Control Hue bulbs
Introducing Philips Hue bulbs
The hue bulbs can be turned on and off, and change their color dynamically using the Hue API. The ThingBox provides a simple access to every control you can have on your hue bulbs.
Before you start
The Hue node we will use in this tutorial will only work if you have already configured your Hue Bridge and added the Hue bulbs to it as described in the Hue documentation.
Plug in your bridge and it will automatically power up. Connect it to your Wi-Fi router using the network cable provided. Wait for the three lights to come on and you are good to go.
Then download the Hue app on your phone and discover the bulbs to add them in the bridge.
The app is a nightmare. They have decided that you have to create a virtual room to monitor your bulbs. Good luck.
For more informations about how to do it, go on the Phillips Web site.
Install the node
Click the right menu in the Node-RED web page. Choose Manage Palette then Install.
Type ttb-node-hue in the edit box and click the OK button.
Wait for the install
The installation may take up to 5 minutes (a progress bar shows the progress), depending on what is already installed on your device.
Then reboot and then refresh the web browser page.
Browse the palette and look at the newly added nodes.
A first simple flow
Now, we will create a flow that will allow us to switch on and off a hue bulb.
Drag and drop nodes to your workspace and wire them to build this flow :
By double clicking on the Hue set Node, you will see the configuration panel.
Then, you have to select a bridge in the bridge list. Hue bridges are automatically detected by the node.
If the menu does not show the bridge, try to rebbot Node-RED, try to reboot the bridge.
You will see a popup that will explain you that you have to push your Hue bridge Sync button (the one in the middle) in order to continue.
Close this popup and go find your Hue bridge, and press the round shaped button (the one at the middle of the device)
Once it is done, you have to open quickly the Hue node on your browser and there will be the list of the Hue bulbs that are already linked to your Hue bridge.
Select the one you want to take a try with. Click the OK button, and you are now done with the Hue node configuration. Click Activate button.
Usage
By clicking on the first go node, you will switch your light on, and you can switch it off by clicking the second go node.
Change the bulb intensity
In this flow, we add an intensity node:
This node sets the intensity of the flow. The default allows a value between 0 and 100, but the Hue can go til 255. This can be set in the node parameters:
In this dialog, just change the Maximum to 255.
Then, you can edit the value in the first tab:
You get the following flow:
Change the bulb color
Drag’n drop a color node from the palette:
To configure to color node, double click on the node and pick with your mouse the color you like in the colored circle.
You can rename your node with the color you choosed :
When all the configuration is done, click on the Activate button again.
Add a transition time
To change the transition time, we use the intensity node again, but we need to change the parameter of the flow from intensity to transitiontime:
you can now change the value in the first tab:
Here is a typical flow:
Usage
Now, by clicking on the go node, you can dynamically change your Hue bulb color.
You can also adjust the brightness and the transition time by sliding the values in the intensity nodes configuration bars.
As in the first example, the last go node turns the light off.
You are now done with Hue flows on theThingBox !
You can even make a more complex flow, that makes the color change by clicking on the different go nodes :
Resources
Credits
Adapted work of node-red-contrib-hue from urbiworx.de based on Peter Murray hue lib.