Dim Bulbs

I'm not a fan of Smart Bulbs

There.  I've said it.

It's not their bulbiness, per se.  It is more their hubbiness.  While I understand the need for hubs in a smart home environment, having multiple ones seems a bit much.  Especially ones that are single service hubs.  They connect the bulbs to the network.  They don't connect the bulbs AND the switches and the contact sensors and the thermostat.  Just the bulbs.

Single-Serving Hubs

If smart bulb manufacturers want me to use their product, I'm going to need them to use something a whole lot less proprietary.  A whole lot more inclusive.  I can hear a few of them say that their systems integrate with other, larger ecosystem hubs, but that still requires that the bulb hub (blub?) work in conjunction with the main hub.  Is there something about including Z-Wave or Zigbee or Bluetooth (or, god forbid, 802.11something) into the stalk of the bulb that makes this difficult?  I'm sure I don't know.

(Turns out that Philips does know.  However, while Zigbee is an open(ish) standard, the Hue version may or may not be.)

And that is why, for me, I'm sticking to smart wall switches (currently a mix of WeMo for single switches and GE Z-Wave for three-way switches).  I know, I can't have the bulb alert me through color changes when I've gained (or lost) a subscriber.  Fortunately, I keep a device in my pocket that blinks and chimes whenever that stuff happens.  I can't have that funky VIP lounge lighting effect in my very own living room.  Let's face it, I've never been in a club, much less a club VIP lounge and I would not know what to do with myself if I were.  Probably fall asleep, which is what I do in my living room.  With normal bulbs.

How Many IoT Enthusiasts Does it Take?

The installation is a bit more than screwing in a light bulb (insert ethnic/occupation/gender based bulb joke here).  On the other had, I don't have another hub to figure out and coordinate.  Or another app to jump to or try to fit into Tasker or IFTTT.

I'll 'switch' to smart bulbs when my current LED bulbs burn out.  And I only installed them last year..