Do You Need an Electrician to Install Philips Hue?

• The wall switch module manual: 'Electrical devices may only be installed and connected by electrically skilled persons', and consult an electrician when in doubt
• Hue's UK support article on in-wall modules: they 'should only be installed and connected by electrically skilled people', and local rules may forbid doing it yourself
• The safety leaflet packed with Hue fittings: 'If in doubt, consult a qualified or licensed electrician'
• The same leaflet names Part P as an example of a rule that needs a licensed electrician

• Hue bulbs into lampholders you already have: B22 bayonet, E27, E14 or GU10
• The Hue Bridge on its plug-in adapter, connected to your router by an Ethernet cable
• Plug-in lamps, lightstrips, Play light bars, the Play HDMI Sync Box and the Secure smart chime
• Battery remotes and sensors, such as the Dimmer Switch, Tap dial switch, Smart button and motion sensors

• A new circuit from the consumer unit, for example a dedicated supply for garden lighting
• Fitting a new consumer unit, or replacing the old one
• Additions or alterations in a special location: the space around a bath or shower up to 2.25 m high and 0.6 m out from the bath or tray edge, or a room with a swimming pool or sauna heater

• A new circuit, such as a supply from the consumer unit to garden lights, a shed or a garden room
• Any work on the consumer unit itself, whether a new one or a replacement
• Any new, moved or replaced light, switch or module inside a bath or shower zone. The law treats a like-for-like replacement there as not notifiable, but JACK books no fixed electrical work in the zones
• Notifiable work in a residential building of 18 m or 7 storeys and up, which also needs Building Safety Regulator approval unless it is done under a competent person scheme

• A photo of each switch and light the job involves, and the names of the Hue products you have bought
• The consumer unit with its cover closed, so the breaker labels and any RCD show
• Whether a switch is one of two or three controlling the same light, as on stairs and landings
• For a flat or a rented home, written consent from the freeholder or landlord; landlords should also get a copy of any electrical certificate

A vetted pro prices your Hue job from the products and your photos, and the JACK app shows that fixed price before you book.

Whether the job touches your wiring matters more than how many lights there are. Fitting B22 or GU10 bulbs, setting up a Bridge and plugging in lamps, Play bars or a lightstrip is set-up work. Ceiling lights, Perifo track, wall switch modules and mains outdoor lights are electrical work on your existing circuits, priced for the isolating, connecting and testing each one needs.

Then the home itself: a heavy fitting that has to go into a joist, a high or sloping ceiling, a two-way landing that needs a module at both switches, old cable with no earth, or a long garden run for low-volt lights. On a high ceiling or a long fitting, your pro can ask another pro on JACK to help through the Pro2Pro feature. Several Hue jobs, and devices from other brands, go on one booking for one fixed price.

You buy the Hue products; JACK does not sell them. Accessories the job needs, such as a deeper back box, an in-use cover for an outdoor socket or aluminium channel for a strip, are agreed and added at cost before you book, and so is parking where it has to be paid for. Prefer to pay for time? As a guide, hourly hire is typically £45–£95 per hour for smart home work and £55–£110 per hour for electrical work, and a full-day handyman booking is a flat £350–£400 for up to 8 hours on site, which suits a whole-house Hue fit.