For your smart light switches, which LED color do you prefer?

[tmbrown97]

This is an idle curiosity thread... When you think of the LED lights that are on your light switches, which color do you find most appealing? If you use two colors (green/blue, red/green, etc) then list the one you'd rather see most of the time. And I'm more curious what colors you WANT vs. what you have to choose from if you don't like the options you have.

I'm kinda curious - because I've noticed some patterns over the years. 15+ years ago, it seems Orange was the favorite... then in the late 90's Green seemed to take over... and now I'm seeing Blue as the most popular lighting color. I'm just curious if what I think I'm seeing is true, and what manufacturer's should probably gear towards.

The patterns I've noticed seem to usually start in cars then spread to our every day electronics... and it does make me wonder what's next.

Thx!

 

[Desert_AIP]

I think blue is popular now because it was the recent "new" thing a few years ago when readily available inexpensive blue LEDs became available. Many manufacturers changed to the blue LEDs since they were the latest fashion thing.

Right now I prefer the green because it's easier on the eyes in the dark, it doesn't seem as bright as blue.
I also have some led switch plate nightlights that are green, so I was trying to stay consistent.
I use a Green off and Blue on scheme.

I do however prefer the blue backlight to the Omni consoles, and I modified them to be on always.
So I may reverse my color scheme.
Green for on makes more intuitive sense anyway.
I guess I'm going to have to pull out the soldering iron and change the LEDs in my nightlights.

 

[oberkc]

Where is the option to choose white?

 

[Steve]

Yea, I think this is going to be all over the map based on many factors. You should also have a choice of None/Off. Also, not all switches have the ability to be different color, like Jetstream is only blue, albeit you can change brightness. It's mainly UPB that has multicolor LED. On my UPBs I typically use Blue/Off however I also like to match, so if a switch is near a console for sure they will be Blue and since there are many other Blue devices around I tend to fellow with the switches. But if there were an isolated room with say Green then I may use that color to match if possible.

The best think would be for a manufacturer to use a multicolor (not just 2, but all available) LED and LED you totally customize it. But I answered Blue since if thats the only option is the way I would likely go.

 

[Neurorad]

Wow, I didn't know some manufacturers' switches provided color options. Pretty cool.

 

[AutomatedOutlet]

I like the "cool blue"

 

[jhdale]

Blue currently says "high-tech" while red is retro (first LED color, it seems archaic). But that will pass. Blue is cold and bright, red is harsh, green goes with very little of the decor. I like amber, the color tones it down relative to white, and it's a warm color (like the incandescents everyone seems to miss). In the bedroom they need to be dim or no LED at all, though.

Many of the insteon devices have white LEDs and the ability to put different colored lenses over them, which seems like a good solution.

 

[apostolakisl]

I have the insteon variable brightness white as well as some of the amber and green insteon icon switches. By far, I like the white, especially with the variable brightness. Insteon has a kit to change the white to other colors, but I like the white best so no need.

 

[ano]

Green and Red work fine for me. The Blue is too bright, and what does Blue really indicate? If you use it when the light is off, its just too bright. I don't like white either. I see that being used more in other things, but don't really like it for an indicator. The good thing is you can take a marker and make it any color.

I think manufacturers need to learn a bit from Apple, in that just because they can do something, doesn't mean they should. I do like the blue Omnistat backlighting, but come on, I don't see how anyone can have the keyboard and display on at night in a bedroom. I had to tear the thing open to jury-rig it so it displays at a reasonable brightness, and I use much less battery power as well. You have to wonder is anyone at HAI tried this in their bedroom first before selling it. Maybe if they got their wive's opinion, we'd have a much different product.

 

[Quixote_1]

I heard somewhere that blue light can interfere with your sleep.

(more than any other color)

 

[stusviews]

Master bedroom is green, so green LED's, front bathroom is blue, so blue, wet bar has brass, so amber, etc.

 

[electron]

I use Blue/Off as well, however I noticed that even when off, there is still a very faint blue glow (can only see it when your eyes have adjusted to darkness).

 

[tmbrown97]

Interesting - quite a mix of options. I didn't even think about White to be honest; but the idea of the color change kit seems like the best of all. I just got to thinking about this really when dealing with my switches because I was curious about the different color choices - and it seems like older switches had different colors. I also do agree with Steve - it would be nice if we had the flexibility in more devices with multicolor LED's so you could make everything match.

For my switches, I had the option of Green or Blue (and with SAI they also have a Light Blue option which is more purple). I noticed some devices have Red / Amber as well. I'm not as much about matching the room as being consistent, so I set all mine to light-blue (violet) if the load is off, blue if it's on; for things with no local load - like the 240's as scene controllers, I just set them to blue. I actually like that they act as subtle night-lights... my wife and I have always had little night-lights around our previous houses anyways so this eliminates that - and it means no hunting around in the dark for the switch. I have two old USR's that only do green, and I'll probably replace them just because the consistencyis that important to me.

For night time, luckily the light doesn't really bother me... I can sleep with the lights on, stereo, doesn't matter (just not TV because I get sucked in)... my wife on the other hand can't stand bright lights - and won't quit covering up my alarm clock even because she says it's too bright (so I can never see the time during the night)... so when it came to keypad options, I never even told her that turning off was an option... it's way to important to me to be able to see at a glance the status of the sysstem - so I set it to it's lowest setting when idle. I just mounted it as far away as I could where I could still see the lights from bed.

and Dan - I've noticed that with LED's... I have a couple 3W LED light bulbs from 6 years ago that I used in the stairway lighting in that house - they were connected to a standard mechanical switch, but at night you could still see them glow even from a distance if your eyes were adjusted... I guess they're SO efficient that they can operate with just the miniscule transient voltage still in the wire.

So my conclusion is that blue is still the current favorite; and I think that probably is a bit subconscious because that's what seems to be most prevalent. Although, thinking as I type - maybe a cold bluish-white (~3300K+) will be the next big thing - that's what's in all my new appliances right now - and moving to LED lighting really does seem to be the current trend everywhere - and I've read that the blueish-white LED's were cheaper and easier to come by than the warmer lower temperatures like 2700K. Time will tell.