I have an old-style downlight in my foyer, and I wanted a smart bulb for it.  I saw a lot of  retrofit kits for recessed lights with the light source and trim kit in one.   But those weren’t what I wanted, because none I found were wirelessly controllable.  I gave up on those kits and just bought a new trim kit and a Hue BR30 bulb that’s a bit too short for the old-style downlight.  It works okay, but it’s a bit dimmer than it should be because the end of the bulb is recessed in that old, deeper-than-normal fixture.  I may have to replace that with the Philips Hue White Ambiance Smart Retrofit Recessed Downlight now that I’ve found them.

The Hue downlight kit is available in sizes to fit 4″ or 5/6″ recessed fixtures.  Just like other Hue bulbs, these retrofit kits must be paired with the Hue bridge.  Once paired, they can be controlled, dimmed, and scheduled using the Hue app, Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s HomeKit, and Hue Tap and dimmer switches.  These aren’t the color-changing bulbs; they are White Ambience, meaning they have what Philips describes as 50,000 shades of white, from warm to cool white.

You can purchase the 4″ kit or the 5/6″ kit Philips Hue White Ambience Smart Retrofit Recessed Downlight for $35 at Home Depot.  If you don’t already have one, you’ll also need the Philips Hue bridge.

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