Senic Unveil New Friends of Hue Battery-Free Switches

Germany-based Senic have unveiled their new Friends of Hue compatible switches in two colourways and with two switch options. The simply named Senic Smart Switch comes in black or white (both with a matt finish), and in one or two button configurations. Each button can be, in fact, treated as a separate button, so effectively these are 4 and 2 button switches, although in many instances these would be treated as toggle switches with one button being an ‘on’ switch and the other being the ‘off’ switch.

The new switches are designed for European homes and can be placed in standard EU switch recesses, or simply stuck to any flat surface. The switches themselves use energy harvesting technology that generates enough power from each press of the switches to send the resulting signal over to the Hue Bridge, rendering battery changes a thing of the past.

If you’re unfamiliar with the Friends of Hue program, it’s designed to help third-party manufacturers create devices that can be seamlessly integrated into the Philips Hue system, usually via the Hue Bridge, using ZigBee technology.

• One-click control of all Philips Hue smart home devices
• Functions: on / off, dimming, triggering scenes and controlling different groups
• The installation is easily done using the Philips Hue App. The switches can be connected directly to the Philips Hue Bridge in less than 2 minutes. No additional hub required.
• No cables, no batteries, no charging – thanks to EnOcean’s established energy harvesting technology.
• Compatible with Apple HomeKit via the Philips Hue Bridge V2.
• The design of the switch is based on the European standard System 55 and fits into most switch frames.
• Switches are available in the Gira E2 design in matt black and matt white. Other colours and models are also available upon request.
• Developed together with Gira Giersiepen GmbH – one of the leading full-range suppliers of intelligent system solutions for electrotechnical and networked digital building control.
• Designed and manufactured in Germany
• Price: Regular price 69 Euro/unit. For the first 48 hours of IFA at the introductory price of 49 Euro/unit plus a free Single Rocker faceplate (see figure 2) available on www.senic.com

More information at senic.com