Philips Hue lights Updated

 Philips Hue lights are known for the ability to program brightness, saturation, and hue using software.

Most people use one or more cellphone apps to control their Hue lights. I've a history in computrer science and electronic technology and engineering, so took this up as a new interest.

WiFi control of light bulbs' colors has interested me ever since I read aboout the topic some years ago.

There happened to be seven Hue bulbs available from one eBay seller and for a reaosnable fee, approximately $20. A bridge device is used to communicate with the bulbs, so I waited for a good deal on eBay and got one.

Philips has evolved a developer community and resources for those who want to explore the possibilities in lamp light control.

The user joins the communnity and gets a temporary API key, formerly referred to as a 'username', good for one session. Then a browser or app, can be used to send commands to the bulbs.

There are other avenues of communication. Python libraries are available to control the lights, and are found in other languages too, e.g. PHP and Go.

Getting used to the system and protocols takes some time and a lot of effort but is worth the investment.

My most recent use of the technology was on Halloween night. The front and back porch lights were turned to orange and interior lights, green. The orange is a Halloween color and the green is traditionally used for mystery.

There is another use that puts the bulbs in a home entertainment center. Lights can be made to respond to sight and sound. This makes an effect that alters light color and intensity according to sound and/or sight. Light strips mounted behind the TV can change color to reflect the colors on the TV. They can change intensity based on TV sounds/audio.

Currently, I've spread the bulbs throughout the house and use an old cellphone with an app to control them. This took some getting use to. There's a string habit of flipping wall switches that was dificult to overcome and took several days.

One of the things I like most is the ability to turn house lights on or off from my car at night. 

I hope to add one to the basement for ease of access. I could also use one at the basement door.