Philips Hue Perifo evaluate
The Philips Hue Perifo system is, doubtless, essentially the most slick and grand providing from the sensible mild specialist. At round £500-700 for an ‘common’ setup; going nicely north of £1,000 if you happen to’ve acquired a giant area to fill, it is not precisely budget-friendly but it surely’s as near a pro-install setup as you are prone to see from an off the shelf lighting product. The array of shapes, configurations and lighting choices is significantly spectacular and set up is not too laborious, albeit with some slight snags that make issues a bit harder. For those who’re trying to create a stand-out lighting system in your house, the Hue Perifo may nicely be the reply.
- Highest-end Hue system
- Myriad of configurations
- Excellent brightness
- A number of lamps/lights on supply
- Costly
- Set up has some quirks
- No Matter (but)
Click here to buy Philips Hue Perifo right now.
Key options
- Lighting kind: Modular monitor lighting system for ceilings or partitions.
- Connectivity: Hue Zigbee, Bluetooth.
- Ecosystems: Alexa, Apple House, Google House, SmartThings.
On the finish of final yr, sensible lighting specialist Signify introduced the Philips Hue Perifo monitor lighting system.
Sitting proper on the top-end of the Hue hierarchy (with lofty pricing to match), the Perifo system relies round a monitor system, whereby you possibly can select not solely the form of your setup, however the types of sensible lights you need on present.
It is a huge improve from the Hue Centris system, which are available in a variety of pre-set configurations, and it is also much more trendy than merely utilizing common Hue ceiling lights or common Hue lightstrips.
Within the sensible lighting area there’s not likely something that competes with Hue Perifo, a minimum of off of the shelf; you’d should look to pro-installs from the likes of Lutron or Control4 for something remotely prefer it.
Nonetheless, simply because the Hue Perifo system is a DIY sensible mild choice, that does not imply it comes low-cost. You are not coping with an everyday Hue sensible mild bulb right here.
For each system you may want a minimum of an influence level provide unit (£84.99), a rail (from £44.99) and a minimum of one mild (from £99.99).
So, that is £230-ish for a system with only one mild, which is not actually the purpose. Realistically, you are £500+ for a good Perifo setup.
Word that I am solely giving UK costs right here; Perifo is but to go on sale within the US.
I have been residing with a Hue Perifo monitor setup for some time now, learn on to search out out why it could simply be the right sensible lighting system for you.
Be taught extra about Philips Hue
Design and set up
- Design your individual form – straight, L or U
- Select your individual mild types
- Set up is easy
- Wall or ceiling mounted
As talked about above, you may want a minimum of an influence provide, a rail and a light-weight to finish a Perifo system. However the chances are you may want rather more than this to actually create that ‘wow’ second out of your sensible lighting.
And it truly is a wow-system; Perifo techniques might be configured to your coronary heart’s content material and you may, in case your price range permits, create a implausible, high-end, lighting expertise in your house.
I would say that Perifo is finest suited to eating rooms, residing rooms or kitchens… or perhaps even a bed room if you would like an excellent trendy aesthetic.
The place it is not suited is a dusty outdated storage – which is, sadly, the place I needed to check my Perifo because of renovation works ongoing in my home.
My setup nonetheless seems and works brilliantly but it surely’s wasted away in a room that’s principally used for storage. Do not fret although, I’ve plans to maneuver it as quickly as I can.
My setup is a straightforward straight line system consisting of an influence provide unit (£84.99) 1.5m rail (£79.99), a 1m rail (£59.99), a connector to affix these (£16.99), a linear mild bar (£169.99) and two spotlights (£99.99 every).
In order that’s £611.93 for a 2.5m, 3 mild, straight line system.
Moreover to the lights I’ve in my system you might additionally go for some trendy drop cylinder pendants (£129.99) or a gradient mild bar (£169.99). 90-degree joiners are £24.99 every if you wish to go L or U formed… you possibly can see how the worth may quickly shoot up nicely north of £1,000.
There is a useful Perifo Wizard that can assist you design your system before you purchase and there are over 100 configurations potential (114, in truth).
Hue Perifo is designed to work on both a wall or your ceiling and you’ve got the choice of utilizing current light-socket wiring or an everyday plug to energy your system.
For my setup, which is ceiling based mostly, I used to current mild wiring that was in my storage. It was a easy sufficient course of to wire them to the PSU; though you’ll have to increase your wires ought to your current mild place not be precisely the place you need the PSU to sit down.
On that, you do have some choices as there are PSUs that sit on the finish of rails, plus a two-way one that may sit between two rails, so hopefully you may discover an choice that works that does not require you to re-plaster your ceiling.
As soon as you’ve got labored out the place precisely the system is to go, it is time to begin screwing within the rails. The handbook (Ikea-style) walks you thru all of this and it is definitely not troublesome; even a DIY novice like me managed to get the system put in inside an hour or so.
Nonetheless, that is to not say it was all plain-sailing; the rails have two screws – one at both finish – the place I feel three would work higher. It was laborious to get the rails to sit down precisely straight and, as you possibly can see within the picture beneath, my joiner is not utterly flush (though it nonetheless connects the 2 and works with out challenge).
(Picture credit score: The Ambient)
There are additionally a couple of fiddly bits involving washers and plastic bits that have to click on in place however, as I’ve acknowledged, it is nonetheless a reasonably easy set up job.
As soon as you’ve got acquired the facility provide wired in and your entire rails related it is merely a case of popping in your chosen lights the place you need them.
The lightbar merely pops out and in like a chunk of lego due to the riveted connector on its high facet:
(Picture credit score: The Ambient)
You merely push the sunshine into place gently and it’ll energy up (if you happen to’ve acquired the lights switched on, in fact) instantly as soon as these gold connector factors robust the metallic strip contained in the rail:
(Picture credit score: The Ambient)
If you wish to transfer or change the lightbar it pops out as simply because it popped in.
The spotlights additionally pop in however have the added safety of just a little plastic lock that you just flip with a screwdriver. Presumably it’s because they’re a bit heavier than the lightbar:
(Picture credit score: The Ambient)
The spotlights may also be adjusted to maneuver the angle they level at, with a 350-degree rotation potential.
You’ll be able to alter and amend your system anytime you want; not solely do all of the lights slide up and down the rail as soon as popped in, they may also be taken out and put into new positions and you may also purchase new joiners, rails and lights and add them to your setup too.
The Perifo system is out there in each black and white; you may discover all of the completely different modules obtainable in each. You’ll be able to, must you want, combine and match completely different colours.
Options
- Wants a Bridge for full performance
- Additionally works through Bluetooth
- Voice assistant controls on supply
Like all trendy Hue sensible lights, the Perifo system works finest if you happen to pair it to a Hue Bridge but it surely’s additionally potential to attach immediately through Bluetooth and your cellphone; though you’ll miss out on some cool Hue options.
Given the worth of the Perifo system, it would be fairly lame to not get a Bridge concerned to get the complete expertise.
As soon as paired with a Hue Bridge you’ll discover that every particular person Perifo mild in your rail is handled a novel entity inside the Hue app.
(Picture credit score: The Ambient)
That signifies that, must you group the lights collectively in the identical room, you possibly can management all of them collectively or break up them aside to combine up the colours and brightness.
It additionally signifies that, must you sync your Hue system along with your sensible residence ecosystem of alternative you get full voice management of every Perifo mild, or group of lights utilizing Siri, Alexa or the Google Assistant.
These being common, albeit dear and considerably irregular, Hue lights you even have the a number of array of management choices on supply, from the Hue app itself to Hue’s Faucet Dial, Hue Sensible Button or perhaps a third-party sensible residence button.
After all, you possibly can set scenes and routines from inside the Hue app however for extra superior automations it is all the time finest to leap into the likes of Apple House, SmartThings, Alexa or Google House.
What you possibly can’t make use of, but, (and that is the case with all Hue lights at current) is the brand new Matter sensible residence normal.
The Hue Bridge is ready to get a Matter improve quickly although so this can carry the Perifo system onboard, offered you’ve got used the Bridge technique.
Efficiency
Every energy provide unit (PSU) can deal with as much as 100W of lighting and so you might want to do the maths when configuring your system and understanding how a lot energy you may want.
The spotlights and pendants solely have round a 5W ranking, however the lightbars and lightweight tubes can hit just below 30W for the larger sizes.
When it comes to brightness, you possibly can count on 510lm at 4000K and 490lm at 2700K from the spotlights and pendants and as much as a whopping 2050lm at 4000K from the lightbar.
On full whack, on a white setting, you possibly can simply blind your self with the brightness of the Perifo bulbs.
This being Hue, colours play a giant half and, whereas there are atmosphere white-only choices obtainable, there’s extra enjoyable available with the colour variants.
Remaining ideas
Doubtless, the Hue Perifo system takes DIY sensible lighting to the following stage. It is easy sufficient to put in and the configuration choices are nearly countless.
The model and end of the lights will add some modern-industrial stylish to any room and, this being Hue, the efficiency and management choices are just about faultless.
It is laborious to get previous the worth, as a result of it’s simply so costly in comparison with different Hue merchandise, and that is all that basically holds it again from getting an additional half a star in my evaluate.
How we check
Once we publish our critiques, you possibly can relaxation assured that they’re the results of “residing with” long run exams.
Sensible lights normally dwell inside an ecosystem, or a variety of merchandise that – supposedly – all work in concord. Subsequently, it’s not possible to make use of a related mild for every week and ship a verdict.
As a result of we’re testing sensible residence package all day, on a regular basis, we all know what issues and the way a selected mild compares to alternate options that you may additionally be contemplating.
Our critiques are complete, goal and truthful and, in fact, we’re by no means paid on to evaluate a tool.
Learn our full information on How We Check to search out out extra.
FAQS
Is Hue Perifo that can be purchased within the US?
Not formally but, no.
Does Hue Perifo want the Hue Bridge?
It does for the complete performance however Perifo additionally works utilizing Bluetooth.
Are Hue Perifo lights handled as one mild within the app?
No, they’re all handled as particular person bulbs for optimum management.
Philips Hue Perifo: Specs
| Kind | Kind and colours | |
| UK RRP | From £44.99 | |
| US RRP | From $49.99 | |
| Measurement | Varies | |
| Weight | Varies | |
| Launch date | October 2022 | |
| Ecosystems | Alexa, Apple House, Google House, SmartThings | |
| Connectivity | Zigbee, Bluetooth | |
| Brightness | As much as 2050lm |
