I’m planning to put HA on a pi, with a usb antenna

I can’t decide which bulbs to use, Philips hue looks great but it’s pricey and I’m pretty sure it’s got too much “phone home” crap. I don’t want anything to leave my network. If I can use Hue bulbs without the hub, or block the hub from phoning home I would consider it?

I found some Sengled bulbs that look fine, but I don’t know if they are any good.

Can someone recommend some decent bulbs? Colour ones preferably, but white is OK too.

Any other advice? Got a home server, so can host just about anything to get this working together.

  • EntropyOPEnglish
    3·
    3 years ago

    I think long term using relays and switches is what I want to do, but I live in a rented house so I can’t go changing the electricals in the wall.

    I’ll buy a few and practice wiring them up though.

    • thehatfoxEnglish
      1·
      3 years ago

      Ah sorry, I didn’t think that you might be renting.

      A few people I know have also recommended Aurora AOne range for smart lights. They have a mixture of Zigbee and Bluetooth bulbs and other smart devices. Bluetooth is another good option for local control - especially if paired it ESPHome Bluetooth Proxies to extend range. I don’t have any Aurora lights personally but I have recently purchased some of their smart sockets and they have been great quality devices so far.