Supplement Natural Light as the sun goes down each day with Philips HUE Motion Sensor (and integrated light sensor) Without Motion

Question

I recently fitted out my home office with Philips HUE bulbs and a Philips HUE motion sensor that has a builtin light sensor. I was hoping that I could get up the Philips HUE Motion Sensor (with light sensor) to supplement light in the office as the sun went down so the room was always the same brightness (to save my little eyes from the strain of poor lighting)

While the sensor has have the light / lux sensor and it does allow me to set a threshold for when it should begin to turn on the lights - it does require motion and it doesn't supplement - the lights are either on or off.

I felt that this would be a pretty big limitation for lots of users and I was hoping that someone else made it possible for this smart hardware to work without the limitations of the silly software so I looked for alternatives on IFTTT but also came up with nothing.

Anyone had this issue? Any ideas on how to get around this and make it work the way I was hoping it work?

Answer 1

Original answer (July 2017): You do not need to do anything fancy. In your phone Hue app, go the Explore menu option and click on Hue Labs.

Use the 'Sunlight as a switch' formula to accomplish exactly the function you are trying to perform. I have been using formulas from labs for the last few months with satisfactory performance.

Update (June 2021): 4 1/2 years after it was originally setup, I still recommend this formula. It has worked reliably all these years. It just works and you never have to mess with it after it is setup.