Philips Hue bulbs are one of the easiest ways to give light fixtures smart home capabilities, including through the Apple HomeKit platform. The problem with Philips Hue switches is that every time a wall light switch is turned on, the smart lights go unanswered. Dimmer Lutron Aurora is a simple but ingenious way to solve this problem.

Problem

Most of my house is equipped with Philips Hue bulbs, including lamps and lighting fixtures. Over the years, I have slowly created my HomeKit lighting installation, and the versatility of Philips Hue bulbs has made it easy to maintain the configuration, despite moving apartments and eventually into a house.

Philips Hue bulbs are also incredibly useful for tenants: they simply replace “dumb” bulbs and do not require wiring or other modifications that may not be approved by the landlord.

For me, I knew perfectly well that I never use a physical light switch - I know that everything can be easily managed, thanks to the Home application on the iPhone, iPad and Mac, as well as by Siri. I have automation settings for certain hours of the day, scenes for things like work and relaxation, and automation for leaving and arriving home.

But, as anyone has experienced with Philips Hue smart bulbs, every time a wall light switch is turned on, the smart lights will not respond. This is because Hue bulbs require the lights to remain in the "on" position at all times to be controlled via the Hue or HomeKit application. Probably not you turning that light on and off, but rather with someone you live with or guests with.

Dimmer Aurora Lutron is designed to solve this problem.

Lutron Aurora

Lutron Aurora is a simple accessory designed to fit over existing switching switches. The installation process is incredibly simple, with the round dimmer attached to the toggle switch. Then tighten the base with a screwdriver and install the front cover.

After installing the hardware, configure Aurora integration with the Philips Hue application. The Aurora dimmer integrates with Philips Hue through the "Friends of Hue" platform. As you can see in the pictures below, just choose Lutron Aurora from the "Friends of Hue" list in the Hue app. From there, you can choose what happens when Lutron Aurora is controlled.

Side note: Everything is managed through the Hue app - not the Home app or the Lutron app. This means you'll need to make sure your cameras and accessories are in sync between the Home app and the Hue app. This can be a difficult process, but it is worth it in the end.

You can associate Lutron Aurora with several accessories, which means that a switch does not have to control a set of lights. For example, I installed it to control the surveillance body as well as the floor lamp, both using Philips Hue bulbs.

This also means that you don't have to buy multiple Lutron Aurora indicators for each room. For example, if you have two light fixtures or lamps, you can set one Lutron Aurora to control both - or even all the lights in the room.

Once the setup process is complete, Lutron Aurora works largely like a normal light switch. Aurora can be pressed as a button to turn the accessories on and off, or it can be turned left or right to increase or decrease the brightness of the accessories.

Again, the advantage is that you keep smart control of the home, even if you or someone else in the house accidentally throws the manual switch.

There are some limitations. First of all, Lutron Aurora only works with Philips Hue bulbs, so if you have other smart bulbs scattered throughout the smart configuration of your home, you should keep this limitation in mind. Second, Lutron Aurora speakers only fit traditional "flip" style switches. If you have a different style of wall switch, Lutron Aurora will not work for you.

Other solutions

There are other solutions to provide intelligent control lighting in the wall. For example, Lutron Caséta wall dimmers (overhaul) replace existing light switches in your home with switches connected. Philips Hue also sells its own Smart Dimmer Switch, but this does not fit over your existing switches.

These solutions offer their own benefits, such as Lutron Caséta switches, also being able to control cellular fans (review), but none is as easy and cost-effective as Lutron Aurora.

Aurora Lutron is available on Amazon for only $ 40. If you are a Philips Hue user, this is an easy way to add extra convenience to your smart home setup, even if it is more to benefit other household members and guests than you.

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