Can you use Philips Hue Color & Ambiance bulbs with a dimmer switch?

The Philips Hue lights are some of the best smart lights you can buy for your home. Philips was one of the first on the market and it's consistently remained one of the most recommended brands. The biggest reasons for that is because it packs in a ton of features for its products, but also because it's consistently reliable. The Color and Ambiance lights are the backbones of the ecosystem and you get access to about 16 million different colors, so you can find the perfect lighting for your mood.

Philips has spent a lot of time and money developing the entire ecosystem of connected products and for that reason, it's understandable that the lights would really only work with the Philips switches. The company doesn't recommend using a standard dimmer switch as it can actually shorten the lifespan of the bulbs. Not only that, but the extra features available in the smart lights need a smarter dimmer switch compared to their standard counterparts.

The good news is the Hue Dimmer Switch adds some great features to your setup. It's completely wireless so you can put a mount on your wall and use the switch as a remote from anywhere in your house. It also gives you the option to switch between up to four preset lighting scenes created from within the Philips Hue app.

As great as all these smart lights and switches are, you can't use the features that make them worth buying without connecting them to a Philips Hue Bridge. The Hue Bridge acts as a, you guessed it, bridge, from your Hue lights and switches to your smartphone or tablet and once connected, it allows you to take full advantage of those extra features.