How it works
The Shelly Dimmer Gen4 sits behind the light's wall plate and controls how bright it is, not just whether it's on. Schedules are stored on the dimmer, and each one sets a brightness and a transition duration as well as the time, so a schedule can take half an hour to reach its level. Any dimmable lights work.
Night mode adds one more layer: between the hours you set, the light uses a lower brightness, so a late trip to the kitchen isn't at full glare.
The Shelly Dimmer Gen4 sits behind the light's wall plate and controls how bright it is, not just whether it's on. It joins Home Assistant through the built-in Shelly integration, over your home network, and shows up as a dimmable light. Any dimmable lights work.
One automation does the work: at 20:30 it brings the light down to 30% over half an hour. Night mode stays on the dimmer itself, set once in the Shelly app.
With Hue White Ambiance bulbs and a Hue Bridge, Philips Hue does this with the Natural light scene. It moves the room through a set of time slots across the day, from bright, cool white in the morning to a warm, low glow at night, and it fades from one slot to the next. You choose the scene for each slot and how quickly it moves between them, and the evening slot can follow your local sunset. It doesn't have to be these bulbs: any Hue bulb that shifts from cool to warm white works, so pick the one that fits your lights.
A Lighting schedule switches the room into Natural light each evening.
Hue White Ambiance bulbs pair with a Hue Bridge, and Home Assistant picks them up from the Bridge through its Philips Hue integration. They show up as lights you can dim and shift from cool to warm white, and they stay in the Hue app as well. It doesn't have to be these bulbs: any Hue bulb that shifts from cool to warm white works, so pick the one that fits your lights.
One automation in Home Assistant does the work: at 20:30 it brings the room down to 30% and a warm white over half an hour.
Hue White Ambiance bulbs are Zigbee lights, so they can pair straight to Home Assistant's own Zigbee (ZHA), with no Hue Bridge. They show up as lights you can dim and shift from cool to warm white. It doesn't have to be these bulbs: any Hue bulb that shifts from cool to warm white works, so pick the one that fits your lights.
One automation does the work: at 20:30 it brings the room down to 30% and a warm white over half an hour. Without a Bridge the bulbs aren't in the Hue app, so Hue's own scenes, Natural light included, aren't available.
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01
Your phone
Set the evening fade once in the app. It runs every night.
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02
The Shelly kitThe Philips Hue kit
Fades the lights down to a low glow over the time you choose.
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03
Your living room
Down to a low glow by the time you settle in.
What it looks like on your phone
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The evening schedule. Every evening at 20:30 the light fades down to 30%. The weekday morning below it is from our wake-up light guide.
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Skip a night. Having people over? Switch the evening schedule off, then back on tomorrow.
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Night mode is on. Between 22:00 and 06:00 the light uses 20%.
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Natural light. Each time slot has its own scene, and the evening slot follows sunset.
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Living room. The evening schedule sits with the room's light.
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Lighting schedule. At sunset, the living room goes into Natural light.
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Evening fade. At 20:30 the living room light starts its half-hour fade down to 30%.
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At 30%. By 21:00 the fade has finished and the living room light sits at 30%.
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Evening fade. At 20:30 the living room light starts its half-hour fade down to 30%.
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Evening fade. At 20:30 the living room light starts its half-hour fade down to 30%.
Step by step
How you'll set it up
Add the device to Wi-Fi from your phone, or straight from a browser.
Every Shelly has its own built-in web interface, so there's nothing to install. Once it's on your Wi-Fi, type its IP address into a browser on the same network. Before it joins your Wi-Fi, connect your computer to the Shelly's own hotspot and open `192.168.33.1`.
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Fit the dimmer behind the wall plate
Mains goes to L and N. The light connects to O and neutral, and a push button goes to S1, so a press switches the light and holding it dims. Use dimmable lights only.
Wire map Dimmer Gen4- Active (supply) L
- Neutral N
- Dimmable light O
- Push button S1
Wire map Dimmer Gen3- Active (supply) L
- Neutral N
- Dimmable light O
- Push button S1
Wire map Pro Dimmer 1PM- Active (supply) L
- Neutral N
- Dimmable light O
- Push button SW1
Wire map Pro Dimmer 2PM- Active (supply) L
- Neutral N
- Dimmable light O1
- Push button SW1
Circuit overview1Dimmable light2Push buttonActive (supply)Neutral / 0 VSwitched loadSwitch signal / dry contactIn Australia, fixed 230 V wiring is licensed-electrician work. Use these diagrams to plan the job and brief your electrician.
Showing the whole circuitCircuit overview1Dimmable light2Push buttonActive (supply)Neutral / 0 VSwitched loadSwitch signal / dry contactIn Australia, fixed 230 V wiring is licensed-electrician work. Use these diagrams to plan the job and brief your electrician.
Showing the whole circuitCircuit overview1Push button2Dimmable lightActive (supply)Neutral / 0 VSwitched loadSwitch signal / dry contactIn Australia, fixed 230 V wiring is licensed-electrician work. Use these diagrams to plan the job and brief your electrician.
Showing the whole circuitCircuit overview1Push button2Dimmable lightActive (supply)Neutral / 0 VSwitched loadSwitch signal / dry contactIn Australia, fixed 230 V wiring is licensed-electrician work. Use these diagrams to plan the job and brief your electrician.
Showing the whole circuitThere's no wiring diagram for the here yet. Its installation guide has the manufacturer's wiring diagram. Wire it from the diagram in its manual.
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Add it to the Shelly app and name it
Add the dimmer in the Shelly app and name it for the room, Living room here. The first time it switches on, it calibrates itself to your lights, which takes up to two minutes. The light stays on for 10 seconds when it's done.
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Add an evening schedule
Open the Schedule tab and tap Add schedule. With Simple selected, tick every day under Choose Weekday and tap Next. Set the time the room should start winding down, 20:30 here, and tap Next. In the web interface, click Create schedule under Schedules, enter 20:30 in Time and select every day. Then click Add action to execute, set it up as in the next step, and click Save.
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Set the brightness and the fade
Tap Add local action and choose Control Light. Leave Light State on On, turn on Set Brightness property and slide it to 30%. Turn on Set transition duration property and enter 1800, which is 30 minutes in seconds. Tap Save, then Next, then Save. In the web interface's action, choose Control Light, slide the brightness to 30 and enter 1800 as the transition duration, then save the action.
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Turn on night mode
Open Night mode and tap the pencil. Under Choose time interval, set the start time to 22:00 and the end time to 06:00, then tap Next. Under Select Brightness, choose 20%, finish the steps, and switch on Enable night mode. In the web interface, open the light's Night mode settings, tick Enable night mode, set the start time to 10:00 PM and the end time to 06:00 AM, slide the brightness to 20% and click Save.
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Check the schedule
Schedule now lists 30% at 20:30 every day, and night mode takes over from 22:00. In the web interface, it's under Schedules. The weekday morning below it here is from our wake-up light guide.
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Add it to your home app over Matter
Matter is built in, so scan the QR code on the device label with Apple Home, Google Home or SmartThings.
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Fit the dimmer behind the wall plate
Mains goes to L and N. The light connects to O and neutral, and a push button goes to S1, so a press switches the light and holding it dims. Use dimmable lights only.
Wire map Dimmer Gen4- Active (supply) L
- Neutral N
- Dimmable light O
- Push button S1
Wire map Dimmer Gen3- Active (supply) L
- Neutral N
- Dimmable light O
- Push button S1
Wire map Pro Dimmer 1PM- Active (supply) L
- Neutral N
- Dimmable light O
- Push button SW1
Wire map Pro Dimmer 2PM- Active (supply) L
- Neutral N
- Dimmable light O1
- Push button SW1
Circuit overview1Dimmable light2Push buttonActive (supply)Neutral / 0 VSwitched loadSwitch signal / dry contactIn Australia, fixed 230 V wiring is licensed-electrician work. Use these diagrams to plan the job and brief your electrician.
Showing the whole circuitCircuit overview1Dimmable light2Push buttonActive (supply)Neutral / 0 VSwitched loadSwitch signal / dry contactIn Australia, fixed 230 V wiring is licensed-electrician work. Use these diagrams to plan the job and brief your electrician.
Showing the whole circuitCircuit overview1Push button2Dimmable lightActive (supply)Neutral / 0 VSwitched loadSwitch signal / dry contactIn Australia, fixed 230 V wiring is licensed-electrician work. Use these diagrams to plan the job and brief your electrician.
Showing the whole circuitCircuit overview1Push button2Dimmable lightActive (supply)Neutral / 0 VSwitched loadSwitch signal / dry contactIn Australia, fixed 230 V wiring is licensed-electrician work. Use these diagrams to plan the job and brief your electrician.
Showing the whole circuitThere's no wiring diagram for the here yet. Its installation guide has the manufacturer's wiring diagram. Wire it from the diagram in its manual.
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Add it to the Shelly app and name it
Add the dimmer in the Shelly app and name it for the room, Living room here. The first time it switches on, it calibrates itself to your lights, which takes up to two minutes. The light stays on for 10 seconds when it's done.
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Add it to Home Assistant
In Home Assistant, go to Settings, then Devices & services, select Add integration and choose Shelly. Enter the dimmer's IP address, which your router lists, and select Submit. Home Assistant talks to the dimmer directly over your home network. Name it Living room light and put it in your Living room area.
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Fade down each evening
Go to Settings, then Automations & scenes, and select Create automation. Select Add trigger, choose Time and set it to 20:30. Then select Add action and choose one that turns on Living room light with the brightness at 30% and a transition of 1800 seconds, so it takes 30 minutes to get there. Check the trigger and the action, select Save and name it Evening fade.
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Turn on night mode in the Shelly app
Open Night mode and tap the pencil. Under Choose time interval, set the start time to 22:00 and the end time to 06:00, then tap Next. Under Select Brightness, choose 20%, finish the steps, and switch on Enable night mode.
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Check it's there
Automations & scenes now lists Evening fade. It's on as soon as you save it, so the room starts winding down at 20:30 tonight. The weekday morning beside it here is from our wake-up light guide.
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Set up the Bridge
Open the Hue app and add the Bridge, then follow the on-screen steps. Do this before you add the bulbs.
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Fit the bulbs and add them to the room
Swap the bulbs in the living room for the Hue bulbs and switch the light on at the wall. On the Home tab, tap the three dots, then Add devices, and put them in a Living room room.
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Add the Natural light scene
Open the room, tap the plus icon, then Add scene and Hue scene gallery. Search for Natural light and tap Save to my scenes. The app also adds the scenes it moves through, from Energize to Nightlight.
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Set the evening slots
Tap the pencil beside Natural light. Auto-adjust is on Sunset, so the evening slot follows the sun. Tap a time slot to change its scene, then under Advanced set the Transition time, up to 30 minutes, and tap Save. To make the late evening dimmer, open the Rest or Nightlight scene in the room, lower the brightness and save it.
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Turn it on each evening
Open the Automations tab, tap the plus icon and choose Lighting schedule. Tap Start at, choose Sunset and tap Done. Leave End at on No end time and Repeat on every day, then tap Next. Choose the living room, tap it to pick Natural light, and tap Next. Name it and tap Done.
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Check it's there
Open the living room. Under Automations it lists the evening schedule from sunset every day, with a switch beside it that turns it off and on. The Wake up beside it here is from our wake-up light guide.
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Set up the Bridge
Open the Hue app and add the Bridge, then follow the on-screen steps. Do this before you add the bulbs.
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Fit the bulbs and add them to the room
Swap the bulbs in the living room for the Hue bulbs and switch the light on at the wall. On the Home tab, tap the three dots, then Add devices, and put them in a Living room room.
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Add the Bridge to Home Assistant
In Home Assistant, go to Settings, then Devices & services, select Add integration and choose Philips Hue. Pick your Bridge, then press the button on top of it when Home Assistant asks. Your Hue bulbs then show up in Home Assistant.
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Fade down each evening
Go to Settings, then Automations & scenes, and select Create automation. Select Add trigger, choose Time and set it to 20:30. Then select Add action and choose one that turns on the living room bulbs with the brightness at 30%, the colour temperature towards warm, and a transition of 1800 seconds, so it takes 30 minutes to get there. Check the trigger and the action, select Save and name it Evening fade.
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Check it's there
Automations & scenes now lists Evening fade. It's on as soon as you save it, so the room starts winding down at 20:30 tonight. The weekday morning beside it here is from our wake-up light guide.
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Fit the bulbs
Swap the bulbs in the living room for the Hue bulbs and switch the light on at the wall.
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Reset bulbs that have been on a Bridge
New bulbs are ready to pair. A bulb that's been on a Hue Bridge before has to be factory reset first: removing it from the Bridge isn't enough. Switch it on, hold a Hue dimmer switch within 10 cm of it, and press and hold the on and off buttons together until it blinks, about 10 seconds. Newer bulbs can also be reset over Bluetooth in the Hue app.
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Pair them in Home Assistant
In Home Assistant, go to Settings, then Devices & services, open Zigbee Home Automation and select Add device. While it shows Searching for Zigbee devices, the bulbs join one by one. Name them and put them in your Living room area.
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Fade down each evening
Go to Settings, then Automations & scenes, and select Create automation. Select Add trigger, choose Time and set it to 20:30. Then select Add action and choose one that turns on the living room bulbs with the brightness at 30%, the colour temperature towards warm, and a transition of 1800 seconds, so it takes 30 minutes to get there. Check the trigger and the action, select Save and name it Evening fade.
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Check it's there
Automations & scenes now lists Evening fade. It's on as soon as you save it, so the room starts winding down at 20:30 tonight. The weekday morning beside it here is from our wake-up light guide.
Frequently asked questions
Should I use Shelly or Philips Hue?
Use Shelly if you're happy with the dimmable lights you have: the dimmer fits behind the existing wall plate and the button keeps working as normal. Use Philips Hue if you'd rather swap the bulbs and have the light shift from cool white in the morning to warm in the evening. Hue bulbs need a Hue Bridge. Both work in Home Assistant as well, if you'd rather run the schedule there.
How long can the fade take?
Anywhere from half a second to 10800 seconds, which is three hours. Enter it in seconds: 1800 is 30 minutes and 900 is 15.
Will my lights work with it?
They need to be dimmable. The Dimmer Gen4 is a trailing-edge dimmer and handles up to 150 W of dimmable LED lamps, or up to 200 W of incandescent or halogen lamps, dimmable electronic transformers or iron-core transformers. If you change the lights later, run the calibration again with Calibrate on the dimmer's main screen in the app.
Does the wall button still work?
Yes. A press switches the light on or off, and holding it dims up or down. The schedules keep running on their usual days.
What does night mode do?
Between the hours you set, the light uses the night mode brightness instead of its usual level. It suits a hallway or living room someone walks through late at night.
Do I need a neutral wire?
Not strictly: the Dimmer Gen4 works without one, but then it needs at least 20 W of lights or a Shelly Bypass, and it can't show power readings. Where a neutral is available, use it.
What happens if the internet drops out?
The schedules and night mode are stored on the dimmer and it works on your local Wi-Fi, so they don't rely on Shelly's cloud to run. Control from outside the house does.
Do I need a Hue Bridge?
For this setup, yes: the kit includes one. The Bridge supports up to 50 lights and 12 accessories, and the Bridge Pro supports 150 or more lights and 50 or more accessories.
Will any Hue bulb work?
Use White ambiance or White and colour ambiance bulbs. Natural light changes the shade of white through the day, from cool to warm, and a plain Hue White bulb has only one shade.
Can I make it change more slowly?
Up to a point. Tap the pencil beside Natural light and, under Advanced, set the transition time anywhere up to 30 minutes. Each change finishes at the start of the next time slot.
What happens as the seasons change?
With auto-adjust set to Sunset, the middle time slot moves with your local sunset through the year. Each slot keeps at least 30 minutes, so if sunset gets close to the next slot, that slot moves too.
What if someone switches the light off at the wall?
The bulbs need power to follow the scene, so leave the wall switch on. Use the app, a voice assistant or a Hue switch to turn the lights on and off instead.
Can Home Assistant fade the light that slowly?
Yes. The transition in the light action is in seconds, and the dimmer does the fade itself, so 1800 seconds gives a smooth half hour.
Why set night mode in the Shelly app?
Night mode is stored on the dimmer, so it works whatever turns the light on: the wall button, the Shelly app or Home Assistant. Home Assistant doesn't need to know about it.
What happens if Home Assistant is offline?
The automation won't run, but the wall button and night mode still work. If you'd rather the schedule ran on the dimmer itself, set it in the Shelly app instead.
Why go through the Hue Bridge?
The lights stay in the Hue app with your Hue scenes and show up in Home Assistant as well, with no Zigbee adapter to add. Pairing straight to Home Assistant's Zigbee skips the Bridge, but the lights are then only in Home Assistant.
What do I give up without a Hue Bridge?
The Hue app. Paired straight to Home Assistant, the bulbs only run from there, so Hue's own scenes, Natural light included, aren't available. Home Assistant's automations do the fade instead.
Do I need a Zigbee adapter?
Yes. Home Assistant talks to Zigbee devices through a coordinator plugged into the machine it runs on. If you already run Zigbee in Home Assistant, the adapter you have will do.
More Shelly solutions
Lights that fade up to wake you in the morning
The bedroom lights come up slowly before your alarm, so you wake to a lit room instead of a dark one. Do it with a Shelly dimmer behind the wall plate or Philips Hue bulbs, in their app or Home Assistant. Control with any of
Dim the lights from the couch for movie night
Drop the lights to a glow from the couch, then bring them back up when it's time to tidy. Fit a Shelly dimmer behind the wall plate, or swap to Philips Hue bulbs and use the app. Control with any of 
Outdoor lights on at sunset, off at midnight
Porch, path and garden lights follow the sun through the year without you touching a switch. Run the lights you have from a Shelly relay, or fit Philips Hue outdoor lights, and set it up in their app or Home Assistant. Control with any of More Philips Hue solutions
Lights that fade up to wake you in the morning
The bedroom lights come up slowly before your alarm, so you wake to a lit room instead of a dark one. Do it with a Shelly dimmer behind the wall plate or Philips Hue bulbs, in their app or Home Assistant. Control with any of Dim the lights from the couch for movie night
Drop the lights to a glow from the couch, then bring them back up when it's time to tidy. Fit a Shelly dimmer behind the wall plate, or swap to Philips Hue bulbs and use the app. Control with any of Outdoor lights on at sunset, off at midnight
Porch, path and garden lights follow the sun through the year without you touching a switch. Run the lights you have from a Shelly relay, or fit Philips Hue outdoor lights, and set it up in their app or Home Assistant. Control with any of More Home Assistant solutions
Lights that fade up to wake you in the morning
The bedroom lights come up slowly before your alarm, so you wake to a lit room instead of a dark one. Do it with a Shelly dimmer behind the wall plate or Philips Hue bulbs, in their app or Home Assistant. Control with any of Dim the lights from the couch for movie night
Drop the lights to a glow from the couch, then bring them back up when it's time to tidy. Fit a Shelly dimmer behind the wall plate, or swap to Philips Hue bulbs and use the app. Control with any of Outdoor lights on at sunset, off at midnight
Porch, path and garden lights follow the sun through the year without you touching a switch. Run the lights you have from a Shelly relay, or fit Philips Hue outdoor lights, and set it up in their app or Home Assistant. Control with any of More Home Assistant solutions
Lights that fade up to wake you in the morning
The bedroom lights come up slowly before your alarm, so you wake to a lit room instead of a dark one. Do it with a Shelly dimmer behind the wall plate or Philips Hue bulbs, in their app or Home Assistant. Control with any of Dim the lights from the couch for movie night
Drop the lights to a glow from the couch, then bring them back up when it's time to tidy. Fit a Shelly dimmer behind the wall plate, or swap to Philips Hue bulbs and use the app. Control with any of Outdoor lights on at sunset, off at midnight
Porch, path and garden lights follow the sun through the year without you touching a switch. Run the lights you have from a Shelly relay, or fit Philips Hue outdoor lights, and set it up in their app or Home Assistant. Control with any of More Home Assistant solutions
Lights that fade up to wake you in the morning
The bedroom lights come up slowly before your alarm, so you wake to a lit room instead of a dark one. Do it with a Shelly dimmer behind the wall plate or Philips Hue bulbs, in their app or Home Assistant. Control with any of Dim the lights from the couch for movie night
Drop the lights to a glow from the couch, then bring them back up when it's time to tidy. Fit a Shelly dimmer behind the wall plate, or swap to Philips Hue bulbs and use the app. Control with any of Outdoor lights on at sunset, off at midnight
Porch, path and garden lights follow the sun through the year without you touching a switch. Run the lights you have from a Shelly relay, or fit Philips Hue outdoor lights, and set it up in their app or Home Assistant. Control with any of Still need a hand?
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Contact usThe kit
Which should I choose?
Both do the job. The difference is how they connect, and which app you'll run them from.
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Shelly
Wi-FiKeep your dimmable lights. A Wi-Fi dimmer behind the wall plate fades them.
- You'd rather keep the lights you have
- Your lights are dimmable
- You don't have a smart home hub
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Philips Hue
ZigbeeHue bulbs that shift from cool to warm white through the day.
- You'd rather swap bulbs than wire anything
- You already have a Hue Bridge
- You want the shade of white to change too
The kit
Choose your dimmer
Each of these does the job. The steps on this page are written for the recommended one.
Also works (2)
These can do the job too, but they carry more than it needs or fit somewhere less handy. We'd pick one of the options above.
The kit
Choose your light
Each of these does the job. The steps on this page are written for the recommended one.
The kit
Choose your bridge
Each of these does the job. The steps on this page are written for the recommended one.