a warm color temperature. But on the other hand, have you ever noticed that fluorescent lights make everything look a little blue? And LED lights they’re like a ray of sunshine, bringing the outside in with their more white and daylight-like glow.

Each lighting situation has unique vibes, and it’s all about finding the right temperature for your mood and environment. And that’s where Philips Hue comes in, my friend! It lets you switch up the color temperature without even having to leave the couch. How cool is that?

Philips Hue Color vs. White Ambiance

So, you want to spruce up your space with fancy new light bulbs. Well, let me tell ya, you’ve got options! You can choose between Color and White Ambiance bulbs.

White Ambiance is the bomb because it lets you switch up the mood depending on the time of day. You can make it super bright and cheerful for the day, warm and cozy for the night, or relaxed and calming – all from the comfort of your phone using the Ambience feature.

Color Ambiance is for those who like to live in the rainbow lane. You pick the color you’re feelin’, and boom, your room transforms!

Best Philips Hue Colors For Different Reasons

There are a lot of different uses for colored bulbs other than making some nice colorful effects in your room. Here are some of the best uses for these lights:

• Create Mood Lighting – You can set the color on your lamps to create the mood you want in your room. Some good examples would be to set the red bulb on a dimmer to create a lovely romantic atmosphere or set the color to green to create a soothing environment to unwind after a hard day’s work.
• Set a Timer – If you have a lamp that you want to turn on/off at a particular time.
• Wake-up light or sunrise color – If you are like me, you don’t always wake up at the same time every day. A wake-up light is a valuable tool to help wake you up in the morning at your desired time by gradually increasing the brightness of your lamp over a specified time. You can set these up in the mobile app or use the “wake up” function on the light switch. You can pick from a range of preset times or customize your schedule in the “wake up” section of the app and then set the light on a timer to turn on/off at the specified time.
• Best color for sleep – If you have trouble falling asleep at night, you can set a color on your bedside lamp to help you relax before going to sleep. Many people like to set their lights on a dark red hue, but this can stimulate some people, so you may want to experiment with different colors to see what works best for you. You can also set your lights to turn off at a specific time each night to help you fall asleep faster.
• Blacklight – while you cannot get a true black light, you can et the next best thing and mimic it.

The Philips Hue App

Are you tired of getting up to turn off your lights? Well, with this app, you can control your lighting from the comfort of your phone or tablet like a boss! It’s like having your own personal lighting assistant. You can easily adjust the brightness of each bulb and set timers for when you want them to turn on or off.

And if you’re feeling extra fancy, you can even change the color! Just tap on the bulb and pick your new shade from the cool color palette. And if you want a brighter or more subdued light, you can tweak the intensity level too.

Trust me, this app is a game-changer. Want to see all its awesomeness in action? Check out this walkthrough video. It’ll show you everything you need to know to control your lighting like a pro.

How to Make Philips Hue Lights Change Colors

The easiest way to change colors is simply by opening the app and selecting the color on the palette. But did you know that you can do much more than just pick a color?

Let’s look at some fantastic Philips Hue color options and ideas:

• Cycle colors to change color automatically – if you have the Hue Bridge, you can cycle through your favorite colors automatically
• Color loop – you can set up a formula to handle color looping through all your favorite colors.
• Change colors with music – You can set it up to sync with your music and let it cycle through a bunch of different colors to the beat as you listen to your favorite tunes!
• Remote control – control color changes using a remote control.
• Fade between colors – instead of a hard shift from one color to another, you can set it up to fade between them.
• Changing the default color – in the app settings under “power-on behavior.”
• Schedule color – based on a set schedule that you define.

Color Bulb Options From Philips Hue

Philips has several different colored bulb options that you can choose from. Each of these has a lot of other package options like single bulbs, 2 packs, 3 packs, and 4 packs.

• White And Color Ambiance E26
• GU10
• G10r
• White And Color A19 LED Smart Bulbs
• BR30
• E12
• A21 1600 lumens
• E14
• E26
• E27

Philips Hue Use Options That Have Color Choices

There are many different lighting fixtures that these bulbs are compatible with, and these bulbs also come in a lot of varying compatibility options. These are typically used with:

• Floor lamps
• Table lamps
• Desk lamps
• LED light strips (plus extension)
• Downlights
• Outdoor flood lights
• Recessed lights
• Edison bulbs
• Candelabra
• Ceiling lights

FAQ

Conclusion

Do you know what’s been missing from your home? A little bit of personality and style! But don’t worry; I got you covered. Have you checked out the latest from Phillips and their color light bulbs?

These bad boys will let you transform your space with just a few taps on your phone. It’s like magic! These products are a total game changer if you’re looking to add some mood lighting and liven up your space. Trust me, you won’t regret it.