I’ve always wondered what the great inventors of the 19th and 20th centuries would think of today’s technology, smart home technology in particular. What do you think the likes of Thomas Edison or Nikola Tesla would have to say about home automation and smart lighting?
Given that both of those guys were geniuses and strong advocates of developing new ways for technology to improve the lives of everyday working people, I’m of the mind to believe that they would be all for smart home technology, particularly smart lighting. So what makes smart lighting so “smart” and why is smart lighting the way to go in 2022?
What Is Smart Lighting?
Smart lighting is an intuitive solution to home lighting using LED light bulbs and smart technology to automate, customize, and monitor your home lights remotely via an app on your smartphone, a smart display, or a smart assistant like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and so on. Like all smart home systems and devices, smart lighting adds an extra level of comfort, convenience, and customization all while being more energy efficient and adding value to your home.
How Does Smart Lighting Work?
Smart lighting works by using software that allows you to control the lights from your phone or smart assistant. There are several types of smart lighting systems, including smart light bulbs, LED strips, lamps, and light switches. They all offer different options and features, but one thing they all have in common is that they are connected to either your WiFi or Bluetooth network which effectively makes them interconnected with the entire smart home system and accessible through your smart device of choice.
Types of Smart Lighting
We mentioned that smart lighting comes in many different shapes and forms, so if you’re interested in the variety of ways in which you can take advantage of smart lighting, check out these five types of smart lighting:
- Smart LED Light Bulbs. Smart LED light bulbs are one of the easiest and most significant ways to begin integrating Internet of Things products into your home. They can be installed just like regular light bulbs and just need a little set up on your phone to start working. They offer all kinds of customization, convenience, and security options. With smart bulbs you can do all of the following from your phone or smart assistant:
- Turn lights on and off
- Adjust color and brightness
- Set a timer function
- Create presets for specific tasks (reading, dinner, security breach, etc.)
- Implement motion sensing
- Smart Switches. Smart switches offer the same functionality as smart bulbs and can be used with normal LED light bulbs. The only problem is that their installation is a little bit more involved and depending on your DIY skills, you might want to get a hands-on friend or an electrician to help. So what’s the point of them if they have the same functions as smart bulbs but are such a hassle to install? Well, if you use smart switches you will totally avoid one of the big drawbacks of smart bulbs - that smart bulbs can get deactivated if the light switch they are connected to gets turned off. If this happens, you’ll need to turn the switch back on in order to use the smart functions again. This kind of defeats the purpose of having smart lighting all together since one of the best things about it is that you don’t need to interact with switches anymore.
- Smart Lamps. Smart lamps are another way to start making use of all the awesome smart lighting has to offer with the added benefit of being ornamental and contributing to your space’s aesthetic. They are also a great option for functional lighting, whether it's for reading or preparing your mind for sleep; they can be a super useful light source with all that additional convenience of a smart bulb - plus, they are the easiest option to set up; just plug it in and configure the app.
- Smart Grow Lamps. Smart grow lamps are a special category of smart lamps that offer so much more control over your plants’ growth cycles. Smart grow lamps let you adjust the color temperature and amount of time spent under the light from an app on your smartphone. They are especially helpful if you’re away on vacation and want to make sure your plants are receiving enough light while you’re gone. Check out this article for more information on grow lamps.
- Smart LED Light Strips. If you’re looking for a cheap, easy, and stylish way to add a modern vibe to your home, then look no further than Smart LED light strips. Smart LED light strips come with a bounty of cool customization options and have unlimited placement options. Put them along the edge of your stairs and set them to turn on at night; use them as backlighting for your TV to decorate your entertainment system; or electrify your PC gaming setup with dynamic customized color and strobing combinations. Regardless of how you intend to use them, smart LED light strips are one of the coolest ways to implement smart lighting into your home. Here’s a more in depth breakdown of LED light strips.
Smart Lighting Pros and Cons
We’ve been piping on and on about how awesome smart lighting is and it's probably starting to sound suspicious at this point - there has got to be a catch, right? Of course there are downsides to everything, and especially considering that it is still a developing technology, smart lighting is no exception. So, let’s set the record straight and hash out the pros and cons of smart lighting.
Benefits of Smart Lighting
- Added Comfort and Convenience. No need to worry about forgetting to turn off a light, you can adjust the lighting from anywhere.
- Save on Your Electricity Bill. The combination of smart technology and LED light bulbs is currently the leading method for energy efficiency. Right now it costs about $6.60 to run incandescent bulbs for 1000 hours and only $1.32 to run smart bulbs for the same amount of time.
- Increase the Value of Your Home. Smart home technology is slowly taking over and smart lighting systems are an integral part of that. If you invest money in fitting out your place with a high end smart lighting system you’re basically guaranteed to attract more bidders and increase the value of your home.
- Mood and Ambiance. Lighting is one of the most important pillars of interior design and smart lighting lets you tweak brightness and color from your phone to suit the occasion.
- Compatibility. You can easily integrate your smart lighting system with your main smart home system, regardless of brand. One of the main communication technologies used in smart lighting is known as IFTTT (If This Then That). It's thanks to IFTTT that you can use smart lights with other devices that don’t belong to the same brand. This technology also lets you set triggers which will activate specific functions of your smart lights. For example, you can set smart LEDs light strips to strobe in rhythm when you play music with your smart speakers or turn them off automatically when you lock your door, provided that you have integrated a smart lock.
- Safety and Security. Smart lighting can contribute to your home security system because you can set timers for lights to go on and off at specific times throughout the day, giving the impression that someone is home and active in the house.
Smart Lighting Disadvantages
- Can Be Expensive to Install. If you live in a large home, installing smart lighting in every room will be much more expensive than regular lighting. It's up to you whether you think the reduced electricity bill over time is worth the upfront investment of smart lighting installation.
- Learning Curve. We’ve programmed ourselves to turn those light switches on and off manually for so long that you’ll need to actively reprogram your subconscious mind into using voice commands or your phone to adjust the lights. On top of that, you’ll need to spend some time learning the ins and outs of your smart lighting app, which can be challenging for people who are new to smart home technology.
- Bugs and Optimization. Like all things connected to The Internet of Things, smart lighting is still a relatively new technology and there is a lot of room for improvement. One common bug smart home owners report is the flashing and flickering of smart light bulbs. Luckily for most technical difficulties, there’s an easy solution, but it just goes to show that smart lights are still developing.
- Voice Activation Difficulties. Not so much to do with smart lighting itself, but rather the voice activation function of smart assistants. Sometimes they just won’t listen or won’t understand and it takes a few tries to activate a simple function.
How to Set up Smart Lighting
For people who are just getting into smart lighting, smart bulbs are usually the best type of smart light to start with because they are the easiest to install and are pretty versatile as they can be used on both ceiling and lamp fixtures. Here’s a quick guide on how to set up smart lighting with smart bulbs.
- Once you’ve got your smart bulb, you’re going to need to physically install it into the fixture. This is simply done by unscrewing the old bulb and screwing in the new smart bulb. No fancy tricks or frills in this step.
- Download the app for your smart light. The light should come with instructions for this part, but you can probably just search the company’s name on the App Store or Google Play and be able to find it.
- Make sure your phone is connected to a Bluetooth or 2.4GHz WiFi network and select the light from your list of devices.
- Complete the pairing process for your light bulb according to the manufacturer's instructions; every bulb has a different way of doing this step.
- It’s good to go! Now you can configure your light bulb timer, brightness, and other effects from the app.
Given how easy it is to install and how many great benefits smart lighting has to offer, it’s no wonder why smart lighting is the way to go in 2022 and beyond. If you were just curious (or skeptical) or are getting serious about upgrading to smart lighting, we hope this article helped to shed some light on this trending new innovation in the home improvement industry.
