Add the plugin
To use this plugin go to the web interface > Plugin management > Devices plugins as shown in the screenshot below. Click “Add plugin” and choose for Philips Hue. Wait for a couple of seconds because the plugin will first try to do auto discovery of any Bridges. If none found you can put the ip address yourself. Give the plugin a name and description for your own plugin identification. The username is a predefined setting you can change. I suggest to leave it like this, but if you persist on using a different one please choose a username which is not guessed quickly. Only alphanumeric with a minimal of 10 characters are supported by the bridge. I would suggest to keep the update interval to 10 seconds. This means that every 10 seconds the plugin will ask the Bridge the current light settings
When you have filled in the plugin’s requirements please go to the Bridge, press the button, and press “Save plugin” within 30 seconds. This step is required by the Philips Hue bridge for registering the plugin on the Bridge.
Using the plugin
There is not much you can do with the plugin. When the previous step has succeeded you will see the amount of Philips Hue fixtures you have added to the device listing. It will take a maximum of 20 seconds (twice the setting of the update interval) for the devices to update to the correct color and setting. The plugin only adds or removes devices. It does not rename devices. So if you are changing the name of a fixture, it is not reflected in the device listings. Also the location mappings of the fixtures can not be reflected to the devices, this because both the fixtures and server use different location schemes. The scheme used on the server is based on a visual floor map. So when fixtures are added you can set the locations and add them to this floor map. You can also use these devices in Macro’s, Triggers and upcoming Scene features.
When the devices are added by the plugin you can use them as any other device and change color, turn lights on or of, set transition time and send a single pulse (handy for use in triggers).
The plugin does not yet has any web interface where you can play with the Philips Hue device groups, scenes or schedules. This is because this plugin type does not yet support a custom web interface next to a settings interface.
Remarks, issues
- When i send a color for example 100% blue it is not 100% blue.
This is highly possible because of the Philips Hue color possibilities. Marcel has tested this and it seemed that bulbs when sending 100% blue, are having a little red color still turned on which causes a slightly purple light color. This difference will be reflected in the web interface because of fixture is reporting the color back which it really uses. - I do not see the devices appearing in the devices list after twice the interval time (default 10*2 seconds = 20 seconds)
It is highly possible the registration on the Bridge did not succeeded. Open the Plugins settings page by pressing “Edit” in the “Device plugins” list. Check the ip address and check if the username is at least 10 alphanumeric characters. Press the button on the Bridge again and click on “Save” within 30 seconds. If there are still no devices after twice the check interval, please refer to the log file and file a bug report.
