So I've been looking for an answer for this, whether or not setting the entire Philips Hue up is worth it, or if I should just forego the hub and go straight to the zigbee protocol.
#Got Philips Hue for Christmas -- should I use the Hub despite having a SONOFF Zigbee 3.0 Dongle?
proud tangle
Got Philips Hue for Christmas -- should I use the Hub despite having a SONOFF Zigbee 3.0 Dongle?
jade wharf
If you've already got a zigbee dongle for HA, then you should absolutely connect the bulb directly to HA without using the Hue hub. You'll have more flexibility in what you can do with HA automations, and having devices in a single zigbee network rather than two separate networks reduces interference and improves the mesh.
proud tangle
If you've already got a zigbee dongle for HA, then you should absolutely connect...
Thanks for the reply! Do you have any examples of the increased flexibility?
jade wharf
I don't have any experience with the Hue hub specifically (I started with IKEA stuff) but honestly for light bulbs there's probably not that big of a difference in functionality/flexibility. The zigbee mesh thing should be your main consideration.
Hue bulbs are great zigbee mesh routers and will improve the quality of your HA zigbee mesh for any other devices you also have connected.
proud tangle
Hue bulbs are great zigbee mesh routers and will improve the quality of your HA ...
Great to hear, thanks for the feedback.
Speaking of bulbs, did you have to change most of your sockets when starting with smart lights?