Advancements in technology have been applied to many things, including home designs. Most modern houses nowadays use smart lighting as it lasts longer than standard lighting systems or traditional LED bulbs, despite it being more expensive. These smart lights or smart bulbs can be controlled through mobile devices like smartphones or tablets, or through a “smart home automation system,” which makes them even more convenient for users.
Why Should You Switch to Smart Lights?
Smart lights have different amazing features that can help make your home life easier and brighter.
Here’s a list of their great benefits and the reasons why you should switch to smart lighting in your home:
Convenient
The traditional house lighting system uses manual switches to turn lights on and off. With smart lighting, the lights can be controlled anywhere in the house with just a few taps on your mobile device.
Automated
Smart lights are also designed to work on your preferred schedule to turn them on or off. They can be set to automatically light up at specific times, for example, and switch off once it’s sunrise.
More features
With smart lights, you don’t only get to illuminate your home to your preference. You can also set a mood by regulating the brightness and even the color of the lights.
Wireless
The smart lighting system, as mentioned above, requires smartphones, tablets, or the home automation hub to control it as it uses a wireless connection to function. It may be Wi-Fi-enabled or it may use other “wireless communication tools” such as Bluetooth or other device automated apps.
Colorful light
Aside from the traditional white light bulbs, smart lights also come in different color choices and color-changing features which depends on the bulb’s brand.
Over-all control
Since smart lights are key features of a home automation system, these can be controlled anywhere and in any way you like. With a wireless connection, you can have the pleasure of adjusting the lights from anywhere in the house, use lighting effects without the installation of dimmer switches, or have automated schedules for lighting the house.
What Are the Best Smart Lights?
When deciding to switch to a smart home lighting system, you may ask yourself: “What are the best smart lights to buy?” Listed below are some of the top products in the market:
1. Philips Hue
The Philips brand offers a wide product range of smart bulbs. In fact, it was one of the first brands to start producing smart lights and their offerings are at reasonable price points for most consumers.
Getting the starter pack is a requirement to be able to use them, and it comes with three bulbs and a hue bridge. The hue bridge is basically the “brain” of the whole set-up as it is the part that needs to be connected to the Wi-Fi or the LAN connection, and it can be controlled through the free hue app. The bridge can manage to control up to 53 bulbs at a time.
Here are some options for the Philips Hue Starter Kit:
- Hue White starter kit (two bulbs)
- Hue White and color ambiance (suspension light)
- Hue White ambiance starter kit (four bulbs)
- Hue White and color ambiance starter kit (four bulbs)
- Hue White and color ambiance (portable light)
- Hue White starter kit (four bulbs)
- Hue White and color ambiance starter kit (four bulbs)
- Hue White and color ambiance (table lamp)
2. Lumen by Tabu Smart Bulb
An independently controllable smart light, the Lumen by Tabu Smart Bulb doesn’t need a hue bridge.
It can be connected to a smartphone through a 4.0 Bluetooth connection which reaches 40 feet. The downside of the Lumen by Tabu Smart Bulb is that it can only control 10 bulbs at a time.
3. LIFX
The LIFX also doesn’t require a bridge as it has all its components already built-in. Each of its bulbs can be controlled through the LIFX app. It is also through the app that you can control the color and brightness of the bulb. Additionally, it can be programmed to automatically turn on when you enter the house. The disadvantage of this smart light, though, is that it is quite expensive.
4. C by GE
GE is a brand that has a well-regarded reputation in the smart lighting industry. The company offers a variety of products, but the C by GE is its best contender in the market. The bulb requires a C-Reach hub for its voice control and out-of-home control features. It can also be controlled with both Alexa and Google Assistant. This smart light is quite affordable, but it does not have other color options available.
5. Sengled Element
The Sengled Element is a more affordable alternative for smart lights. It can also be controlled with Alexa and Google Assistant. A hub is required for Google Assistant while Alexa needs the Echo Plus to be connected directly to the bulbs. The Sengled Element, though, still won’t work with Homekit and its color bulbs can be bought separately.