I haven't seen anything like this WiZ-compatible lighting controller

Price When Reviewed

$78.60

Best Prices Today: PureEdge Pure Smart Wi-Fi Smart Remote Room Controller

Before we get began with this PureEdge Pure Smart Wi-Fi Smart Remote Room Controller, permit me to present you just a little background on the platform on which it runs: WiZ, also referred to as WiZ Pro and WiZ Connected. If you’re not accustomed to WiZ, it’s a {hardware} model owned by Signify, which additionally manufactures Philips Hue sensible lighting merchandise.

You’ll discover all types of sensible bulbs marketed instantly underneath the WiZ title, however the WiZ model and the underlying WiZ expertise can also be licensed to different producers, so that you’ll discover many extra merchandise in the marketplace that work within the WiZ ecosystem.

That’s an extended prologue to elucidate what PureEdge is doing with its Pure Smart merchandise, together with this distant lighting controller (the corporate additionally gives a 120-volt version that have to be related to your property’s wiring). PureEdge doesn’t have a wise app of its personal: It depends on the WiZ app, and its Pure Smart merchandise freely work with different WiZ units, no matter who makes them.

The main distinction between Hue and WiZ is the wi-fi normal behind every of them: Hue depends on Zigbee and requires a hub (although some units may work hub-free over a Bluetooth connection, with limitations), whereas WiZ units join on to your 2.4GHz Wi-Fi community and don’t require a hub to connect with the web and talk with different WiZ gear.

Specifications

The WiZ-compatible element we’re evaluating on this evaluate appears to be like deceptively easy on the floor, providing the looks of a reasonably chunky in-wall gentle swap, one which’s designed to manage WiZ lighting merchandise. But right here’s shock primary: It’s not an in-wall swap in any respect. Rather, it’s absolutely battery-powered (once more, there’s a completely different SKU accessible in order for you a wired, in-wall controller). Crack open this machine by prying the plastic cowl up and also you’ll discover area for 4 AAA batteries (not included) nestled in alongside the perimeters of the swap.

The controller is meant to be mounted on the wall, which might be achieved by attaching it to {an electrical} field (sans wiring), utilizing screws to connect it to drywall, or just utilizing adhesives to stay it to the wall. (All the related {hardware} is included within the field.) Frankly, you don’t even want to connect it to the wall in any respect in order for you an unorthodox distant management.

Surprise quantity two is extra seen, and it’s proper on the face of the machine. In addition to a regular (if undersized) rocker within the heart of the machine, you’ll see two extra rockers: a vertical one to the precise of the primary rocker, and a horizontal one other beneath the primary rocker. Each of those has a particular operate, and it’s value noting that they’ll’t be reassigned.

Here’s a rundown of what these capabilities do: The main rocker, as anticipated, serves as each an on/off swap (a single faucet on the highest or backside half) and as a dimmer (press and maintain the highest half to brighten, or do the identical to the underside half to dim). The slim vertical rocker on the right-hand adjustments colour temperature when a white bulb is related, letting you slide your manner over the colour temperature vary supported by the bulb.

Day-to-day use

PureEdge

I examined the controller with PureEdge’s Pure Smart TruColor RGBTW A19 smart bulb, which has a spread of 1500Okay to 6500Okay and was simply capable of see the bulb’s colour temperature change over the course of 10 intervals—about 500Okay at a time—whereas clicking the rocker up or down.

Lastly, the horizontal rocker on the backside of the swap allows you to change the scene utilized to the room or machine. Specifically, you may cycle by means of 4 “favorite modes” that you just set within the WiZ app, whether or not these are default white gentle modes like daylight or colour scenes you create your self. Choosing these 4 lighting modes is the one a part of the controller that’s consumer configurable.

While setup is straightforward within the WiZ app—it discovers new units with only a few faucets and rapidly bridges them to your Wi-Fi community—utilizing the app to handle onboarded tools isn’t at all times intuitive. It’s easy sufficient if you wish to, say, merely change the colour of a light-weight bulb (though the interface is a bit primary), however configuring extra superior choices for the controller is extra complicated as a result of these options might be scattered or buried.

I had to return to the handbook and/or YouTube tutorials to determine the place to regulate issues on a couple of event, a problem exacerbated by the truth that the handbook isn’t fairly 100 p.c right, because it claims the battery-powered controller (impossibly) have to be related to family wiring with the intention to be arrange.

Christopher Null/Foundry

Another quirk is that the controller have to be assigned to a room, however it could actually in actual fact management a number of units concurrently whether or not they’re in that room or not. The documentation for this can be a bit sketchy, so it could actually take a little bit of trial and error to make sure the whole lot is working correctly, however I used to be capable of get the controller arrange with two PureEdge bulbs fairly rapidly.

The excellent news is that, in common use, the controller is surprisingly responsive it doesn’t matter what you’re doing with it. During my testing, all instructions had been carried out in a split-second, even with a number of units, whether or not that was easy energy toggling, altering colour temperature, or switching scenes. The system is even sensible sufficient to mean you can assign scenes to your 4 favorites that may not be appropriate with each related machine.

For instance, I arrange a “green” colour gentle favourite whereas having each a colour and white-only bulb related to the controller. When activated, the controller appropriately set the colour bulb to inexperienced whereas leaving the white bulb’s colour temperature as is. Similarly, the colour temperature toggle didn’t do something when the colour bulb was set to inexperienced, whereas the white bulb’s colour temperature was appropriately adjusted. In a nutshell: It works precisely prefer it ought to.

While the WiZ ecosystem at massive helps extra sensible dwelling methods, together with Alexa and Google Home, there’s nothing you are able to do with the Wall Controller exterior of the WiZ app itself, for the reason that controller can’t management non-WiZ units.

Christopher Null/Foundry

Should you purchase the PureEdge Pure Smart Wi-Fi Smart Remote Room Controller?

At $79 (offered solely at Lightology.com), the PureEdge Pure Smart Wi-Fi Smart Remote Room Controller is just a little pricy. A considerably related Lutron Caséta dimmer prices about $60, whereas the prettier Lutron Caséta Diva dimmer prices about $70. Both of these units, nevertheless, require an $80 Caséta hub to unlock their whole characteristic set, and neither of them can management colours or white colour temperatures.

Further studying: This evaluate is a part of TechHive’s in-depth protection of the best smart dimmers and switches.

If your property’s lighting revolves round WiZ or PureEdge Pure Smart bulbs and/or PureEdge’s Pure Smart architectural and outdoor lighting products, then again, the PureEdge Pure Smart Wi-Fi Smart Remote Room Controller is tough to beat.

We haven’t seen one other product prefer it—other than the corporate’s related 120-volt providing, that’s. Both provide a characteristic set we haven’t seen wherever else.