This week we are adapting some downlight fittings for the Philips Hue GU10 bulbs for a home cinema room we are working on. Because they will be using a Logitech Harmony Elite remote control with the smart hub we will be able to control the lighting directly from the one-touch remote.
Personally I'm a great fan of the Philips Hue range of smart lighting control. What started a few years ago as just a range of bulbs has slowly blossomed into a nice home lighting ecosystem. They (Philips) now have a smart sensor available that can be easily programmed, I have one in my kitchen attached to my fridge so when I walk into the kitchen at night (and only at night) then the lights come on whilst I'm in there and dim down 5 minutes after I leave.
I won't go into too much detail about the Alexa integration, that's another article, suffice to say that this is almost exclusively how we control the lights in my home. unless we are turning them all on or off (when we enter or leave) voice is for us the easiest way to control.
Also because the API's are freely available and the bulbs are so widely used (guesstimates put it at around 12-13 million Hue bulbs sold) Hue lights are often the first to get integrated into control systems such as Samsungs Smartthings, GE's Wink, Apples Homekit etc... let's not forget either Amazon Alexa or Google Home where the Philips Hue was one of the first home technologies to get integrated into voice control and regular updates add even more functionality.
As nice as the app is (opposite) there are a number of ways to control the lights.
As a systems integrator, what is really cool about the Hue lights is that anyone can have them, there isn't any special wiring or light switches or racks of dimming in the M&E room. They are a bit tricky to initially set-up, but let us handle that and you can download the app (or apps) and have a play around, they are fun - yet turn on and off exactly the same as normal lights, so no need to worry about it being complicated for the maid or guests.
Also you can add smart lighting to your home, room by room or just wherever needed. It's probably the easiest way to create a Smart Home.