Smart lighting is a fast-growing trend at present, and it can also be referred to as connected home technology. No doubt, it will be the norm in a few years.
If take its basic meaning level, to make any gadget smart means it needs to be connected to the internet or phone directly so that an app can control it. The same thing also applies to light, when it can be controlled remotely via smartphones, it is termed smart lighting.
Every smart gadget that can be connected to the internet to make life easier. That’s where smart lighting comes in the limelight. It is the leading category in intelligent home technology. It’s affordable, easy to install and is capable of enhancing the safety and security of your home.
Best Smart Lighting
Philips Hue White And Color Ambiance
Philips Hues White and Color Ambiance Starter Kit contains your choice of two or four dimmable colored bulbs and a hub. However, what isolates Philips from the competition and drives it to stand out among the best smart light bulbs is the deepness of its app, which is loaded with features, including routines, sunrise/sunset automation, locations, geofencing, and a vacation mode. Plus, Philips Hue functions with almost every other innovative home system or device you can consider: Alexa, Google Home, IFTTT, Nest, SmartThings, and more.
- Works With: Alexa, Google Assistant, Home
- KitHub Required: Yes
- Lifetime: 25,000 hours
- Brightness: 800 lumens
- Power consumption: 10 watts
- Bulb Type: A19
| Pros | Cons |
| Easy setup with intuitive app, Extensive third-party integrations, Stunning color effects | Expensive, Requires bridge |
Wyze Bulb
The biggest concern with smart light bulbs is that they’re costly, even compared to other LED bulbs. That’s why Wyze’s smart bulb is excellent for those on a budget. It’s the best brilliant light bulb if all you’re looking for is a light bulb you can control and link to other smart home devices. For example, you can modify both the brightness and color temperature (2,700k – 6,500k), not just from Wyze’s app; you can also complete these adjustments with Google Assistant, Alexa, and IFTTT.
- Works With: Alexa, Google Assistant
- Hub Required: No
- Lifetime: 25,000 hours
- Brightness: 800 lumens
- Power consumption: 9.5 watts
- Bulb Type: A19
| Pros | Cons |
| Inexpensive, Tunable white, Works with Alexa, Google Assistant | Doesn’t work with HomeKit, No color option |
Sengled Smart Wi-Fi LED
Sengled makes the best smart light bulbs for those glancing for an inexpensive and easy-to-install option. In addition, Sengled is great for more diminutive technical-minded dwellers because the Sengled Smart Wi-Fi bulbs connect directly to your home network, unlike Philips’ bulbs. As a result, there’s no bridge required to light up your space. The Sengled app functions with Alexa and Google Assistant and delivers all the basic smart-bulb features, with timers, scenes, schedules, and routines, but is less refined than what you get with Philips.
- Works With: Alexa, Google Assistant
- Hub Required: No
- Lifetime: 25,000 hours
- Brightness: 800 lumens
- Power consumption: 9 watts
- Bulb Type: A19
| Pros | Cons |
| Super easy setup, No hub required, App tracks energy consumption | Missing more advanced automation features |
Sengled Smart LED with Motion Sensor
Sengled’s Smart LED with Motion Sensor is the best brilliant light bulb for people who require an outdoor floodlight for their pathways. Not only does it crank out additionally than 1,000 lumens, but it has a motion sensor set into its center, so it can automatically switch the light on if it catches motion within 30 feet. So you won’t discover yourself struggling in the dark as you try to construct it from your driveway to your entry. The Sengled Smart LED with Motion Sensor functions with Google Assistant, Alexa, and SmartThings. You can obtain push notifications and trigger other intelligent home actions when movement is detected employing routines, too.
- Works With: Alexa, Google Assistant, SmartThings, IFTTT
- Hub Required: Yes
- Lifetime: 25,000 hours
- Brightness: 1050 lumens
- Power consumption: 11.5 watts
| Pros | Cons |
| Built-in motion sensor, Integrated daylight sensor, Weatherproof | No HomeKit support, Hub required |
Ring Solar Pathlight
The Ring Solar Pathlight fixtures offer some of the best smart light bulbs for brightening your trek from your driveway to your door when it’s dark outdoors. Sengled’s identical product might be brighter and less costly, but Ring’s blends seamlessly with the device. As Amazon possesses Ring, the Solar Path lights are consistent with the Alexa voice assistant, Google Assistant, and IFTTT. The Ring app offers many environments for the Solar Path lights for you to configure. For example, you can switch the lights and motion detection on and off. There’s also a setting to display the lights not to turn on if it’s bright outside and a slider so you can modify the brightness threshold. You can adjust the sensitivity of the motion sensors.
- Works With: Alexa, Google Assistant, IFTTT
- Hub Required: Yes
- Lifetime: Battery-operated
- Brightness: 80 lumens
| Pros | Cons |
| Nice design, Built-in motion sensors, Lots of app settings, Can be linked to other Ring products | Pricey |
Lifx Mini
The Lifx Mini is the best brilliant light bulb for smaller fixtures, and it’s more compact than the rest of the products in the market. Lifx’s app works with Google Assistant, Alexa, and HomeKit, and has a great collection of features and effects, like a candle flicker and a strobe, and can sync up to your music or sounds nearby. In addition, Lifx’s bulbs connect instantly to Wi-Fi, so there’s no hub needed. The Lifx Mini bulbs are a little more expensive, though. On the other hand, Lifx drives excellent full-sized intelligent bulbs and the tidy Lifx Candle Color, too, if that’s what you’re seeking.
- Works With: Alexa, Google Assistant, HomeKit
- Hub Required: No
- Lifetime: 200,000 hours
- Brightness: 650-800 lumens
- Power consumption: 9-11 watts
- Bulb Type: A19
| Pros | Cons |
| Bright, Advanced automation options, No hub needed | Expensive |
TP-LINK Kasa Filament WiFi Light Bulb
Filament, or “Edison” sort lights, are all the craze, as they released a warm, old-timey glimmer that’s great at setting the mood. In addition, they looked additionally excellent than traditional LED intelligent bulbs and paired with exposed lighting fixtures. The TP-Link Kasa Filament WiFi Light Bulb is the best brilliant light bulb for this goal; they connect straight to your WiFi (no hub required), and the Kasa app allows you to control them in various patterns.
- Works With: Alexa, Google Assistant
- Hub Required: No
- Lifetime: 25,000 hours
- Brightness: 600 lumens
- Power consumption: 7 watts
- Bulb Type: A19
| Pros | Cons |
| Lots of smart automation options, Tracks energy usage, Dimmable | No HomeKit support |
Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance Lightstrip
The Philips Hue Lightstrip is 80 inch-long strip that can portray millions of colors, counting a fun accent to cabinets, TVs, or around other parts of furniture. You can shorten the Philips Hue Lightstrip strip to fit your requirements and add up to 40 inches of extensions; adhesive backing makes it effortless to stick to a wall or other surface. Like other Philips Hue lights, the LightStrip functions with Alexa, Nest, HomeKit, Google Assistant, and Samsung SmartThings.
- Works With: Alexa, Google Assistant, HomeKit
- Hub Required: Yes
- Lifetime: 20,000 hours
- Power consumption: 1600 lumens
- Wattage: 20 watts
| Pros | Cons |
| Trimmable, Flexible, Accommodates 40 inches of extensions | Requires bridge, Pricey |
Govee LED Light Strips
The Govee LED Light Strips are the most reasonable intelligent light bulbs for anyone examining to obtain some RGB to their space. The Govee LED Light Strips function with Alexa and Google Assistant for hands-free voice control. In addition, the stripes contain a built-in mic that allows the LED lights to sync to your music, while the app has a bunch of scheduling and scene characteristics. Like most light strips, these hold an adhesive, wall-safe backing, but the pack comes with valuable support clips, too.
- Works With: Alexa, Google Assistant
- Hub Required: No
- Lifetime: N/A
- Power consumption: N/A
- Wattage: 18 watts
| Pros | Cons |
| Low cost, Cool music sync feature, Highly customizable settings | Doesn’t work with HomeKit |
Nanoleaf Shapes
They’re not just bulbs, but if you enjoy your home and want to make a statement, the Nanoleaf Shapes are the best smart light bulbs. The Nanoleaf Shapes light boards are modular hexagon tiles that attach like custom puzzle pieces, pair to Google Assistant, Alexa, or Siri and deliver a healthy dose of chaos to a dull bedroom or work-from-home setup. These mountable panels are flawless with color patterns, brightness settings, and pulsing music modes.
- Works With: Alexa, Google Assistant, HomeKit
- Hub Required: No
- Lifetime: 25,000 hours
- Brightness: 50 lumens
- Power consumption: 1 watt
| Pros | Cons |
| Customizable touch commands, Simple setup Striking color effects, Unlimited designs and scenes | Expensive |
Pros of Smart Lighting
- Smart lights are usually controlled by smartphones or tablet via an app, be it an IOS or Android operating system.
- It can be connected directly to the WiFi connection or any phone via Bluetooth.
- The installation process is easy and not that much expensive as you think.
- The main advantage of smart lighting is that if WiFi enabled, it could be controlled from anywhere. You don’t need to walk to the switch and turn on the light.
- It is useful in terms of energy efficiency purpose.
- By going smart, you don’t have to stay in white light always. It offers you to pick any colour of light you want with lighting effect and set-timing options.
- When movement sensors are installed with smart lighting, it can enhance the security of your home to the whole new level.
Cons of Smart Lighting
- It might not show you that considerable difference in energy saving as it was in replacement of incandescent and other lightings like fluorescent and halogen lamps for LED lights. But, initially cost of installation of removal and upgradation will feel high on your budget.
How to decide the Best Smart Lighting for home
Smart lighting is rapidly gaining praise and popularity. Smart switches, plugs, and bulbs can help you manage the light in the home through a smartphone or any other connected device.
Still, before going all-in on lighting gadgets, think about what you want smart lighting to achieve at home. If you wish to prevent lights from being left on, making your home more secure? What problems are you trying to solve? Or, You want to help combat the winter blues by mimicking outdoor light, there’s a lighting solution for you.
Best Smart Lighting Types
It’s essential to do your research to see which intelligent lighting option suits your needs. Here are the key points to get you started.
Smart Plugs and Receptacles
- Smart plugs are an easy and inexpensive way to get into home automation. They plug into standard wall outlets and can be well-configured using an app, allowing you to control any light, device, or appliance that is connected into it like a lamp fixture, fan or microwave. Some smart plugs have special features such as monitoring energy consumption and providing reports that may help you optimize the use of technology to save money.
- If home security is essential to you, look for a smart plug that has an “away” mode that is what makes it more useful by simulating someone being at home by turning lights off and on at random during a set period. This is great if you are a regular traveller or are away from your home for most of the day. Smart plugs may be programmed to run simple tasks like shutting off a lamp at sunrise and turning it on at sundown.
- You can call an electrician to check and replace current wall outlets with smart receptacles to get that built-in look, clean. They can be controlled over a smartphone and are compatible with any smart home assistants.
Smart Switches
- Smart switches replace existing traditional switches.
- You’ll still be able to turn lights on and off from a wall switch, but with added benefits like dimming and remote control through a dedicated app connected to WiFi or data if you’re away from your home.
- If you have LED light bulbs installed, dimmers reduce energy consumption approximately equal to the amount it reduces light output. For example, lights at 50 per cent brightness would use around 50 per cent of the power.
- Smart switches are worth considering if you have switches that control many lights. Some have built-in vacancy and occupancy sensors, which will help you save more energy since they’re only triggered by motion. For example, if you have several lamps connected to one switch, it may make more sense to change out the switch instead of changing out multiple lightbulbs.
- Don’t forget; switches can be tricky to change out. To make sure everything is installed correctly, you may consider an electrician who can help.
Smart Bulbs
- Smart bulbs have an extensive range of benefits, including dimming and helping you sleep better. Like smart plugs and switches, intelligent bulbs let you adjust the lighting in your home remotely, as well as set schedules and timers for lights.
- Smart bulbs use LEDs, which last at least 15 times longer than traditional incandescent bulbs and use about 70 90 per cent less energy. Additionally, a vital feature of some brands’ smart bulbs is the LED colour types they employ, which can be used to set the mood for any occasion, including parties and holiday gatherings.
- If you’re looking to automate lighting to fit your lifestyle, you can also program the colour of lights beside your bed to put you to sleep and wake you up. To get in the game, simply replace traditional light bulbs with smart bulbs, which screw into existing sockets in your home.
- If you only want a handful of smart bulbs in your home, consider getting ones that connect directly to your WiFi network. If you’re managing more lights, a hub-based smart light system may be better.
Conclusion
Don’t forget to think about the technology that is already part of your daily routine. Ensure that tablets, phones and smart thermostats you use are compatible. Smart lighting is a great place to start creating a smart home. It can help you save energy, increase your comfort, feel more secure and give you peace of mind when you’re away.