With the Philips Hue Wall Switch Module you don’t make a dumb lamp, but a dumb wall switch that is smartly linked to a Philips Hue lamp. This allows you to turn the lamp on and off with a switch that is already on the wall. Is this a solution to a created problem or actually a useful addition?
Philips Hue Wall Switch Module
price 39.99 euros (1-pack), 69.99 euros (2-pack)
Protocol ZigBee
Battery lasts 5 years
Dimensions 43.3 x 38 x 10.2 millimeters
Extras Includes welding clamp and wires
Website www.philips-hue.com
8 Score 80 
- Pros
- Installation
- Use existing switch
- No more hassle
- Negatives
- Pretty pricey
- Manual not clear
- No welding clamp with four openings
Philips Hue is a smart lighting system, consisting of several types of smart lamps and accessories (possibly from third parties). The Wall Switch Module is an accessory released by Signify, the company behind the system, that can make the system just a little bit smarter. With the module you can make a smart wall switch that is connected to a Hue lamp. For our setup, we paired the module with the previously reviewed Hue Centris ceiling lamp.
We really want to emphasize that you cannot use the Wall Switch Module as a means to make dumb lamps smart. It is therefore not the case that when you install this device, lamps without WiFi can suddenly be operated via the internet. Philips Hue is known for often elegant solutions to such problems, but this is a solution to a completely different problem. If you want to make dumb lamps smart, then you better look at a system like Fibaro, for example.
The Philips Hue Wall Switch Module is mainly intended for people who constantly encounter the same irritation. Suppose there are people in your house who do not understand how your system works and still press the wall switch to activate the lamp. Then it may be that your system does not work when you want to activate the lamp via the app or voice control, because the power is off. The Wall Switch Module ensures that voltage is always present.
Install Philips Hue Wall Switch Module
The undersigned is anything but an electrician. So before installing this product, some caution was required. Signify provides a thin guide for installation, but it is not always adequate and sometimes a bit unclear when you first look at those wires coming out of the wall. Fortunately, the company also has one video published online, in which the installation process is much easier to explain and visualize.
After following the steps in the video, the system will be installed within minutes. Before you start, you must turn off the power group of the room (s) where you attach the Wall Switch Module. You remove the wall knob from the wall with a screwdriver and it is a good idea to check with a voltage meter whether the power is really off. Then you can start working on the wires. You have to remove the switching and phase wire from the current switch.
The video then explains well how to install all supplied cables in the module and in the switch. You don’t have to reconnect the wires from the wall to the switch, so you provide it with a welding clamp and put it back in the wall. The module has a built-in battery, which lasts up to five years, which now works with the switch. It is nice to see that one module supports up to two light buttons. All wires and terminals are also included.
Because the module runs on a battery, you can test the system before you put everything back in the wall and hang it on the wall. After connecting it is the intention that you connect the system to your app. That installation is also self-explanatory. After connecting the system, you can operate the lamp by pressing the button on the switch, then you can store and hang everything up. The module is small enough to fit most openings in the wall behind the wall switches.
The only thing missing in the installation process and in the scope of supplied products is a welding clamp with four openings. Signify supplies a pair of clips with three ports, so it can happen that you run out of a gate when you want to connect a double switch. Fortunately, you can buy those things quickly, but it is useful if you expect to install the system just as quickly. One of the few drawbacks to the otherwise clear installation process.
The Wall Switch Module in the app
Within the app, the Wall Switch Module appears as an accessory. You will find it under Accessories configuration. There you can set which room the module belongs to and what exactly its behavior will be. For example, you can set the module to operate one lamp and a group of lamps with the push of a button. The most obvious effect is that the button on the wall in the future switches the lamp in the room on and off, without the lamp running out of power.
However, you can also activate scenes by pressing the button multiple times, just like with the Philips Hue remote control. You set those scenes yourself. You decide what happens after pressing one, two or three times. In addition to rooms and lamps, it is also possible to (de) activate a zone in the house with the push of a button. Basically, the Philips Hue Wall Switch Module corresponds to the existing remote, but in the form of a well-concealed option.
Why would you use it?
However, the question arises: why would you invest at least forty euros in a Wall Switch Module when you already have a standard remote control on the wall (or just use it in general)? That is an answer that only you can give. If we look at the example at the beginning of this article, it can be a useful solution for those who are less tech-savvy. This way they can still operate your lights at home, without hassle.
But there is another advantage that you may not think about. The Philips Hue remote control has a design that may not quite match the rest of your interior. The same goes for third-party solutions: it just has to fit. The light switches on your wall may be adjusted to the rest of the interior. So you have the best of both worlds: and your switches are smart and you have the button on the wall that you prefer to look at yourself.
Philips Hue Wall Switch Module – conclusion
Admittedly, the Philips Hue Wall Switch Module feels a bit like a solution to a problem created by the use of smart lighting systems, such as Hue. Without this accessory, the wall switch on the wall feels like a useless object that can actually only do things wrong when someone is pushing that button inadvertently. With the launch of this product, we have come full circle and we are now also making the switch itself smart.
The module is easy to install (even by a layman, although caution is advised), works fine within the app and ensures that the lamp never runs out of power again. The disadvantages are that you have to provide a suitable welding clamp for double switches yourself, that the accessory is quite expensive and that the battery is empty after five years. But the idea behind the product works and solves a known irritation. That price of at least forty euros is really an eyesore.
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