The Lutron Aurora Dimmer is the solution to one of the biggest annoyances smart home users have been dealing with for years.

Many smart home owners will start their journey by getting smart lights, often Philips Hue Lights. Due to their robust ecosystem and gold standard quality, it’s a solid choice just about anyone would agree with.

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However there are downfalls with smart lights; most notably, is that their wall switch has to always be in the “on” position. Once you flick it off, connectivity with the light goes away, and your smart light is smart no more.

Some people will forego smart lights in favor of smart switches. Though you don’t get the benefit of colored ambiance in your home.

Other people have come up with creative ways around this, by 3D printing plates over their switches and attaching the Hue Dimmer Switch on top of it, which is clever, but often sticks out a bit much, both visually and physically.

Lighting giant Lutron has stepped in and partnered up with Philips to provide a solution.

The Lutron Aurora dimmer is a circular dimmer that is placed over your existing toggle switch. (Note: this is only for toggle style switches, not paddle.)

It locks the toggle into the “up/on” position, so that no one can accidentally turn the switch off – and with it, your Hue light connectivity.

Lutron Aurora Dimmer

They claim it only takes 2 minutes to install, and requires nothing but a screwdriver. Since it is a Hue accessory, it will connect to the Hue Bridge via Zigbee, so it will continue to work even when your WiFi goes down.

Once installed and connected, you can now simply rotate the dial to adjust the brightness of your lights. Personally I’m a big fan of this. Using your phone, or yelling at Alexa to adjust the lights tends to become a tedious task, and adding functionality is always a welcome thing.

The Lutron Aurora Dimmer is available for pre-order on Hue’s website, and will be widely available in June for $40.