Amazon Echo to HA Controllers

[ano]

Do you know what the parasitic draw for smart bulbs is? I tried to find some specs, and haven't found anything. I know that my dimmers consume 0.2W, wondering how that would compare to smart bulbs.

I'm not sure what it is, but its got to be pretty small. Any power would have to be dissipated as heat, so touch your smartbulb when its been off for a while. Is it warm? If not, the power has to be pretty low.

 

[jkmonroe]

the hue bulbs barely get warm after running for hours.

i have no idea how to test the draw at the bulb without something like the brultech, which i dont have.

 

[ChrisCicc]

the hue bulbs barely get warm after running for hours.

i have no idea how to test the draw at the bulb without something like the brultech, which i dont have.

 
Easy: Lamp + Led plugged into a WeMo Insight
 
Which bulb model are you asking about? I have Hue, TCP, and GE Link laying around here I can try out. 

 

[jkmonroe]

i have hue and ge

 

[ChrisCicc]

GE Link says "< 2w". I'm guessing that's the lowest it can measure. 

 

[ChrisCicc]

Either way, far cry from the 5w draws of the old days...

 

[jkmonroe]

thats for sure.  
 
i really need to get myself the Brultech so I can start doing some real monitoring.

 

[Frunple]

I'm not sure what it is, but its got to be pretty small. Any power would have to be dissipated as heat, so touch your smartbulb when its been off for a while. Is it warm? If not, the power has to be pretty low.

Aren't all these smart bulbs LED's??
You'll never feel any real warmth coming from an LED bulb, even if it's been on for days.

 

[jkmonroe]

yeah, but the base of the bulb is where the radios live, so it's possible if it gets a little warm you know there is some power being used even when off.

 

[ano]

Aren't all these smart bulbs LED's??
You'll never feel any real warmth coming from an LED bulb, even if it's been on for days.

I'm not sure which LED bulbs you have, but when on, they all dissipate 5 or 6 watts of power, which I can certainly feel.  But the OP was asking about parasitic draw when the bulb was off. If its more than a watt or two confined to the very small area in the bulb base, you should be able to feel a slight amount of heat. I have the Zigbee GE bulbs and they are very cool, indicating less than 1 watt. I know in the "olden days" UPB switches definitely drew 4 or 5 watts and were definitely slightly warm to the touch.  

 

[Frunple]

I'm not sure which LED bulbs you have, but when on, they all dissipate 5 or 6 watts of power, which I can certainly feel.  But the OP was asking about parasitic draw when the bulb was off. If its more than a watt or two confined to the very small area in the bulb base, you should be able to feel a slight amount of heat. I have the Zigbee GE bulbs and they are very cool, indicating less than 1 watt. I know in the "olden days" UPB switches definitely drew 4 or 5 watts and were definitely slightly warm to the touch.  

I don't have any. Wouldn't waste my time with a bulb that is still connected to a switch. And I don't see any need to take the switches out of the equation.

 

[ano]

I don't have any. Wouldn't waste my time with a bulb that is still connected to a switch. And I don't see any need to take the switches out of the equation.

Its best to have lots of options. The controlled bulbs are great for things like lamps where there may not be a switch controlling a lamp. Besides, for a lamp, a controlled switch can't be a dimmer switch, according to code, do then you have no way to dim it unless the lamp itself has a dimmer. 

 

[IVB]

Options are good as long as it doesn't increase potential points of failure. If failed on bulb circuitry renders it inoperable you've just increased operating costs or hassle without sufficient benefit. #jaded

 

[ChrisCicc]

Options are good as long as it doesn't increase potential points of failure. If failed on bulb circuitry renders it inoperable you've just increased operating costs or hassle without sufficient benefit. #jaded

In fairness the diodes themselves are the weak point and far more likely to fail..

 

[IVB]

In fairness the diodes themselves are the weak point and far more likely to fail..

I'm not assigning probability, but pointing out that existence of a failure point means greater than zero. Whether the actual value of the increased risk is within acceptable levels is a personal decision.