I recently installed a Philips Hue indoor motion sensor, lights and dimmer switch in my bathroom to solve a couple of problems. When guests come over to use my washroom the light switch is on the opposite side of the wall which can be difficult to find in the dark. It also doesn't help that the switch is in an unusual position.
Note: this article assumes the reader is already somewhat familiar with the Hue lighting system.
One option is to replace an existing switch with a motion sensing switch like this Lutron Maestro (as seen in the image below). One advantage of the Lutron Maestro and similar switch replacement over the Hue motion sensor is it doesn't not require batteries. One disadvantage compared to the Hue is it cannot be placed anywhere. The Hue also has the advantage of being programmable as described further below.
After I installed the Hue lights and motion sensor, now when someone walks into my bathroom the light automatically turns on. After no motion is detected for 10 minutes they automatically turn off (if you take long showers you may want to increase this value).
A secondary benefit is that you can set night behavior. Between 11 pm and 8 am I set the lighting to a much lower brightness setting. So if you are going to the bathroom late at night, it is much easier on the eyes.
To make this change, open your Hue app and click Settings > Accessory setup > Hue motion sensor.
Then under "Night Behavior" set the times you wish, the room or zone to apply it to and the select the light recipe. Personally I use the "Dimmed" option.
One problem I ran into with the Hue motion sensor is it runs on two AAA batteries that need to be replaced every three weeks or so when using rechargeable Enerloops batteries. This is generally not a big deal as I have another set charged and rotate them. The issue that arises is when the batteries die is you can no longer turn on your lights without your Hue app.
To address this issue I added a Hue dimmer switch. This acts as a override to the motion sensor so if the battery dies, I can simply press the on button. Conversely when I am leaving the bathroom I can turn the light off manually and not have to wait for the light to time out and turn off automatically.
Something I think a number of people that purchase the Hue dimmer switch probably do not realize is it is not meant to be a light switch replacement. It doesn't have the standard holes on the top and bottom to mount it on a standard light switch socket and it's confusing because it is the same dimensions. The back of the Hue switch plate has doubled sized tape allow you to mount the switch anywhere.
One solution if you wish to keep the switch intact is to use a raceway outlet box which goes on top of the existing switch. Youtuber John Bloomberg has a tutorial here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fInyJuvpQU
Personally I didn't want to go this route because I have a similar sized fan control panel beside it and having the switch jet out from the wall looks...unoptimal. I decided to remove the switch and connect the wires with a wire nut, tucked in the wires and placed the Hue switch over the old switch location as seen below. If you decide to do something similar ensure you kill the power via the breaker panel or fuse box to any switches before working on them. Not doing so can kill you.
Below is the final result.
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