My UBE Kickstarter dimmers finally arrived after being delayed for months on end. I held off on other technologies while waiting for these to arrive, so I don't have any lighting automation. Long ago I did receive my Almond+, another Kickstarter, which is a router with home automation features. I use it as a router, but the home automation side of things, I never really did anything with.
The UBE units are now called Plum Lightpads, I installed 3 of them and got them up and running. And I'm impressed. The build quality and packaging look good.
Installs like any dimmer, but it needs the neutral wire, which I had. Setup with the app is very simple.
The unit is sleek looking, very modern. It has a glow ring around it that glows when it senses motion. You can select the glow color, duration and sensitivity in the iOS app, which is pretty cool. My wife likes the autumnal orange color I selected. And it's bright enough to be a decent night light.
It gives you a wattage readout of the fixture. Which is making me think about more LED bulbs.
The app has a simple, clean interface. My wife is actually using it to make lighting scenes and schedule times. It's rare she latches on to technical things, but like Sonos, she's adopted it and wants to do more. I caught her turning lights on and off, while we were having dinner at a friend's house, to make it look like someone was home, she says.
Shortcomings with the unit - no Android app and no Smartthings integration. Coming soon, they say.
Eventually I would like to get my Ademco alarm panel talking to my Smartthings, so I can trigger light events on the PLUMs. Baby steps for now.
The UBE units are now called Plum Lightpads, I installed 3 of them and got them up and running. And I'm impressed. The build quality and packaging look good.
Installs like any dimmer, but it needs the neutral wire, which I had. Setup with the app is very simple.
The unit is sleek looking, very modern. It has a glow ring around it that glows when it senses motion. You can select the glow color, duration and sensitivity in the iOS app, which is pretty cool. My wife likes the autumnal orange color I selected. And it's bright enough to be a decent night light.
It gives you a wattage readout of the fixture. Which is making me think about more LED bulbs.
The app has a simple, clean interface. My wife is actually using it to make lighting scenes and schedule times. It's rare she latches on to technical things, but like Sonos, she's adopted it and wants to do more. I caught her turning lights on and off, while we were having dinner at a friend's house, to make it look like someone was home, she says.
Shortcomings with the unit - no Android app and no Smartthings integration. Coming soon, they say.
Eventually I would like to get my Ademco alarm panel talking to my Smartthings, so I can trigger light events on the PLUMs. Baby steps for now.
