Smart lights have been around for a few years now, but plenty of people haven’t made the switch over.
There are heaps of advantages though – you can control them through your phone or with voice command, group them into cool patterns for events such as parties, movies, or even for when you get up at night to get a glass of water. For want of a better term, they’re “smarter” lights.
That sounds complex, but for the majority of lights, it’s a simple matter of using a phone-based app to select the brightness, in some cases the colour temperature and in others the actual colour of the bulb to best suit your mood.
There’s plenty of them, however, under a wide variety of brand names, all with slightly different features. So what should you look out for when buying smart light bulbs?
Will it work with my digital assistant?
Some bulbs will work only with Google Assistant, or Alexa, or Siri. Some will work with all three. If you’ve got a mix of Amazon, Android and iOS devices, flexibility could be a big plus, but if you’re only using one platform, it doesn’t make sense to spend extra if you don’t have to.
What kinds of shapes can I get?
Bulbs are bulbs, right? Well, not so much if you have fancy light fixtures they have to work around, or bulbs mounted vertically in walls. You may want to check if the brand you’re choosing offers alternate shapes or sizes to accomodate other light fixtures around them.
Can I do colours?
Most lights will let you change the intensity of the brightness, and some may let you change the colour temperature, from cooler white/blue mixes to warmer white/yellow types. Others, however, offer a full disco style experience, so if you want that low red room for romance (or Halloween!), you can do it. Not a vital feature for some folks, of course, but if you want it and your brand doesn’t support it, it’s a problem.
E27 or B22?
There are two common light fixture types worldwide. E27, often called the “Edison” or “screw” type uses a simple threaded screw to fit in, and is more common globally, but you may have B22, or “bayonet” types, distinguishable by the prongs that stick out from the sides and form the fixture point for your lights. If you’re looking at changing over your entire house over time, it’s worth checking each bulb, as some houses — especially those with a few years that may have seen a few odd electrical choices in their time — might surprise you.
Do I need new wiring, or a central hub?
Some devices act as standalone bulbs with no need for a central hub, although this type often doesn’t work together in groups because of that fact. Other bulb types, such as the Philips Hue bulbs, work off a central “hub” device that acts as the brains. Check carefully before you start buying, because it makes sense to keep within the one system if at all possible.
Do you want remote control when you’re out of home?
Internet-connected lights can be checked while you’re out, which is super-handy if you can’t remember if you’ve switched the lights off, or just want a light to go on for security reasons. Again, not all lights support that kind of functionality, and quite how well it works can depend on the speed and reliability of your Internet connection.
Do you already have dimming switches?
If you’ve got existing dimmer switches for traditional incandescent lights, it’s worth checking how your brand of choice handles those. Most standard smart bulbs can dim themselves, but they don’t much like the electrical variance of an actual dimmer switch.
How quick do you want to change over?
One of the nice things about integrating smart lighting solutions is that you don’t have to change every bulb all at once. A friend of mine is just about done with his switchover to smart lighting solutions, but he’s taken more than a year to do so, adding a bulb at a time and building up a full profile (in his case, through Google’s Home application) to cover everything from what happens when he gets home to how he wants his lights to dim when there’s an important match on he wants to watch.
While you will pay a little more for smart light bulbs, they can be very practical and useful for a wide number of scenarios. One of the more useful aspects, of course, is that they’ll still work just fine from regular light switches as well, and you generally don’t have to do any additional installation or wiring tricks to get them to work.
If you buy one and decide they’re great, you can go the whole hog, but equally if you work out they’re not for you, you can simply use the bulbs you’ve already bought as regular lights, and leave it at that. Uninstallation is as simple as unscrewing a light bulb, and while there’s probably a terrible old joke in how many people that might take, typically it’s pretty easy.
Need help with Smart Home Installation? Call Geeks2U today to chat to Australia’s #1 provider of on-site and remote tech support.
