RyanE

When you share they get an email with a link that opens up your browser and they can control your system on their phone

Oy I have a lot of lighting scenes based on time of year and color. Sounds like I'll need to go and change all of those lighting scenes. Will be worth it in the end but will be some work. I look forward greatly to not havaing 5 sliders in each room w RGB W lighting.

I only really ask because I have a pretty good degree of confidence in Alan and his crew.
RyanE

LIFX is definitely not snappy - even when you use it natively. Also, it’s very dependent on your Wi-Fi signal. So I would be surprised if this were a driver issue…


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Oh yes, absolutely - I'm more talking about the cases where they just are not sure they can approve something - which means they can't approve it. We've dealt with this once or twice in the past where something was just so out of the norm, they/it needed a directive from above.

Well....only until he/she is terminated. And yes that has happened. Depends on how this is approached. Going via local authorities to create an example of HOW a certain (NEW) method/product is perfectly acceptable isn't always 'sidestepping' an inspector - it's giving them higher up approval for something that isn't clear for them to approve or disapprove. In that context, they tend to be more likely to be happy it's being done (clarified) than be ticked off about it.
Usually weeks, but yes, generally easier to comply, if within reason.
 
Sometimes the inspector will in fact claim the sky is purple. That's what a straight jacket is for.
 
Sometimes the inspector will claim it's dark blue when it's light blue. Most inspectors aren't unreasonable though, and just need to be informed and kept (put back) in the loop on current technology. We've have had plenty of perfectly good conversations with inspectors (electrical and other) and taken away 'issues' by simply explaining/showing/demonstrating what is actually in place.
 
Just don't ask me why I still have to have hard-wired 110v interconnected (but no battery back up required!!!!) fire alarms in an age where full battery back-up options on low voltage or wireless that last a decade and LITERALLY tell me when the battery is getting low or the device is getting unreliable, or any device in a chain isn't reporting in are common place and arguably far more reliable (and sometimes considerably cheaper).
Oh and I want to clarify that a city/local authority inspector's job is to check if your install (whatever it might be) is SAFE as per current codes. They do not (should not) concern themselves with 'quality', or 'good use practise'. That is NOT their job or responsibility. Note the wording on your approval sticker. It'll say 'Accepted' - it won't say if it was barely or if it was done so well that a parade is in order.

And if you went to the economics forum, you’d find that none other than Milton Friedman would disagree with you.  Friedman frequently cited the unintended consequences of efforts to help others and gave as an example minimum wage laws.  He believed the minimum wage laws hurt low-skilled workers (the very people they were intended to help) because it takes away the low-skilled worker’s biggest competitive advantage - the willingness to work for lower wages.
 I think a zero skilled worker that wants to get paid with knowledge/experience seems more like a barter transaction.  So a little unusual; both parties need to understand what they are getting into. 

Sure, if you want to wait months to get any resolve passed the local authority.
Plus, side step the inspector once and it will haunt you any time you work in that town/city forever.

........ 110v

uhhhh I never like seeing this. Musch rather have a keypad dimmer installed, with no (direct) way of controlling the load but leaving the option to shut it off if needed.

The relevant sections of the NEC are hard to understand, and can be interpreted in various ways.
The only correct answer to whether you need to have a physical switch in a particular location is "ask your local electrical inspector", as he/she's the one you have to have approval of.
RyanE

That is fixed. Lifx driver is totally rewritten for the new lighting proxy. 

It certainly does, but then you're wasting the dimming functionality, since any RGB lights you want, you don't want to send them anything other than 'full on', because they handle dimming (and color) in the bulb itself.  If you try and dim a smart RGB bulb, bad things are likely to happen.
RyanE

I'd do it again.  Countless doors opened from that one decision.  I actually got the idea from watching a documentary on Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs.  He took the subway a few hours each way, every day, and worked at Def Jam records under Russel Simmons, for free.  I'm not a Puff fan by any stretch, but it was inspiring.  The US was in the midst of the housing collapse of '08 also.  A good number of A/V and Automation firms were going under.    
 
I was in my early 20's, and felt like the gamble would pay off.
 
It did, handsomely.  It was ultimately the right decision for me.  
 
 
Just like sneaking Pinot Grigio into Bon Iver shows is the right decision for you.

I have worked with people whose time should have been valued at 0.
Kidding aside, if that's the way someone gets their foot in the door, and they have little to no experience, it may be worth it for them (and I personally kind of lump "minimum wage" in with getting paid 0).
It clearly wouldn't be worth it for me, or for you.
RyanE

I suspect that code (NEC and local codes) would definitely require that any fixture loads be switchable at some point.  You're not allowed to have fixtures that you can't service without having live exposed terminals (like lamp sockets).
For centralized lighting, that could be at the switch / dimmer module, but for fixtures that are 'local control' like a dimmer, they are typically required to be switched somewhere between the breaker and the load fixture.
RyanE

This isn't true necessarily.  This is a setting in Hue.  You can configure Hue to come back on at the "previous setting" when a power loss occurs.  

To be clear, I see both sides here. People should value their time but if someone wants something bad even they will do it for free thinking it will pay off later then go for it.
Think about college; we actually PAID money to get something we hoped would pay off later.

A lot of guessing and imagining. 
Panelized lighting is an established lighting control topology. Electricians are quite comfortable with it and it meets electrical code while simplifying control for the end user. The building I'm sitting in has a 17 year old panelized lighting system. If there's power to the building it works.
I don't think I've experienced a Philips Hue system that works for more than a week without something flaking out. 
You might be well served to look into Ketra. It functions along some of the same lines as Philips Hue, but with the reliability of panelized lighting. 

Or do if you think it will get you where you want to go.
Believe it or not, not everyone has the same set of circumstances, and what works for one person may or may not work for someone else.
RyanE

I can't imagine basing a home design on Philips Hue. That's not asking for trouble, it's demanding it. 

The Biggest Issue with Philips hue as one mf my colleagues found out is that when you have a power cut all the lights come back turned on at full brightness. Brief power cuts of 3-4 seconds are fairly common in the UK especially at night. In this case he was woken up in the early hours with all his kids screaming and every light in the house stuck on until the router and Hue bridge etc had come to life so he could turn them all off again. This doesn't happen with the C4 lighting as it just goes back to its previous state. this is what put me off Philips hue even for a few standard lamps I went with Lutron Inline dimmers instead.

Native color wheel integration for me. New drivers for Hue and LIFX taking advantage of 3.3. We will soon know. 

the color wheel is a long overdue addition for me.

Both drivers currently poll for Current App.
You can tell if it's on Netflix or YouTube, etc.
But yeah, it's functionally mostly a one-way driver.
RyanE