Philips recently launched the Hue Signe. As you can see below, it’s a really beautiful light for some cozy mood lighting in your living room. Sadly, it’s also quite expensive. I wasn’t ready to shell out 270 euro’s to have one of these next to my TV. Luckily, with the Gledopto controller, you can connect pretty cheap LED strips to your Hue Bridge and control them with the same app.
This time, I logged everything I did on video and posted it on YouTube, just in case it could help someone. There’s also a full write-up below.
Parts
- Gledopto controller (link)
- I got the RGB-CCT, since that one combines full RGB colors with a separate batch of cold/warm white LEDs. So this type of LED strips gives you the full spectrum for a cozy living room light.
- LED strip (link)
- Also RGB-CCT
- Power adapter (link)
- I got the EU, 3A type, but obviously you should check for your country and needs
- Aluminum profile
- The one I used was 25mm x 25mm x 1m, with 2mm thick aluminum. But you could use a lot of different materials, like wood.
- Matte plastic
- I used matte plastic to softbox the light. You can see a comparison in the video of what that does. You can use a lot of materials to do this, even paper.
- Base
- This part is tricky. You could use all kinds of boxes to achieve this. Your default lunch box, a small electrical box, you could even extend the cables of the LED strip and hide the Gledopto controller behind your furniture. I, however, am lucky to have a 3D printer in my man attic. Here are my files: Thingiverse
⚠️ Quick safety warning
Keep in mind that the power supply depends on the length of LED strip you’re powering. The power supply I’m recommending is for the 2 meters of strip I’m using, but if you’re going to attach 5 meters or more, you might need a more powerful one. A friend of mine reported his power supply failed when attaching the full 5 meters (although it may have been faulty from the start of course), so make sure to check!
How to put it all together
- Gather all the parts above, obviously.
- Drill a hole in your profile to route the cables (or change the design so you don’t need to) of the LED strip.
- Stick the LED strip in your profile with the adhesives on the back. I myself did 2 rows of LEDs to get more light out of my profile, so if you want to do this, make sure your profile is wide enough. In addition to what’s in the video, it might be smart to stick it in a way the white and yellow LEDs are next to eachother, since these are used for various types of light (RGB vs. white) and are never lit at the same time.
- Insert the wires of the LED strip in the controller, by pushing down the pins of the controller with a small screwdriver. Releasing the pin clamps the wire.
- Insert your controller in the box you made or found and route the power cable to it.
- I also cut matte plastic to fit around the LED strip, to softbox the light a bit. It makes the light spread more, and feel less harsh.
- After plugging it in, you can just open the Philips Hue app and search for new lights, it should pop up soon enough.
And then you’re done! For more details, be sure to check the video. And if anything is unclear, feel free to ask in the comments below.