Do Philips Hue Use Electricity When Off?
If you have considerable Philips Hue bulbs in your house, no wonder you worry about the power consumption of these bulbs. However, another important aspect most people tend to forget is the standby power consumption of smart bulbs such as Philips Hue. Does Philips Hue use electricity when off? If so, how much? We will answer all these questions in this article. Keep reading.
Do Philips Hue Use Electricity When Off?
Yes, Philips Hue lights still use a small amount of electricity when they’re off. This is because they need to remain connected to the network to respond to your commands, like turning on through the app or a voice assistant.
However, this is not something that is unique to Philips Hue; it is something that is unique to almost all smart lights. This standby power consumption is usually minimal, often just a fraction of a watt.
The exact standby usage can vary from one lighting brand or type to another, but it’s typically around 0.2 to 0.5 watts per bulb. If you have multiple Philips Hue lights in your home, the total standby consumption will add up. However, it’s generally not enough to significantly impact your electricity bill.
The Standby Power Consumption of Philips Hue
As we slightly touched on in the previous section of the article, the standby power consumption of Philips Hue bulbs is approximately 0.2 to 0.5 watts per bulb.
In practical terms, if you leave a single Philips Hue bulb in standby mode 24/7, it would consume about 1.46 to 3.65 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year (0.2 to 0.5 watts multiplied by 8,760 hours in a year). At an average electricity rate, this results in an annual cost of a few cents to a dollar per bulb in standby mode.
As you can understand very clearly, the standby power consumption of Philips Hue, even of all smart lights for that matter, is not something that you need to worry about when it comes to the cost side of things.
Is it a Risk to Keep Philips Hue Always Connected?
Keeping Philips Hue lights always connected to power is generally low-risk, both in terms of safety and energy use. However, we highly recommend considering a few factors, as mentioned below.
Standby Power and Fire Risk
No wonder you would have thought that if the Philips Hue uses electricity when off, then there is a potential risk of fire, right? However, all smart lighting systems, including Philips Hue, are built to strict safety standards to handle continuous power without overheating or malfunctioning.
In addition, Philips Hue is a certified brand with various safety standards, and these bulbs undergo extensive tests before they are released to the market. Although the risk associated is very minimal, it is your duty to install Philips Hue bulbs as instructed by the manufacturer and use compatible dimmer switches to keep everything safe.
Network Security
Philips Hue uses your home network’s internet connection as any other smart device. So, theoretically, it comes with a small security risk. However, you can mitigate this small security threat by having strong passwords and updating Hue’s firmware to the latest.
Hue sends firmware updates periodically to prevent such threats, and you can enable automatic firmware updates in the Hue app to ensure your lights have the latest protections.
Power Consumption and Device Wear
We think now you have a clear understanding of the power consumption of Philips Hue bulbs when they are being turned off. Unlike regular bulbs, smart lights require a continuous power supply to stay responsive to controls from your app or smart home hub.
However, disconnecting from the power source is not something we can approve of, as doing so can potentially shorten the life expectancy of Philips Hue bulbs due to repeated power cycling.
Leaving them connected also ensures they remain accessible for firmware updates and routine improvements. These are critical for the security and functionality of the bulbs.
Does a Hue Bulb Use Less Electricity When Dimmed?
Yes, a Philips Hue bulb uses less electricity when dimmed. Unlike traditional dimmable bulbs, which sometimes still consume the same amount of power even when dimmed, LED-based smart bulbs like Philips Hue adjust their power consumption based on brightness levels.
When you dim a smart bulb like Hue, it reduces both the brightness and power draw for the operation. Let us explain this further.
- At 100% Brightness: A typical Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance bulb uses around 9 watts.
- At 50% Brightness: Power consumption typically drops to around 4 to 5 watts, roughly half of the maximum usage.
- At 10% Brightness: The power draw may be as low as 1 watt or less.
Example Calculation of Power Savings
Suppose you use a Hue bulb for 5 hours daily at various brightness levels:
- Full Brightness (9 watts):
- Daily Consumption: 9 watts × 5 hours = 45 watt-hours (Wh) or 0.045 kilowatt-hours (kWh).
- Monthly Usage: 0.045 kWh × 30 days = 1.35 kWh.
- 50% Brightness (4.5 watts):
- Daily Consumption: 4.5 watts × 5 hours = 22.5 Wh or 0.0225 kWh.
- Monthly Usage: 0.0225 kWh × 30 days = 0.675 kWh
By dimming the bulb to 50% for 5 hours per day, you would use only half as much electricity as at full brightness, saving roughly 0.675 kWh per month per bulb. At lower brightness levels, the savings are even greater.
Cost Savings Example
At an electricity rate of $0.15 per kWh:
- Full Brightness Cost: 1.35 kWh × $0.15 ≈ $0.20 per month.
- 50% Brightness Cost: 0.675 kWh × $0.15 ≈ $0.10 per month.
Conclusion
So, all in all, Philips Hue like most other smart bulbs, does use a small amount of electricity even when they are turned off because, they need to be stay connected in order to respond to your commands.
However, in terms of power consumption, this is not huge. We hope everything is clear and you got answers to your questions.
