In this guide, we’ll take a look at some of the very best options for intelligent smart lighting that you can integrate seamlessly into your home. From the best smart light bulbs and smart lighting hubs, to smart lamps and wireless light switches, we’ve compiled the very best of the best in smart light bulbs and smart lighting solutions for every budget and requirement.
| BUDGET | SPECS | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
FOUNDATION |  | $250 Smart Lighting Setup |
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STARTER |  | $400 Smart Lighting Setup |
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ESSENTIALS |  | $500 Smart Lighting Setup |
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ADVANCED |  | $650 Smart Lighting Setup |
| |
COMPLETE |  | $750 Smart Lighting Setup |
| |
SMART SWITCH UPGRADE |  | $300 Legacy Lighting Upgrade |
|
The day of the smart light bulb has most definitely arrived.
Today, you can wirelessly control the lighting throughout your home with your voice, from your smartphone, tablet, and even from your watch.
If that isn’t cool enough, with the best smart light bulbs installed around your home, you can now also completely automate your interior lighting setup and even tailor the mood lighting for your next movie night, dinner party or that romantic date.
Smart lighting and the best smart light bulbs have become incredibly versatile in recent years and can be implemented into your existing home environment in a number of ways to help make life simpler, safer and cheaper.
For example, the best smart light bulbs can be synchronized with other smart devices such as the Nest Protect to alert you (via your connected smart light bulbs) if smoke is detected in your home and can even be integrated with IFTTT applets to turn your smart lights blue whenever you receive a Facebook notification.
With a small amount of upfront planning, you can now configure the smart light bulbs in your home to react pretty much however you want the next time a scheduled (or totally unexpected) event happens.
Contents
The chances are that you may have already encountered smart lighting in one form or another, but if not, our guide to smart lighting solutions will walk you through everything you ever wanted to know about intelligent and interconnected lighting for the modern home.
When putting together this guide, we looked at the very best smart lighting solutions from not only the heavy-hitting and established smart lighting brands such as Philips Hue and LIFX, but also the promising newcomers and smaller but equally impressive smart lighting products entering the market.
This guide will go through the different options for each component of a fully integrated smart lighting solution from the best smart light bulbs through to the control interfaces to get you going.
In the end, you’ll have a plan of action, as well as a number of different configurations and devices to choose between to help get you started on the path to total smart light bulb, smart switch, and smart lamp enlightenment.
We’ve begun the guide with some of our favorite configurations of smart lighting in the form of essential kits that can be implemented into your connected home as is or tweaked to meet your own specific needs or preferences.
These are an assortment of the essential (and coolest) devices and the best smart light bulbs that will help you up your tech game starting with the way you light up your crib.
Read on for some of our personal favorite smart light devices, smart bulbs, switches and configurations, pre-selected, evaluated, and bundled to get you started with minimal input required.
Custom Smart Lighting Kits
Don’t Want to Waste Time Finding the Best Smart Light Bulbs and Smart Lighting Kits? START HERE.
If you’re looking to dive right into remotely operating and automating your home lighting systems with the best smart light bulbs, then you’ve come to the right place!
We’ve put together a collection of essential sets so that you can get started on the path to a comprehensive smart lighting setup straight out of the box.
The smart light bulbs and smart lighting sets in this section have been carefully considered to provide a range of the essential elements of the very best smart lighting equipment and configurations which are designed to work alongside each other with minimal up-front effort and setup.
This means that you can simply connect and enjoy without the worry of endless browsing through stores or discovering surprise compatibility issues between different devices when you start plugging things in.
These specially configured kits provide everything you need to get started with smart lights in your home, whether you’re looking to start from scratch, expand upon an existing setup or create the ultimate connected lighting system for your home.
From the best smart light bulbs to the perfect smart light switch for your home, we’ve provided a range of kits offering everything from bare-bones smart light bulb setups to fully comprehensive integration meaning you’ll find a size that fits, whatever your requirements or budget.
Our custom smart light kits are updated with what we believe to be the top smart lighting devices, products and components at the best prices on a regular basis. This means you should find the best and most up to date solution to meet your specific needs.
Choose your Smart Lighting Set
Option 1 – The Foundation Smart Lighting Kit
Option 2 – The Starter Smart Lighting Kit
Option 3 – The Essential Smart Lighting Kit
Option 4 – The Advanced Smart Lighting Kit
Option 5 – The Complete Smart Lighting Kit
The Foundation Smart Lighting Kit
If you’re looking to get started with a smart lighting solution that offers both a solid introduction to the essential elements of connected lighting while still providing plenty of room to expand in the future without breaking the bank, then the Foundation Smart Lighting Kit is a great choice.
Ideal for those just starting out with smart lights or even entering the world of smart home automation for the first time, the Foundation Smart Lighting Set includes a recommend selection of our favourite entry-level smart light solutions and the best smart light bulbs alongside a smart plug/power outlet (for controlling any existing lamps or appliances you also want to ‘make smart’) as well as an entry level motion detector unit to expand the functionality of your new intelligent light setup.
The Foundation Smart Lighting set ties this all together with the inclusion of a dedicated smart hub to unify and orchestrate your devices (now and going forward), allowing for streamlined control of your lighting, while providing a foundation for expanding your smart home repertoire in the future.
The first variation of our smart lighting sets includes the excellent Samsung SmartThings hub at its core with smart lighting and automation options provided from the excellent Philips Hue White Ambiance Starter Kit – quite simply some of the very best smart light bulbs on the market. On top of this, the foundation smart lighting kit builds in a smart plug power outlet (for any existing appliances) and a compatible Philips Hue motion sensor for triggering your new smart light bulbs as soon as you enter a room.
Built around a smart hub which offers fantastic third-party device and protocol compatibility as well as a wide range of ‘bolt-on’ modules within the SmartThings range (such as the SmartThings Smart Outlet included in the kit), this is a solid choice if you’re looking to get underway with a basic smart lighting solution with minimal setup that can grow along with your smart home over time.
Smart Lighting Device List
| Smart Bulbs | Philips Hue White Ambiance Starter | BUY |
| Hub | Samsung SmartThings Hub | BUY |
| Plug | Samsung SmartThings Outlet | BUY |
| Motion Sensor | Philips Hue Smart Motion Sensor | BUY |
Grand Total: $250
*Prices fluctuate daily. Click here for current pricing.
The Starter Smart Lighting Kit
If you’re looking to move beyond the foundations of smart lighting in your home and move into a level of increased functionality (color changing bulbs, voice control etc), then this Smart Lighting Starter Kit is where you want to begin.
When looking at devices and the best smart light bulbs within this range, you can expect two things from your smart lighting setup right out of the box.
Firstly, this smart lighting kit looks to build on the provision of the Foundation kit, offering a base level of excellent white smart lighting for everyday use.
On top of this though, a more advanced feature set beyond remote and programmable smart lighting (arguably the entry level criteria for any smart lighting or smart bulb system) is now also included.
We’re talking some of the very best smart light bulbs with millions of color variations which react to your mood or in tandem with your existing home entertainment setup as well as the ability to switch individual smart lights on or off around your home, simply by speaking a command.
Utilizing Amazon’s latest and most sophisticated version of the Alexa-based voice control devices, the Echo Plus is both a smart hub and voice controller rolled into one. Not only can you ask the system to turn on certain smart lights in your home, but now, with the built-in smart hub, you can seamlessly orchestrate all of your other smart devices alongside your smart lighting. In the short term, this means awesome levels of voice-activated smart lighting, while leaving a wide scope for expansion both in terms of smart light bulb connectivity and other connected smart devices further down the line.
Alongside the Philips Hue Ambiance Starter Kit (which provides the white and color smart light bulbs for this setup) and Hue Motion Detector included in the set, you can also bring any of your existing ‘non-smart’ lamps into line with your connected home using the WeMo smart plug which allows remote control, scheduling and automation of traditional devices and outlet based lighting units in your house.
Smart Lighting Device List
| Smart Bulbs | Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance Starter | BUY |
| Control | Amazon Echo Plus | BUY |
| Smart Plug | Wemo Mini Smart Plug | BUY |
| Entry level motion sensor | Philips Hue Smart Motion Sensor | BUY |
Grand Total: $410
*Prices fluctuate daily. Click here for current pricing.
The Essential Smart Lighting Kit
When it comes to what can be achieved with a system of fully connected smart lights and smart light bulbs, the sky is the limit, with additional devices and placement around your home extending the capabilities of your smart lighting rig considerably.
The Essential Smart Lighting Set is ideal if you’re looking to start out by building a smart lighting solution that offers more than just smart bulb functionality in a single area of your home.
By providing the ability to take integration and automation of some of the best smart bulbs even further, the Essentials Smart Lighting Set incorporates features that extend the response-based lighting options in your home and allows you to build a system of smart lighting that reacts to changes within your home environment, wherever you are.
The smart bulb offering in the Essential Smart Lighting Set is provided by a combination of two sets of the best smart bulbs on the market. Firstly as the foundation for your smart bulbs, the Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance pack includes three smart light bulbs capable of color changing as well as offering traditional white light, alongside a bridge device for control and integration with further Hue lights.
Secondly, a set of four white Philips Hue smart light bulbs offers the ability for beautifully clear white light which is adjustable in warmth and intensity, perfect for use in those areas of your home where the priority is on high-quality white light such as the kitchen, home office, bedrooms or hallways.
If you want to look outside of Philips, a good alternative to the Hue also comes in the form of the LIFX color 1000, a best in class smart light bulb option which while only providing a single bulb, offers an equally impressive range of color changing variations without the requirement for a dedicated bridge or gateway in order to function.
Both the Hue and LIFX smart bulbs are compatible with a number of devices which take the functionality of your smart lighting even further.
Integration with Alexa is included in the Essential Smart Lighting Kit via the Amazon Echo Plus which features a powerful in-built smart home hub, providing the ability to control your smart lighting and smart bulbs by issuing voice commands to Alexa as well as controlling other devices in your home automation ecosystem.
The inclusion of the awesome Echo Dot effectively acts as a voice control relay for Alexa in your home, allowing you to extend the range of your voice control to rooms out of earshot of the main Echo Hub – want to control the smart light bulbs in other parts of your home from your bedroom but the main Echo Plus is downstairs? Now you can.
Combined with the other skills that can be performed by Alexa such as activation and control of connected devices such as your smart lights, this can lead to some pretty incredible hands-free operation of grouped actions for things like the smart lighting, security, and heating throughout your home, whichever room you’re in.
Smart Lighting Device List
| Color Smart Bulbs | Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance Starter | BUY |
| White Smart Bulbs | Philips Hue White Smart Bulbs | BUY |
| Smart Hub and Controller | Echo Plus | BUY |
| Additional Control | Echo Dot | BUY |
| Smart Plug | WeMo Mini Smart Plug | BUY |
| Motion Sensor | Philips Hue Smart Motion Sensor | BUY |
Grand Total: $510
*Prices fluctuate daily. Click here for current pricing.
The Advanced Smart Lighting Kit
If you’re looking for a truly connected smart lighting solution for the home, then the Advanced Smart Lighting Kit contains everything you need to implement a fully functioning system of smart lights compatible with a wide range of connected devices and including some of the best smart light bulbs money can buy.
At the heart of the Complete Smart Lighting Set, the Echo Plus calls the shots (once you tell Alexa what you want her to do of course) and orchestrates all of your separate smart devices and smart light bulbs ensuring that everything speaks the same language while also allowing for seamless control and scalability of your smart home system going forward.
As with the previous kit, the addition of the Echo Dot voice controller allows for further Alexa based voice activation of all of your connected devices and smart lighting without ever lifting a finger, flicking a switch or opening an app.
The core of the smart bulb and smart lighting in the set is provided by a white light and color combination offered by both the excellent Philips Hue Ambiance starter pack of color changing smart bulbs alongside four Hue white smart light bulbs, allowing you to add a highly customizable lighting experience absolutely anywhere.
The Hue Bridge included within the Ambiance starter pack allows you to tie up to 50 Hue devices together meaning you can grow and control your collection alongside the included smart light bulbs with minimal fuss going forward.
For any existing non-smart lamps or conventional devices currently living in your home, the Wemo Mini Smart Plug is compatible with Alexa and allows for control and scheduling of your non-smart appliances or lamps using your voice or from your smartphone or tablet.
The inclusion of a Philps Hue Smart Motion Sensor allows for movement activated smart lighting to be set up within your home environment while the addition of the Nest Protect smart smoke alarm means that this smart safety device can talk to your connected lighting and visually let you know if there’s an imminent smoke or carbon monoxide issue elsewhere in your home.
Smart Lighting Device List
| Color Smart Bulbs | Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance Starter Set | BUY |
| White Smart Bulbs | Philips Hue White Smart Bulbs | BUY |
| Smart Hub and Control | Echo Plus | BUY |
| Additional Control | Echo Dot | BUY |
| Smart Plug | WeMo Mini Smart Plug | BUY |
| Motion Sensor | Philips Hue Smart Motion Sensor | BUY |
| Smoke Detector | Nest Protect Smoke Alarm | BUY |
Grand Total: $650
*Prices fluctuate daily. Click here for current pricing.
The Complete Smart Lighting Kit
The very best smart lighting solution you can put together needs to accomplish a potentially wide variety of different objectives across different rooms and areas in your home.
With this in mind, the Complete Smart Lighting Kit contains everything you need to assemble a fully connected system of the best smart light bulbs, lamps, and smart control devices to bring it all together into a seamless illumination solution that will transform the way you think about smart home lighting.
At the heart of the Complete Smart Lighting Kit are the actual smart lights which get the job done and these are broken down into both indoor and outdoor lighting solutions.
For the interior of your home, lighting is provided in the form of the Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance Starter Set alongside 4 Hue white smart light bulbs, brought together via the Hue Bridge included in the former.
This combination of white and color smart lighting solutions provides an excellent mix of high-quality white light for practical and everyday tasks, with the addition of environment enhancing colored lighting for setting a scene or complementing your home entertainment offering through some of best smart light bulbs on the market.
Alongside the smart lights themselves, the Complete Smart Lighting Kit also incorporates a Smart Dimmer Switch and Motion Sensor (also both within the Hue range) for adding additional control and automation to your smart lighting layout.
Also within this smart lighting set, the Nest Protect smart smoke detector allows for a fully connected response to any smoke or carbon monoxide hazards in your home, flashing the connected smart bulbs and smart lights in all rooms if the detector senses an issue, quickly visually alerting you to the danger, whether you’re in the bedroom or in the kitchen.
The inclusion of Lightify Gardenspot smart outdoor lighting means that you can integrate outdoor illumination into your smart home ecosystem with a set of 9 connected smart lights which are also compatible with Alexa for comprehensive voice control.
On that note, the Complete Smart Lighting Kit also utilizes the excellent Amazon Echo Plus alongside the Echo Dot (effectively an Alexa satellite device for voice control in other rooms) to allow for voice activated lighting, wherever you are in the house.
The Smart Lighting Switch Upgrade Kit
If you’re looking to get started with a smart solution for home lighting but don’t want to resort to replacing all of your existing bulbs, the installation of smart switches as replacements for current light switches offers a great alternative to some of the best smart light bulbs while still allowing most of the features of a modern smart lighting system.
The Smart Switch Upgrade Set is an excellent way to quickly get started with a smart switch oriented setup in the home.
The Lutron Caseta Dimmer Kit forms the foundation of the set, offering everything you need to begin your smart switch installation including two replacement in-wall dimmer switches, a bridge (which offers support for up to 50 devices and compatibility with major smart home brands) and two Pico remotes – physical remote control units for controlling the lighting without using the app or the wall switches themselves.
Smart switches and other connected devices in your setup can be controlled using your voice by the simple, yet highly effective addition of the Amazon Echo while the inclusion of the iHome Smart Plug brings any traditional lamps or socket-based lighting fixtures into line with your connected smart lighting solutions and switches allowing the remote control and scheduling of any devices plugged in.
Smart Lighting Device List
| Smart Switches | Lutron Caseta Smart Lighting Dimmer Kit | BUY |
| LED Bulbs | Lux LED 60W Equivalent Bulbs | BUY |
| Smart plug | iHome Smart Plug | BUY |
| Voice control | Amazon Echo | BUY |
| Smoke detector | Nest Protect Smoke Alarm | BUY |
Grand Total: $520
*Prices fluctuate daily. Click here for current pricing.
How to Use This Guide
For the complete guide to the best smart light bulbs and smart lighting, read on.
This guide is going to cover many of the components that feature in a fully integrated smart lighting solution. With a wide range of brands, functionality and network protocols available, the best smart light bulb configurations, smart lighting setups (and smart home systems in general) can be as simple or as complex as you want them to be.
Because of this, in order to offer a comprehensive picture of the full spectrum of smart lighting integration, with the pros and cons of the best smart light bulbs and solutions out there this guide is pretty long.
To make things a bit more readable, we’ve included a Table of Contents to help you navigate straight to what you’re looking for.
You can jump directly to the section you’re most interested in or work through the guide in its entirety to get a full picture of the smart lights and solutions available.
What is Smart Lighting?
If you’re new to home automation, one of the best places to start is undoubtedly the world of smart lighting.
Upgrading the lights in your home to a series of the best smart light bulbs and smart lighting devices is both an easy and surprisingly inexpensive way to start implementing your first, fully connected, smart home system, offering a new level of unparalleled control, flexibility and automation throughout your home.
Smart lighting incorporates sleek technology that allows your indoor and outdoor lighting to work both remotely and automatically under certain conditions that you set in advance.
Automated and scheduled smart lighting means that you can now set your smart lights to switch on when someone enters a room or change color when a specific event occurs (like receiving a new email) via a connected internet service.
As well as providing a fully automated smart bulb system, smart lighting can also be controlled remotely from your smartphone, tablet, smartwatch and even through voice activation using services such as Amazon Alexa, Apple Homekit and Google Home.
Not only can you interact with individual smart lights and smart bulbs from your smartphone or tablet, but if configured correctly, your smart lights can also interact intelligently with each other.
The best smart lighting solutions range from individual smart bulbs through to entire smart lighting kits while connected smart lamps and stand-alone light systems can be integrated into your smart home ecosystem to transform the atmosphere of a room or create a desirable ambiance in your interior, whether hosting an evening with friends or watching a movie.
In case you need further convincing that smart lights are an awesome addition to your home, check out the following 10 reasons that smart lighting rocks.
10 Reasons to Love Smart Lighting and Smart Bulbs
1. Smart lighting is one of the easiest ways to begin automating your home
Installing a set of the best smart light bulbs is arguably one of the simplest and most rewarding ways to begin upgrading the lighting within your home to wireless control and autonomous operation.
If you’ve already begun replacing devices and systems in your home with smart alternatives but haven’t yet looked at the light setup, there is an increasingly wide range of cross-compatibility between smart lighting devices and many of the brands and smart home standards out there.
There are now more ways than ever to integrate connected smart lighting solutions with other smart home products allowing them to work together seamlessly.
2. You can control your smart lights from your phone, smartwatch or voice command
Whether you’re using a smartphone, tablet, smartwatch or synchronising your devices with a voice activated system like Alexa or HomeKit, you can now control your smart lights without even having to get off the couch or lift a finger to do it.
Smart lighting means that for the first time, you can take total control over the operation of your home lighting wherever you are in the world.
With many of the best smart light bulb and smart lighting apps offering much more than simply the ability to turn your lights on and off, you can also dim, alter the tone and color and schedule your devices all from your phone when combined with certain lighting solutions.
3. No more midnight stumbling in the dark
Whether through voice control or the strategic implementation of motion sensors around your home, with a smart light system installed, you’ll never have to trip over the cat in the night again.
You can even set your smart lighting system to automatically turn on when it knows your home.
With motion sensor kits and smart cameras both allowing an extension to what your home and its devices can ‘see’ there are a huge variety of ways that your smart lighting can be programmed to respond to movement both inside and outside of the house.
Learn more about our pick of the best smart cameras here
4. Save money on your utility bills
In more ways than one, integrating smart lights and smart bulbs into your home is becoming a cost-effective solution for making savings, both financially up-front and in terms of energy usage.
If you’re currently using incandescent or fluorescent bulbs, switching to an uber-efficient LED bulb can slash the costs of energy associated with lighting in the home.
With many LED bulbs (both smart and regular) operating at a fraction of the wattage of traditional bulbs and also delivering light for up to 15 years a piece during regular usage, the cost savings and the payback potential of an upgrade to a modern LED based smart lighting solution are almost too good to ignore.
Smart lighting options that offer the functionality to schedule when your lights activate or deactivate and those that provide other forms of automation, are particularly beneficial in helping lead to a reduction in running-costs.
This can also be achieved by your lights turning off on their own when there’s no one in the room using them. Similarly, with many smart lights letting you know on a device if you’ve left a bulb on somewhere, you can be sure that no switch will be left behind.
5. You can live like Tony Stark
Once upon a time, any kind of wireless solution for interior lighting was the preserve of those with a lot of disposable income for contributing to home improvements (and the subsequent requirement for sophisticated and expensive installation and operation).
However, the growth in the best smart light bulbs and lamps paired with the humble smartphone, tablet, or smart voice controlled speaker system has brought the dream of connected smart lighting into the mainstream making it within the reach of everybody.
With the best smart light bulb and smart lighting starter kits from leading brands such as Phillips and GE now more affordable and easy to use than ever before, the traditional barriers to entry for implementing your very own smart lighting system in every room of the house have been removed.
6. Never forget to turn off the lights again
One of the main benefits of the best smart light bulbs is the ability to control a light in any room of the house simply by tapping the screen of your smartphone.
As well as being a pretty neat feature in its own right, there is a definite practical advantage to being able to deactivate all of the smart lights in your home, wherever you are.
With a system of smart lights in place, there’s no more forgetting to switch the lighting off downstairs when you go to bed or leave for work in the morning.
Smart lighting solutions which allow programmable scheduling are also an excellent way of having your smart lights turn on (or off) depending on the time of day.
This can be an invaluable tool for ensuring none of your smart bulbs are left on when you’re at the office during the day or setting your smart lights to come on at specific times for those instances when you’re on holiday or away from home for prolonged periods.
7. Receive notifications at the speed of light
You can program some smart lights and smart bulb systems, like Hue, to flash whenever you receive an email, text, tweet, social media notification and a whole load more.
In fact, there are IFTTT Applets out there for letting your smart lights tell you when almost anything is happening, from weather controlled lighting to blinking your smart bulbs if your Amazon Alexa timer reaches zero.
Welcome to the future of lighting.
8. Build a smart safety and security system
One of the truly useful applications of smart lighting is the ability to integrate with other smart devices in the home to allow multiple systems to work together.
An example of this is in pairing up your smart lights with devices such as Nest’s Protect Smoke Alarm which can alert you to a smoke or carbon monoxide hazard with a combination of audio from the device itself and flashing lights from paired smart bulbs.
Find out more about some of our favourite smart smoke detectors here
Similarly, integrating your smart lighting bulbs and devices with a sensor-connected system like Samsung’s SmartThings Starter Kit, means you can set up window and door alarms that also link with your smart bulbs, making them flash red whenever bad guys are up to no good around your home.
9. Set mood lighting with the tap of a screen
The ability to dim your smart lights from the comfort of your couch is another great feature which you soon take for granted once you have a smart lighting setup in place.
Many of the best smart light bulbs offer the ability to change the color they emit, providing an almost limitless variety of choice for setting the perfect mood for an interior space.
The best color changing smart bulbs allow you to create a palette of your choosing as well as many also offering pre-defined color schemes and even integration with apps that match the ambient lighting in a room to the music you’re listening to or the movie you’re watching.
10. Build a truly integrated home ecosystem
As a part of the interconnected home, many of the best smart light bulbs and smart light systems are able to communicate with an extensive range of intelligent devices and smart home products such as smart hubs, cameras, smoke detectors, thermostats, switches and more, allowing your smart lights to become a truly responsive component of a living and connected smart home ecosystem.
Things to Consider
When you first begin to look at smart lights, the range of products and variety of features available can seem pretty overwhelming.
Color changing or traditional white light? Reputable brand or newbie? High or low price tag?
Ultimately, the answer comes down to personal preference and requirements, but there are a few key things to consider when looking for the best smart lighting solution for your needs.
Budget
The price range of the best smart light bulbs and smart lighting products varies by factors from brand and functionality through to considerations such as compatibility with other devices.
If you’re simply looking for a connected smart lighting solution that will allow you to remotely control and schedule the light in your home, then there’s an excellent choice of white light smart bulbs which will do the job without breaking the bank.
By and large, the best smart light bulbs will often utilize one of the major wireless protocols such as Z Wave or ZigBee meaning that while the functionality the smart bulbs offer may be reduced compared to higher priced alternatives, as a low entry-cost option, they still make an excellent foundation, with broad compatibility as part of a larger smart home setup.
At the higher end of the price scale are those smart bulbs and smart lamps from premium brands which also offer a wider feature set such as the ability to alter the color of the emitted light.
These smart lighting options are a good solution if you’re after more than just the ability to remotely control or program your lighting and have more of an interest in integrating a system that will enhance the overall ambience or environment of your home.
Do I Need a Smart Home Hub?
When it comes to the topic of communication between connected devices in the home, the best smart light bulbs (and other smart products for that matter) tend to use one of a number of methods for talking to other devices, be that another product, a smartphone/watch/tablet, a bridge or a base smart hub.
These methods vary by brand and smart bulb or lamp, but usually include one or more of a variety of protocols such as Bluetooth, WiFi, Z-wave and ZigBee.
Some of the best smart lighting solutions available today will utilize a combination of wireless technologies when they communicate with a main gateway and others will just use the one.
The subsequent issues resulting from mixing varied technologies with one another outside of this scenario can be reduced if handled through a stand-alone smart home hub which can be used as a control center for orchestrating all of your different devices and their potentially conflicting standards – of course this doesn’t guarantee that different technologies will always play nice.
The advantage of utilizing a well specified smart hub as a foundation for your smart lighting and wider device setup, is that it allows you to bring your disparate devices together, providing a more ordered approach to controlling everything from one place.
This can be particularly beneficial if you’re looking to implement a series of smart bulbs or smart lighting options from different brands in your home with the goal of connecting them to other smart devices in the vicinity either now or in the future.
Check out our rundown of some of the best hubs for your smart home here
How to Control Your Smart Lighting
One of the great things about smart lighting is the degree of flexibility offered when it comes to control.
A major advantage offered by the best smart light bulbs and lamps over their traditional counterparts is the ability to operate them remotely through an app on a smartphone or tablet or using your voice.
Removing the need to physically action a switch on the wall means that you can activate functionality such as dimming the lights and changing the color of the light, wherever you are, whether that’s the couch, the kitchen, or another country.
Most of the best smart light bulbs can also be programmed and scheduled to activate or deactivate at a set time, offering a degree of home automation which can be particularly useful if you’re likely to be away from home for a period of time.
No more asking the neighbor to turn your lights on once a day while on holiday.
It’s also great if you just want your smart lights to switch on in the evening when you get home from work.
The ability to integrate with motion sensors as well as with geolocation services on your smartphone represents another way of automating the operation of your smart lighting. In both of these instances, the detection of your presence effectively tells the smart bulbs and lights in your setup to activate.
In the case of motion detection, this configuration can be extended further to include devices such as smart cameras to act as a multi-faceted security deterrent when unexpected movement is detected around the home in your absence.
Devices such as the Alexa powered Amazon Echo as well as Google Home and the Apple HomeKit allow for the smart lighting in your home to be controlled using the power of your voice. When connected to a compatible smart bulb or smart lighting system, simply issuing a command to activate either an individual smart bulb or a pre-determined group of smart lighting devices will result in total hands-free illumination.
Smart lighting in the home doesn’t have to take the form of dedicated smart light bulbs or lamps however.
If you’re perfectly happy with the bulbs or light fittings you currently have, a range of replacement smart light switches as well as smart plug adapters for conventional appliances allow you to operate traditional lighting in much the same way as you would a dedicated smart bulb or smart lamp.
In the case of smart switches, simply replacing your traditional light switch with a smart equivalent allows your original bulbs to be controlled either as they were before – albeit using the newly installed switch on the wall – or via your smartphone or voice control device, both of which communicate with (and control) the switch itself.
Color or White Smart Lighting?
The ability to change the overall color of a light bulb is certainly something that will split opinion down the middle when it comes to smart light ‘must-have’ features.
Are you looking for your smart lighting to form an integral part of your home decor and environment – a focal point in its own right – or are going for something that just throws off a good clean light but that you can control and schedule in a way that goes beyond manually flipping a switch when you enter the room.
If you fall into the latter category, the chances are that while certainly providing a novelty factor, the ability to alter the color of your lighting would represent little more than a party-trick in the life of your smart lighting. In this case, the best bet would probably come in the form of a reliable white smart lightbulb that can be controlled with many of the intelligent features you’d expect of a smart lighting solution.
Luckily there are ton of options that can be considered some of the best smart light bulbs in this case and which fit the bill here and often at a much lower price point than their colorful counterparts.
White Smart Lighting
White smart lighting solutions will often represent the best smart light bulbs for controllable, crisp light when changing color isn’t a pre-requisite.
The TP-Link Smart Wi-Fi LED bulb is ready to use without the need of a standalone hub, just screw in and go. This smart bulb is also designed to work with Amazon’s Alexa right out of the box meaning voice controlled smart lighting is ready to go.
Color Changing Smart Lighting
On the other hand, if the ability to alter the ambiance of your interior space is higher up your list of smart bulb priorities, then chances are a white smart light just won’t cut it.
The best color changing smart bulbs provide the opportunity to drastically transform both the look and feel of your rooms and can be integrated with other smart devices in the home to react intelligently to different situations.
With some of the best smart light bulbs such as those within the Philips Hue range, this integration can be taken even further by utilizing IFTTT applets – for example responding to events in other areas of the house such as turning your lights red if smoke is detected.
Again, there are some excellent choices available for colored smart lights and while brands differ slightly in how they get the job done, all will provide the same basic level of functionality when it comes to setting a tone that fits the mood of your room.
Smart Light Bulbs or Smart Light Switches?
When you use a smart light bulb for the first time, the expectation can be that it will be exactly as responsive as a regular bulb. When you start using them though, smart lights can seem slightly slower to respond than traditional lights.
This is simply because there are effectively more ‘steps’ in between action and response when sending the command from an app to the smart bulb itself, as opposed to just flicking a switch on at the wall.
While not a deal breaker for most people (expect a delay from almost instant, to half a second, to one second depending on the signal and the device/smart bulb in question), this is definitely a consideration before deciding on a house-wide traditional to smart light bulb upgrade.
An alternative to installing a setup of the best smart light bulbs comes in the form of smart light switches which basically allow wireless control of your existing light fixtures by replacing your light switches with a connected alternative which can be controlled remotely from a smartphone, using your voice through a system like the Amazon Echo, or on the wall switch itself.
If you’re thinking about a total overhaul of the lighting system in your home, then opting for an upgrade to smart switches rather than of your individual smart light bulbs could be a preferable alternative.
There are some excellent choices of smart light switch available from brands such as WeMo and TP-Link and both are good solutions for bringing your traditional bulbs into the smart era.
While the cost of installing a smart switch is generally higher than that of an entry-level smart bulb, they will tend to have a longer lifespan and of course, can be used with absolutely any bulb you want.
However, it’s the range of functionality offered by the best smart light bulbs that will appeal to many (no color changing options on the smart switch front unfortunately) and the plug and play accessibility of a dedicated smart light bulb may be a preferable option if you’re a renter or simply don’t want to get involved with the time consuming task of replacing all of the existing light switches in your home.
Major Smart Lighting Brand or Newcomer?
As with most things tech related, there are a few brands which become household names synonymous with quality, value, or product offering and the best smart light bulbs and smart lighting brands are no different.
Opting for a major player means you’ll benefit from huge tech teams and top-notch R&D, high trust factor and robust customer support (at least in theory).
With so many resources available to develop their technical offering, the big name devices should have the highest compatibility and react to new developments in the smart home field quickly.
On the other hand, up and coming indie companies will be nimble and more likely to try crazy new things first. Buying from smaller companies also means you won’t have to deal with a faceless corp if you need support. Plus, being an early adopter of the next big thing is always fun.
Major Smart Lighting Players
Before we get into the nitty-gritty of the best smart light bulbs and specific smart lighting devices, let’s take a look at a few of the major players in the world of smart lighting:
Philips Hue Smart Light Bulbs and Devices
Since first coming onto the smart home scene back in 2012 with the launch of the Hue range of intelligent lighting solutions and smart bulbs, Dutch electronics giant Philips have gone from bright to brighter and have now become one of the leading names in the world of smart lighting systems.
Philips hue have become almost synonymous with producing some of the best smart light bulbs in the business and the Hue family of smart lights and devices includes both color changing and white light smart light bulbs, feature lamps and strip lights – all of which are controllable through a companion app from your smartphone, or using your voice via a compatible voice control device.
A gateway in the form of the Hue Bridge acts as the intermediary between all of the connected Hue smart lights and your home router which in turn allows you to control all of your smart light bulbs and lamps from a smartphone or tablet through the app.
Setup of the Hue system is straightforward, simply requiring the connection of the gateway to your home network before downloading the app onto your smartphone and then plugging in the lights.
At this point, the on-screen instructions guide you through the final steps to get going such as assigning a name to the specific smart lights in your new setup – “Kitchen Lights”, “Living Room Lights 1”. These individual areas can then be controlled at the tap of a screen or, if tied to a connected voice recognition device – a verbal command.
While coming in at the higher end of the price scale, the Hue line of smart light bulbs and smart light products offer an amazing range of functionality and cross-compatibility, working with Alexa enabled devices such as the Echo and Dot, Samsung’s SmartThings Hub, Google Home, and the Apple HomeKit system.
The list of out-of-the-box compatible smart devices and products makes the higher up-front investment of the Hue worthwhile if you’re looking for a long-term smart lighting solution and best smart light bulbs that work with the rest of your kit, providing a system that is scalable alongside your grander smart home ambitions.
Check out our primer onthe best Philips Hue smart lighting options here
With the color smart light bulbs within the Hue range offering up to 16 million colors to play around with, you can really get creative with setting up scenes for your smart lights and adding to the overall feel of a room.
The recently latest generation of the Hue app (Apple / Android) allows you this option to create custom color scenes as well as remotely operating individual smart bulbs in your layout. It also offers the ability to set timers and alarms for turning your smart lights on and off.
Another feature of the app is a functionality that allows you to group your smart lights by room – kind of like a higher level version of assigning names to individual smart light bulbs – effectively allowing you to control all of the smart lighting in a specific room as one or independently.
Perhaps our favourite feature in the latest version of the app though, is the geofencing ability which detects your presence and instructs your Hue smart light bulbs to activate or deactivate whenever you enter or leave the house.
There are a number of smart devices which integrate directly with Hue allowing you to pair your lights up with Amazon’s Echo for voice control as well as the Nest Thermostat and the Nest Protect Smoke Alarm for co-ordinating your light with other household events.
Many more compatible devices are also listed on the app itself and there are also a whole load of third party apps which let you take the functionality of your lighting even further, such as the Hue Camera App which syncs your smart lighting to match the mood and colors of whichever film or show you’re watching.
For other awesome Hue apps and more, check out our section further on in this guide for our pick of the very best smart lighting apps.
The Hue range of smart lighting solutions and smart light bulbs are an excellent starting point either as a foundation, if you’re looking to begin your smart home journey, or as an excellent bolt-on to an existing connected home ecosystem.
In both instances, Hue has been designed to plug seamlessly into your past, present or future infrastructure and is well placed to work directly out of the box with many smart devices or through indirect integration with systems such as IFTTT to connect to countless more.
Pros:
Super simple to setup and get started
Wide range of smart bulbs and smart light options
Excellent compatibility with other smart devices
Cons:
Bridge (Hub) required and must be connected to router at all times
Slightly higher price point than other alternatives
LIFX Smart Light Bulbs
Another major player in the smart lighting industry is LIFX who deliver a range of smart bulbs. LIFX offer both white and color changing varieties of smart light bulb without the need for a standalone hub or gateway in order to operate.
The freedom from a gateway, such as the Bridge utilised by the Philips Hue lights, means that there’s one less piece of excess kit that you need to find a place for in your home in order to get up and running with some of the best smart light bulbs on the market.
By connecting directly to your WiFi network, the LIFX smart light bulbs are ready to use the moment you screw them in. An important consideration to remember here is that relying solely on WiFi can cause problems of its own though.
The flagship LIFX product is arguably the Color 1000, a bright color changing smart light bulb which comes in at roughly the same price as the equivalent Hue alternative.
In terms of white smart bulbs, a strong offering also comes from LIFX in the form of the White 800 which allows you to adjust the tone significantly from harsh whites to warmer whites, making it an excellent choice if you’re looking for a practical yet smart lighting solution for everyday use.
Within the LIFX app itself, much like the Hue, the LIFX smart light bulbs can be both scheduled and grouped to make control and automation of your smart lighting solution a breeze.
Pros:
Built in WiFi means no extra hub is required
Good value for money
Cons:
Reliance on WiFi alone can be problematic
Fewer features than some alternative smart light bulb and smart lighting solutions
GE Link Smart Lighting
The GE Link Wireless smart bulbs definitely standout in terms of the value for money they offer compared to some of the other brands vying for the title of best smart lighting solution.
This of course, is a particularly important factor if you’re potentially looking to outfit multiple rooms in your home, in which case, bang (or brightness) for your buck becomes a serious consideration.
With a stated life of up to 22.8 years and producing the same output as a 60w equivalent, the GE Link smart bulb offers an excellent choice to those working to a budget but are still looking for one of the best smart light bulbs to realize cost savings over the life of the product.
While the GE Link smart light bulb is controllable (and dimmable) remotely using your smartphone, there’s no color changing functionality so bear this in mind when weighing up your requirements.
The GE Link smart light bulbs are compatible with the Wink Hub 2 smart hub which means these smart lights can be controlled through the Wink app (iOS / Android) once connected – a good option if you’re looking to streamline the touch points for your smart devices.
If what you’re looking for is a simple, bright and smart lighting solution without the extra bells and whistles offered by pricier alternatives, then for the money, the GE Link offering are some of the best smart light bulbs available and are hard to beat when it comes to value.
Pros:
Excellent value for entry level smart lighting on a budget
Works with other Wink Hub connected devices
Cons:
Basic smart lighting functionality
Lacks more advanced smart bulb features such as color changing
Insteon Smart Lighting
While offering an overall home automation system which is really very good in its own right, Insteon also deliver an LED smart light bulb which, while simple (no color changing option), does provide a solid solution for wireless light control making it a decent replacement for any traditional bulbs in need of a smart lighting upgrade.
Unlike some of the other smart lighting systems mentioned, the Insteon smart light bulbs require that you have an Insteon Hub installed in your smart home setup before the bulbs can be controlled by your smartphone or tablet.
Although the reliance on the dedicated hub may put some off, once installed, the Insteon smart light bulbs can be controlled through a dedicated remote and smart switches rather than solely through an app on your phone or tablt.
The app itself allows for a good degree of control including dimming and scheduling your smart lighting to work with your everyday requirements.
Pros:
Inexpensive smart light bulbs
Integration with other Insteon devices
Cons:
Requires Insteon hub to operate
No color changing smart lighting currently available
Cree Smart Lighting
Alongside the GE Link, the latest and best smart light bulbs from Cree are looking to fill the niche for the entry-level price tag smart lighting solution.
One of the main requirements of the Cree Connected LED bulb is a connection to a hub, but at a much lower price point per smart bulb in the first place, you’re sure to have some disposable income left for considering a perfect smart hub partner for the job.
Although Cree currently only offer a white smart lighting solution, the Cree smart light bulbs are compatible with multiple platforms such as Wink, WeMo, and ZigBee certified hubs as well as with Amazon Alexa which means affordable voice controlled smart lighting is just a few words away.
With the ability to adjust the brightness of the smart light bulbs and schedule lighting for when it’s required, the Cree Connected LED bulb is another solid choice if you’re working to a budget but still want the functionality of one of the best smart light bulbs for the money.
Pros:
Inexpensive smart lighting solution
Works with multiple hubs
Cons:
Minimal choices of smart light bulb currently available
Choosing the Best Smart Light Bulbs and Smart Lighting Solutions for Your Home
In the rest of this guide, we’ll walk through each category of smart lighting device and look at the different options you have to configure a smart home lighting solution. From taking a look at the very best smart light bulbs, to covering smart light switches, smart lamps, and even smart hubs, each component is broken down into a separate section for ease of navigation.
The Best Smart Light Bulbs
In this section of the Best Smart Lighting guide, we list out our pick of the very best smart light bulbs currently on the market.
Kitting out your rooms with the best smart light bulbs will almost certainly form the cornerstone of any smart lighting rig you setup in your smart home environment and while functionality between individual smart bulbs and brands varies slightly, the principles of each option are often relatively similar.
The setting and location of your household lighting requirements will ultimately determine what matters most for you when choosing the best smart light bulbs for your needs.
For example, if you’re looking to bring smart lights into the kitchen, it’s likely that the priority will be for a good quality, bright, white light and maybe a smart lighting solution that can also be controlled using your voice if your hands are occupied washing dishes or grabbing the pot before it boils over.
In this case, opting for the best smart light bulbs offering high quality, adjustable white light is the way to go.
If on the other hand, you’re kitting out the living room with the best smart light bulbs, the emphasis may be more toward scene setting, creating an atmosphere or integrating alongside music or entertainment solutions.
Give some thought to the kinds of activity the light in a room will be used for and this will serve as a pretty good guide for assessing the requirements of the best smart light bulbs for this area of your home.
While the feature set varies between brands, the major difference between the best smart light bulbs available on the market today effectively comes down to the protocol the bulbs utilize when communicating with other devices and whether or not they require a separate gateway unit in order to operate. And of course, the price.
With these considerations in mind, let’s take a look at some of the best smart light bulbs currently available.
Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance Starter Kit
While carrying a slightly higher price tag than some of the other smart lighting options out there, if you’re looking for an out of the box, all singing and all dancing smart lighting solution, then the Ambiance Starter Kit from Philips’ Hue collection may be the perfect choice to help you get going. Offering 3 of the best smart light bulbs in the industry alongside a Hue bridge (a gateway device that allows you to control up to 50 Hue smart lighting devices at a time), this entry level kit is an excellent foundation for building a connected system of smart lights in your home.
Offering the trademark color changing ability of the Hue color smart light bulbs, this kit is an excellent way to get started with a smart lighting setup that provides both white and color light output.
If you’re looking for one of the top options when it comes to plug and play, compatible smart lighting, then this set from Philips Hue offers some of the best smart light bulbs for getting you started.
Technical Specs: Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance Starter Kit
| The basics: | Comes with 3 Philips smart bulbs and a bridge that wirelessly connects up to 50 lights |
| Color or white light: | Provides both white and color light |
| Wattage: | 10 watts |
| Brightness: | 800 lumens |
| Extra features: | Provides the bridge required to run any other Philips Hue smart lighting products |
| Estimated life: | Bulbs last over 20 years (or 25,000 hours) |
| Requirements: | None |
| Indoor or Outdoor: | Indoor |
| Compatability: | Compatible with Wink, Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Nest, SmartThings, and select third party apps |
Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance Smart Light Bulb
If you’re looking for one of the best smart light bulbs in terms of lighting quality and smart device cross-compatibility, then the Philips Hue White and Color Ambience Bulb is one of our top picks.
The Hue White and Color Ambiance smart light bulb features the trademark 16 million color choices available within the Hue app as well as the ability to set color ‘scenes’ for a room, choose the ideal white lighting options for every situation and even pair your bulbs with third party apps to match your smart lights to music and visual entertainment sources.
Technical Specs: Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance Bulb
| The basics: | Includes one Philips Hue White and Color Ambience bulb |
| Color or white light: | Provides both white and color, choose from 16 million different colors |
| Wattage: | 10 watts |
| Brightness: | 360-600 lumens |
| Extra features: | Delivers up to 80 percent energy savings |
| Estimated life: | 15,000 hours or up to 14 years |
| Requirements: | Requires Philips Hue Bridge for full functionality |
| Indoor or Outdoor: | Indoor |
| Compatability: | Compatible with Wink, Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Nest, SmartThings and select third party apps |
C by GE Starter Pack
The C by GE LED pack includes a combination of 4 LED smart light bulbs which utilize Bluetooth connectivity and can be controlled and adjusted using a companion app without the need for a hub to connect.
What makes the C by GE LED smart bulbs different to others though is the inclusion of two different ‘sets’ of bulb within the pack.
The first set of these smart bulbs, known as C-Sleep, are designed for use in the bedroom and provide a smart light offering which is warm and calming in the evening before automatically transitioning to crisp and vibrant in the morning.
The second set of smart light bulbs in the line, C-Life, provide a standard white smart bulb that can be adjusted in brightness either individually, or in a group using the C by GE app.
Both sets of smart bulbs in the C by GE range last up to 20 years and while both are controllable from a smartphone via Bluetooth, only the C-Sleep bulbs can be scheduled to operate automatically.
If you’re looking to extend your smart lights within this range, you can also buy a double pack of C-Sleep or C-Life smart light bulbs.
Technical Specs: C by GE Starter Pack
| The basics: | Pack of 4 LED smart bulbs divided into 2 sets of controllable smart lights – 1 set (C-Sleep) can be scheduled for automatic operation and tailored for the bedroom, 1 set for general usage that can be remotely controlled but are non-programmable. |
| Color or white light: | White |
| Wattage: | 11w |
| Brightness: | C-Life 800 lumens, C-Sleep 730 Lumens |
| Extra features: | Dimmable, Groupable, Bluetooth (no hub required) |
| Estimated life: | Up to 22.8 years for both bulb types (based on usage of 3 hours per day) |
| Requirements: | No prerequisites other than app installation |
| Indoor or Outdoor: | Indoor |
| Compatability: |
Cree Connected LED Smart Light Bulb
The Cree Connected LED Bulb is one of the best smart light bulbs if you’re looking for a connected white smart light that can be controlled from your iOS or Android device.
Once installed, the Cree smart bulb is able to connect to either a Wink or ZigBee certified hub as well offering compatibility with a wide variety of home automation systems and smart devices such as Amazon Echo and Wemo products.
Each smart light bulb can be turned on and off remotely through your smartphone or tablet or using your voice through an Alexa device such as the Amazon Echo and can even be scheduled to operate your smart lights automatically when you’re not around.
While not offering colour changing functionality of more expensive options, the Cree smart bulbs provide a 60 watt equivalent, omnidrectional light which makes them a good solution if you’re looking for a smart take on traditional white lighting.
It’s because of this that perhaps the biggest appeal of the Cree Connected is the incredibly low price point which makes it one of the best smart light bulbs if you’re working to a tight budget and represents a cost effective way of kitting your home out with multiple smart bulbs at a fraction of the cost of some of the other smart lighting solutions available.
Technical Specs: Cree Connected LED Bulb
| The basics: | |
| Color or white light: | White |
| Wattage: | 11.5w |
| Brightness: | 815 Lumens |
| Extra features: | Dimmable |
| Estimated life: | 22.8 years (based on usage of 3 hours per day) |
| Requirements: | Wink Hub, SmartThings Hub, WeMo Link or other ZigBee certified smart hub |
| Indoor or Outdoor: | Indoor |
| Compatability: | Works with Alexa, SmartThings |
LIFX Color 1000 Smart Light Bulb
The Color 1000 from LIFX is one of the best smart light bulbs available, offering a spectrum of up to 16 million color options as well as 1000 shades of white.
One of the main draws of the Color 1000 is that each smart bulb utilizes WiFi and contains the hardware to be controlled directly without the need for a standalone hub within each unit.
The LIFX smart light bulbs offer a wider range of smart device compatibility and are able to integrate with products within the Amazon Alexa family as well as those in the Nest and SmartThings range.
The free LIFX companion app which is available on Android, iOS and Windows allows you to control the Color 1000 directly from your smartphone, tablet or watch.
The option to group your smart lights means that if you implement multiple LIFX smart bulbs into your home’s smart lighting setup, you’ll be able to take control of more than one at once, allowing for smart lighting control by room and even control of the entire house.
Technical Specs: LIFX Color 1000
| The Basics: | Includes one color changing WiFi smart bulb which can be controlled from a free companion app |
| Color or white light: | Color (up to 16 million colors) and white (up to 1000 shades) |
| Wattage: | 11w |
| Brightness: | 1055 Lumens |
| Extra features: | Built in WiFi (No hub required), dimmable, groupable |
| Estimated life: | 22.8 years (based on usage of 3 hours per day) |
| Requirements: | No prerequisites other than app download |
| Indoor or Outdoor: | Indoor |
| Compatability: | Works with Alexa, SmartThings, Nest |
Sylvania Lightify LED Smart Light Bulb
The Sylvania Lightify is an LED smart bulb which provides both color and white light as well as a number of other features such as the ability to schedule lighting and set automated timers.
Controllable from the Lightify app (iOS / Android) on your smartphone or tablet, the RGB smart light bulb can be activated, deactivated, adjusted and dimmed remotely.
With a white light variety ranging from 2700-6500k and thousands of color options to choose from, the Lightify RGB can be adjusted to suit any occasion, whether you require a clean and bright light for studying, working or reading, a natural light for everyday use or want to set a specific color to add to the overall ambiance of a room.
Technical Specs: Sylvania Lightify
| The basics: | |
| Color or white light: | Color and white |
| Wattage: | 10 watts |
| Brightness: | 800 lumens |
| Extra features: | Dimmable, groupable |
| Estimated life: | 20,000 hours |
| Requirements: | Lightify hub, Wink, SmartThings or other ZigBee compatible hub |
| Indoor or Outdoor: | Indoor (Outdoor compatible Lightify product available |
| Compatibility: | Works with Alexa and ZigBee compatible smart devices. |
The Best Smart Hubs
In this section of the Best Smart Lighting guide, we take a look at some of the different hubs that can be used in your home and how they can seamlessly integrate your smart light bulbs and connected lighting solutions with the rest of your smart home ecosystem.
A Smart hub is effectively a piece of hardware which act as a gateway through which all other devices in your smart home network connect. The hub becomes a central point where varying devices from different brands and sometime using different network protocols can be brought together.
When the hub is connected to your home network, it can then be interfaced with through a control interface such as a smartphone or tablet, allowing a more seamless integration of otherwise disparate devices around your home.
Think of a smart hub as the nerve center of your smart device network, the conductor bringing the noise of all of your communicating devices together to create a smart home symphony.
The role of the smart hub is to streamline your smart device infrastructure and make operating your connected locks, plugs, alarms, thermostats and of course, smart light bulbs, as simple as possible.
When it comes to creating a smart lighting solution in your home that integrates multiple bulbs and lamps as well as those of different brands, all of which may be looking to communicate with one another and with other smart devices, then the inclusion of a smart hub to bring it all together makes a lot of sense.
Smart hubs can form a cornerstone of your smart light installation as they allow you to control not only smart light bulbs and dedicated smart lights, but also any traditional lighting that you may wish to integrate through the inclusion of smart plugs for remote operation and programming.
Pulling together a variety of the best smart light bulbs around your home may mean you’re going to be working with different (and potentially clashing) wireless protocols. A comprehensive smart hub will bring these disparate devices together for smart lighting harmony across your home.
Samsung SmartThings Hub
The SmartThings Hub from Samsung lets you control any ZigBee, Z-Wave or WiFi enabled devices from one place.
Hooking up your compatible smart lighting solutions, smart bulbs, and any other connected smart devices to the SmartThings hub allows you to control them directly from the SmartThings app (iOS, Android or Windows) on your phone or tablet, wherever you are and without the need for multiple, device-specific apps.
As well as connecting ZigBee or Z-Wave devices to the hub, the SmartThings line from Samsung also incorporates a number of sensors including motion detectors that can be integrated with some of the best smart light bulbs to automate the activation of your lighting.
The SmartThings hub operates using mains power but also takes 4 AA batteries for use when backup power is required.
Wink Connected Home Hub
The smart hub from Wink looks to bring all of your separate smart products into line, and all controllable from a single app.
Compatible with major protocols including WiFi, Bluetooth LE, Z-Wave and ZigBee, the Wink Connected Home Hub brings every device together to speak one language in your smart home.
Integrating what Wink call ‘Shortcuts’ into the system means that the Wink hub can be used to control multiple devices with a single action. One option when it comes to smart lighting for example, could be to turn on all of the lights throughout the house alongside setting an appropriate temperature to set an appropriate mood for waking up in the morning.
The Wink hub also utilizes what the brand calls ‘Robots’ to allow you to instruct how devices behave in response to actions by other devices in the home, for example telling your smart lights throughout the house to switch off when you activate your smart lock to lock the door in the morning when you head out.
Wink is compatible with almost all of the best smart light bulbs and major smart lighting brands including Philips Hue, LIFX, Cree, GE and Lutron making it a good option if you’re looking to set up a smart lighting system which incorporates different devices.
Apple HomeKit
Apple’s HomeKit not only allows all of your smart accessories to talk to each, but it uses Siri for voice control. If you own an iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch, this means the potential for a radical streamline of your home automation systems as your systems would be controlled through a single app.
With Apple HomeKit enabled and utilizing the Home app, otherwise incompatible devices can talk to each other without first needing to go through a middleman hub. The options are currently limited but the potential is really exciting, particularly if you’re interested in a minimalist approach to life. You can find a full list of accessories that work with Apple’s HomeKit here.
Being able to control all smart devices is a really appealing prospect, particularly as there are so many brands out there with their own hubs and apps – the HomeKit will cut down on setup time and maintenance.
Plus, if you’ve ever used an Apple product, the learning curve for the HomeKit should be minimal.
The Best Smart Plugs
This section of the guide covers smart plugs and takes a look at some of the best options for transforming your traditional outlet based lamps and appliances into smart devices that can be programmed and remotely controlled.
Smart plug and smart socket adapters effectively act as a converter transforming your regular household appliances into basic smart lights and devices.
By connecting a regular device to a smart plug adapter and then plugging this into a power outlet, it is possible to carry out many of the basic smart functionality operations usually reserved for dedicated smart devices such as remote activation, basic automation and scheduled programming.
The major advantage of integrating a series of smart plugs throughout your home is that they enable you to bring non-smart devices such as traditional standing or desktop lamps into your interconnected smart home environment meaning that the same actions can be applied to an otherwise ‘non-smart’ device as you would apply to more intelligent devices.
This of course means that if you were thinking of implementing a set of the best smart light bulbs into your living room or bedroom for example, you could still keep any plug socket based lights or lamps and incorporate them into your planned smart lighting architecture for the room, allowing you to group and control them in the same way as dedicated smart bulbs or lamps.
Learn more about some of our favourite smart socket solutions here
Smart sockets can be scheduled in much the same way as other smart devices which is particularly useful if you are looking to program the conventional and smart lighting within your home to activate or deactivate at a predetermined time period such as during a vacation.
Similarly, if you think you may have left one of your traditional devices turned on, so long as it’s connected to a smart plug, you can remotely turn it off using your smartphone or device.
TP Link Smart Plug
The Smart Plug from TP Link enables you to remotely control the activation and deactivation of your electronics from wherever you and your smartphone have access to an internet connection through the use of the Kasa App (iOS / Android).
As with other smart plugs on the market, the TP Link solution allows you to schedule any connected devices for powering on or off and also features an ‘Away Mode’ for turning devices on and off at predetermined times to give the impression that your house is occupied even when it’s not – great for vacations.
Technical Specs: TP Link Smart Plug
| The basics: | 1 WiFi enabled TP Link Smart Plug |
| Extra features: | Control through your existing Wi-Fi network via the Kasa App |
| Requirements: | No hub required |
| Indoor or Outdoor: | Indoor |
| Compatibility: | Works with Alexa; the TP Link Smart Plug is also compatible with Amazon Echo which means any appliance or device connected to it is too. This is a great option for allowing full voice control over your traditional lighting solutions throughout the home. |
iHome ISP5 Plug
iHome is a smart plug that’s compatible with Apple HomeKit, Nest, SmartThings, Alexa and Wink.
As well as offering the ability to control any appliances or connected lighting of up to 1800 watts, the iHome smart plug can also be operated by voice meaning that when it’s integrated with either Amazon’s Alexa or Apple’s Siri, you can turn any connected devices such as lamps on or off simply by issuing a command with your voice.
Technical Specs: iHome ISP5 Plug
| The basics: | 1 wifi enabled iHome ISP5 Plug; control up to 1800 watts per plug |
| Extra features: | iHome ISP5 provides the broadest platform support of any smart plug |
| Requirements: | No hub required |
| Indoor or Outdoor: | Indoor |
| Compatability: | Works with Apple HomeKit & Siri, Nest, Wink, Alexa and Smart Things platforms |
Wemo Switch
Don’t be confused by the name. Officially a smart plug rather than how we’re defining a smart switch in this guide (see next section for these), the Wemo Switch offers the all of usual smart socket adaptor functionality you’d expect, from being able to activate or deactivate any connected device through to scheduling your devices and allowing them to be ‘synced’ to external events.
This last feature is particularly useful if you’re looking to create a system of smart lighting, smart lamps, or devices that focuses heavily on automation as it means you can synchronize any connected lights or lamps to sunrise or sunset so they turn on and off by themselves and only when appropriate.
Like the other smart plug recommendations mentioned so far in this guide, the Wemo is able to integrate with Amazon Alexa, allowing for hands-free, voice activated control of your non-smart lighting.
The Best Smart Light Switches
This section of the guide takes a look at smart light switches and the best options for retro-fitting the traditional lighting in your house with intelligently connected smart light switches as an alternative to installing dedicated smart light bulbs.
Smart switches are a great option if you want to go down the smart lighting route without resorting to replacing every bulb in your house with a smart lighting equivalent.
With a smart switch system, you simply replace the existing light switches in each room with a version that can be communicated with wirelessly and is then able to offer much of the same basic functionality as a standalone smart lighting solution.
While not providing some of the additional features unique to some of the best smart light bulbs (such as the ability to alter color), smart light switches do allow you to remotely control standard light bulbs through your smartphone, tablet, and even voice, as well as to carry out operations such as scheduling specific times for your bulbs to automatically turn on or off.
Of course if you still want color lighting in some rooms, but would rather stick with traditional non-smart bulbs in others, implementing a mixed setup of smart light switches and a selection of the best smart light bulbs throughout your home is a good way of achieving this balance and is an excellent way to apply basic smart functionality (such as remote operation and programmed lighting) across the board, while reserving access to advanced smart lighting features for a smaller number of lights in certain areas.
Lutron Caseta Wireless Dimmer and Pico Remote
The Wireless Dimmer from the Lutron Caseta line is designed to replace your existing wall light switch and works with the latest regular bulbs including dimmable LED and CFLs, halogen and incandescent bulbs.
Once installed, the dimmer switch is controllable via an app when paired with either a Lutron Smart Bridge or Wink hub and can also be activated and controlled by voice using Alexa.
Alongside the smart light switch itself, the Caseta Wireless Dimmer also includes a Pico Remote for wirelessly controlling the switch and your lighting without the need for using the app.
Technical Specs: Lutron Caseta Wireless Dimmer and Pico Remote
| The basics: | |
| Extra features: | |
| Requirements: | |
| Indoor or Outdoor: | |
| Compatability: |
Belkin Wemo Light Switch
Belkin’s answer to the smart light switch is part of the brand’s Wemo family of devices and allows you to wirelessly control your lighting from anywhere in the world using a companion app.
Simply replace your existing light switch with the Wemo smart light switch and your regular lighting fixtures can be controlled without the need for a hub, using your smartphone or tablet.
The Wemo Light Switch is compatible with a number of leading smart device names including Amazon Alexa and can even be tied up withNest’s Learning Thermostat to ‘know’ whenever you’re in or out of the house and handle the lighting in your home accordingly.
Technical Specs: Belkin Wemo Light Switch
| The basics: | 1 WiFi enabled smart light switch for replacing existing wall light switch |
| Extra features: | Wemo provide 24/7 Toll-free support |
| Requirements: | No hub required |
| Indoor or Outdoor: | Indoor |
| Compatibility: | Compatible with Alexa and Nest as well as other devices through IFTTT |
TP-Link HS200 Smart Switch
With the TP-Link Smart Switch you can turn lights on or off from your smartphone or tablet, no matter where you are. It comes with a built-in vacation mode called AwayMode which will turn your lights on and off at different times so that it looks like you’re in the house and deter the bad guys.
By having your lighting on a timer you save money and don’t need to worry about leaving lights on when no one is in the room.
Not recommended for use with a metal faceplate, as this may interfere with a WiFi connection.
Technical Specs: TP-Link HS200 Smart Switch
| The basics: | 1 WiFi Enabled Smart Light Switch with energy monitoring |
| Extra features: | TP-Link provide 24/7 toll-free technical support, including setup |
| Requirements: | No hub required |
| Indoor or Outdoor: | Indoor |
| Compatibility: | Compatible with Alexa |
The Best Smart Motion Sensors
This section of the guide covers smart motion sensors. When it comes to smart lighting solutions and smart lights, connected motion sensors are a great addition to a setup.
Integrated with a system of the best smart light bulbs and other smart lighting devices, motion sensors mean you can have a seamless experience as soon as you enter a room.
No more fumbling for switches or tripping over the cat in the dark.
Integrating the best smart light bulbs and smart lighting solutions alongside a system of connected motion sensors can also play an integral role in home security – turning any connected smart lights on automatically if there is unexpected movement, or on a set timer if you’re going to be away from the house on vacation.
Samsung SmartThings Motion Sensor
At its core, the Samsung SmartThings Motion Sensor lets you know when movement is detected and can then trigger different actions in response to movement.
With the Samsung SmartThings Motion Sensor you can set your smart lights to automatically turn on when you enter a room and turn off when there’s no motion detected for a set length of time. It can even turn off all lights and electronics when people leave home or no motion is detected.
As this is a smart motion sensor you can monitor all movement in your home from your smart phone and even receive alerts if there’s any unexpected (or unwanted) movement.
Requires the Samsung SmartThings Hub for smart functionality.
Technical Specs: Samsung SmartThings Motion Sensor
| The basics: | Includes 1 motion sensor that is 2 inches wide x 2 inches tall x 0.8 inches thick; batteries included |
| Extra features: | Motion sensors has a range of approximately 50-130 feet, depending on home’s individual construction |
| Battery life: | Average battery life is 17,520 hours |
| Requirements: | Requires the SmartThings Hub |
| Indoor or Outdoor: | Indoor |
| Compatibility: | Samsung SmartThings works with products from Samsung, Bose, Schlage, Yale, Cree, Osram Lightify, Honeywell, First Alert, and other brands. |
Iris Motion Sensor
The Iris Motion Sensor allows you to remotely monitor motion and temperature within your house. You can also configure it to control your smart light bulbs whenever it detects movement such as turning on when you enter the room or flashing on to surprise an intruder.
Requires Iris Smart Hub for smart functionality.
Technical Specs: Iris Motion Sensor
| The basics: | Includes 1 motion sensor that is 1.6 inches x 1.7 inches x 0.9 inches; 1 CR2 battery included |
| Extra features: | |
| Estimated life: | |
| Requirements: | Requires Iris Smart Hub |
| Indoor or Outdoor: | Indoor |
| Compatibility: | Compatible Iris Smart Home System |
The Best Smart Lamps
In this part of the Best Smart Lighting Solutions guide, we’re going to take a look at the different smart lamp options.
If you’re looking for what’s likely to be the quickest and easiest way to get started with smart home lighting automation, then check out a smart lamp.
Among other features, the best smart lamps offer you the ability to operate your smart feature lighting from your phone, change the color of your light, adjust brightness, and can even react to music.
Perhaps the best reason to go for a smart lamp though is because you can buy a single, standalone smart lighting unit, which in addition to looking great, also allows you to dip your toe into smart home automation and smart lighting without having to commit to a whole-house overhaul.
This is therefore probably the simplest way to take advantage of some seriously cool smart functionality outside of investing in a set of the best smart bulbs for each room of your house.
Currently, Philips are pretty much dominating the market when it comes to some of the best smart lamps. Luckily, their lamps are also seriously awesome.
Philips Hue Go Smart Lamp
If you’re looking for a unique yet portable smart lighting solution for your home, then the Philips Hue GO is an excellent choice. Philips Hue have established a well deserved reputation as the brand with some of the best smart light bulbs in the industry and the GO extends this reputation to the world of the smart lamp.
Working either solo or alongside an existing Hue smart lighting setup, the GO can be connected to the mains or operated from an on-board battery, providing up to 16 million colors, all of which are fully controllable from your smartphone. The ideal portable smart lamp for any location.
As with all of the smart light bulbs and devices within the Philips Hue range, the Hue Go requires either a Hue Starter Kit or Hue Bridge to utilize its interconnected functionality.
Technical Specs: Philips Hue Go
| The basics: | Includes one Philips Hue Go Portable table lamp |
| Color or white light: | 16 million colors and 50 thousand shades of white |
| Wattage: | 12 watts |
| Brightness: | 300 lumen output |
| Extra features: | Portable with smart battery management for maximum freedom |
| Estimated life: | Up to 3 hours of battery life |
| Requirements: | Requires Hue Starter Kit or Hue Bridge |
| Indoor or Outdoor: | Indoor |
| Compatibility: | Works with Alexa, Zigbee certified and Wink home automation products, Apple HomeKit and third party apps like Hue Disco |
Philips Hue Bloom
One of our favorite smart lighting devices and part of the ‘Friends of Hue’ family of devices, the Philips Hue Bloom is designed to create stunning ambiant lighting so you can show off the epic furniture or those particularly unique architectural features in your home.
Plug-based, the Hue Bloom doesn’t rely on batteries like some of the more portable smart lamps out there, but can still be moved around to suit your tastes.
Change the color, turn down the intensity and blend soft tones from your smartphone for a seamless smart lighting experience wherever you set it up.
Perhaps most exciting is the ability to upload a photograph and have the Hue Bloom generate the perfect color, matching the mood and feel of your photograph. Nostalgia courtesy of your new smart lighting solution.
As with all Philips Hue products, the Hue Bloom requires either a Hue Starter Kit or Hue Bridge for smart functionality.
Technical Specs: Philips Hue Bloom
| The basics: | Includes one Philips Hue Bloom plug-based smart lamp |
| Color or white light: | Provides both white and color light |
| Wattage: | 12 watts |
| Brightness: | 120 lumens |
| Extra features: | Dimmable |
| Estimated life: | Up to 20,000 hours (18 years) |
| Requirements: | Requires a Hue Starter Kit or Hue Bridge |
| Indoor or Outdoor: | Indoor |
| Compatibility: | Alexa, Zigbee certified and Wink home automation products |
Philips Hue Iris
Similar to the Bloom, the Philips Hue Iris provides smart personal wireless lighting, offering up to 16 million color and white tones.
The transparent case allows for light to beam in two directions, rather than the one direction of the Bloom.
Like the best smart light bulbs, this smart lamp is dimmable, meaning you can adjust the lumens as desired and even pick the color temperature from warm to cool. Iris syncs with music from the smartphone app for extra cool-factor at your next game night. It also features an automatic color changing mode that creates a unique color experience.
As with all smart light bulbs and compatible devices within the Philips Hue range, the Iris requires either a Hue Starter Kit or Hue Bridge for smart functionality.
Technical Specs: Philips Hue Iris
| The basics: | Includes one Philips Hue Bloom smart lamp; one bulb per package |
| Color or white light: | 16 million colors and 50 thousand shades of white |
| Wattage: | 10 watts |
| Brightness: | 210 lumens, equivalent to 40 watt incandescent; color temperature is 3000K |
| Extra features: | Dimmable; ZigBee network updates bulb technology wirelessly |
| Estimated life: | Up to 20,000 hour lifespan (18 years) at approximately 3 hours per day usage |
| Requirements: | Requires a Hue Starter Kit or Hue Bridge |
| Indoor or Outdoor: | Indoor |
| Compatibility: | Works with Alexa, Zigbee certified and Wink home automation products; can’t be used with conventional dimmers |
The Best Outdoor Smart Lighting and Smart Light Bulbs
This section of the guide looks at the best outdoor smart lighting allowing you to bring interconnected lighting out of the home and into the yard or garden. With so many ways to automate your interior lighting it can be easy to forget about the outside – don’t worry though, we’ve got you covered.
Choosing and installing the best smart light bulbs is not the sole remit of the interior of your home and some of the best smart lighting solutions for use outdoors will allow you to create a truly holistic smart lighting experience.
When you install outdoor smart lighting there are countless cool things you can do, all of which aim to up your backyard game considerably.
For example, you can change the color of your exterior smart lights to create the perfect ambience for your next barbecue.
You can set your outdoor smart lights to flash color when something happens, like when your favorite team scores a touchdown.
You can even set your outdoor smart lighting to automatically turn off at sunset and never have to worry about forgetting to turn off the deck lights again.
If you’re after the best smart lighting solutions for your outdoor areas – gardens, walkways and patios – then there are a couple of great options for illuminating your backyard with all of the smart credentials offered by the best smart light bulbs and devices and usually reserved for the inside of your home.
Ilumi Outdoor Smart LED Flood Light Bulb
The Outdoor Flood Light Bulb from Ilumi brings the power of smartphone controlled, color changing smart lighting to the exterior of your home.
As well as offering the ability to choose from a whole variety of color (perfect for those late night summer garden parties), the Outdoor smart light bulb from Ilumi can be scheduled to turn on and off at different times of the day meaning you can always keep things dark or light at the time that suits you best.
One of the obvious added bonuses of scheduling lighting in this way is as a security deterrent for those times when you’re away from home, adding to the appearance that your home is still currently occupied (particularly when paired with scheduled interior smart lighting set up in the same way), even when it’s not.
The Ilumi also gets our vote as one of the best smart light bulbs for outdoor use as it’s fully outdoor rated to withstand whatever nature throws its way so you can be sure that come storms, heatwaves, blizzards, and even sprinkler systems, this is one smart light bulb that’s built to handle the elements.
Technical Specs: Ilumi Outdoor Smart LED Flood Light Bulb
| The basics: | Includes one outdoor-rated LED smart light bulb |
| Color or white light: | White and color changing |
| Wattage: | 15 watts |
| Brightness: | 1000 LUMENS |
| Extra features: | Dimmable (via app), 1-50 bulbs supported without need for extra bridge or hub |
| Estimated life: | Bulbs have a lifetime of up to 20 years |
| Requirements: | No Pre-requisites. Free app required for remote control of smartbulb |
| Indoor or Outdoor: | IP64 Outdoor rated |
| Compatibility: | Bluetooth Smart / LE /4.0 |
GE Link Floodlight Smart Light Bulb
One of the major benefits of the Floodlight Smart Bulb from GE Link is that it can be used as either an interior or outdoor smart light bulb solution.
An awesome 90 watt equivalent bulb offering 900 lumens of projected light means you’ll be able to generate more than enough brightness to illuminate even the darkest evenings outside.
As well as this, being part of the GE Link family of connected bulbs means that the Floodlight Smart Bulb can be remotely controlled via a smartphone from anywhere in the world.
Zigbee and Wink certification means that as with other bulbs in the GE Link line, there are excellent options for connectivity via hubs such as the Wink Connected Home to truly integrate this lighting solution into the big picture of your smart home system.
It’s important to note that the Floodlight smart light bulb from GE Link isn’t outdoor rated (so it can’t be directly exposed to outdoor conditions), however in an outdoor covered enclosure or casing, this bulb makes for an excellent quality connected outdoor smart lighting solution at a very appealing price.
If your’re looking for one of the best smart light bulbs for use in a garage or non-exposed outdoor area such as a porch or shed, then check this out.
Technical Specs: GE Link Floodlight Smart Bulb
| The basics: | Includes one LED floodlight smart light bulb |
| Color or white light: | White |
| Wattage: | 13 watts |
| Brightness: | 900 LUMENS |
| Extra features: | Dimmable (via app) |
| Estimated life: | Bulbs have a lifetime of up to 22.8 years |
| Requirements: | Wink or Zigbee certified hub |
| Indoor or Outdoor: | Indoor and Outdoor within enclosed fixture |
| Compatibility: | Compatible with Wink and Zigbee certified devices and Amazon Alexa |
Sylvania Lightify Gardenspots by Osram
Looking to bring a dash of color to your garden, walkway or patio? If so, then the Sylvania Lightify Gardenspot smart lights from Osram are just the ticket.
With 9 lights extending across 14 feet, you can transform your yard and make your outdoor areas glow with smart color. Use your smartphone or tablet to control the Lightify smart lights and experience the full color spectrum whenever the mood takes you.
With the app you can change the color, dim and switch the lights on or off. You can even set a rule within the app to have your lights turn on with the sunset and off with sunrise for hands-off automated illumination.
Consuming minimal power, these LED smart lights are both energy efficient and wallet friendly with an estimated lifetime of up to 25,000 hours. Designed to withstand the elements, the Lightify Gardenspot lights are water-proof and sturdy making them a great addition to your setup and connecting the outdoors with the rest of your smart home environment.
The Gardenspots require a Wemo Link in order to connect, control and change colors, which is sold separately. Once connected to the Wemo Link you can tap into the Wemo app as well as being able to apply powerful IFTTT formulas.
Technical Specs: Sylvania Lightify by Osram
| The basics: | Includes one 14ft string of 9 Gardenspot Mini LED lights and 9 mounting picks; 3 meters of mounting tape and a power supply |
| Color or white light: | White and color changing with full RGBW color spectrum |
| Wattage: | 12.5 watts |
| Brightness: | |
| Extra features: | Dimmable |
| Estimated life: | Bulbs have a lifetime of up to 25,000 hours |
| Requirements: | Requires WeMo Link (sold separately) |
| Indoor or Outdoor: | Wet Rated for outdoor use |
| Compatibility: | Works with Alexa and IFTTT |
The Best Smart Wake Up Light Systems
The search for a good night’s sleep is not a new one and waking up can sometimes be far from an appealing prospect (I’m looking at you, winter mornings).
Using LED lighting, audio output, and sensors, smart technology is now stepping in to make sure that you sleep well and wake up feeling energized every morning.
In this section of our guide to the best smart light bulbs and smart lighting solutions, we’ve taken a look at some of the best wake up light systems to help you rise peacefully every morning and fighting fit for the day ahead.
Withings Aura
The Withings Aura aims to help you improve the transition into and out of sleep using a combination of both sound and light.
As with the other devices in this guide, the Aura uses what it calls a ‘Smart Wake Up Light’ to bring you out of sleep more naturally and make that all too familiar feeling of 6am blues easier to overcome on dark mornings.
Alongside the ability to set the alarm on your smartphone, the Aura also connects to online streaming services such as Spotify, allowing you to play a sleep playlist to help you drift off each night.
The Aura Sleep Tracker package includes a tracking mat which analyses sleep patterns and provides you with information on things like how long you slept, your sleep cycle varieties (deep sleep, REM etc) and how long it took to actually fall asleep.
The Sleep Tracker system then syncs to the main Aura device and allows it to wake you at the optimum, natural time.
In order to get the full picture of your sleep environment, the Aura also utilizes an accompanying app to let you know things including the temperature, light and sound levels in your bedroom so you can address any external issues for the perfect night.
Learn More About the Withings Aura Here
Philips Morning Wake-Up Light
The Philips Morning Wake-Up Light includes a more traditional radio alarm functionality alongside a sunrise simulation to wake you up gradually.
Emitting a warm orange light which helps stimulate natural wake up from sleep state, the Philips also has a dimming function to help you fall asleep and allows you to incorporate one of five preset wake-up noises to help make those early mornings slightly easier to handle.
Learn More Abou the Philips Morning Wake-Up Light Here
SleepCompanion
Unlike our previous two entries, the SleepCompanion system centers around a smart light bulb which replaces your existing lighting fixture in the bedroom – no standalone bedside device here.
The smart bulb aims to reproduce the effect of various natural daylight levels to help you fall asleep and rise better.
Among the features that make the SleepCompanion one of the best wake-up light systems is its use of an app to monitor the quality of your sleep and make subsequent recommendations to help improve your rest while also providing handy pre-bedtime exercises to get you into slumber mode every evening.
Learn More About the SleepCompanion HereIntegrating Smart Lighting With Your Smart Home
A fully connected smart home ecosystem is able to accomplish a lot of pretty amazing things when the connected devices that make it up communicate with each other and are able to work with minimal input through a combination of automation, motion sensing, scheduling, and voice activation.
The best smart light bulbs and smart lighting solutions can form a core element of an integrated smart home system, providing the opportunity to set up a connected smart lighting system that works the way you do and that can easily adapt to everyday scenarios.
If you’re looking to control the smart lights in your home using your voice, devices such as the Amazon Echo and its on-board digital helper Alexa have now made this a reality with the ability to activate and deactivate lighting just by speaking a command.
With Philips Hue, LIFX, TP Link, and Stack Lighting all offering smart lighting solutions compatible with Alexa, simply combining an Amazon Echo device to your smart light equipped house will allow you to control your lighting from anywhere in your home without ever lifting a finger.
Smart Lighting and smart light bulbs can also be paired up with other connected devices to work together in response to a specific situation.
The Nest line of smart devices have been designed to work alongside the Philips Hue range of smart light bulbs straight out of the box.
If your home includes a Nest Protect alarm for example, syncing up the device with Hue smart light bulbs will allow the systems to communicate and will flash the lights in your home if the alarm is triggered.
Similarly, connecting some of the best smart light bulbs to a Nest Cam Nest Cam smart security camera will allow your lighting system to automatically activate or deactivate based upon when you leave the house or return home as well as turning them on in your absence if the camera detects unexpected motion.
Using IFTTT with your Smart Lighting
IFTTT (If This, Then That) is a free to use web service that effectively allows you to communicate with and between your smart devices using a series of conditional statements – known as ‘Applets’ (previously ‘Recipes’) – in order to trigger a reaction based upon an action or event.
These events can be related to things like social signals and web services online – for example triggering a device to respond to the arrival of a new email in gmail or a Facebook notification – or in response to a physical event such as a change in the weather or an action from another connected device in the home.
The really great thing about IFTTT Applets are that they allow you to expand the level of interconnected interaction between devices such as smart lighting in your home with a an ever-expanding library of varied Applets for achieving different outcomes.
While most smart bulbs and smart lights include a level of integration options out of the box (which can increase when paired with other smart devices), adding IFTTT Applets into the mix can take the functionality of your smart lighting to a whole new level.
LIFX SMART LIGHT BULBS
The LIFX range of smart light bulbs effectively carry out 7 unique lighting actions which can be utilized either directly through the companion app, but that can also be triggered in response to other scripted events through the use of IFTTT Applets. These actions include turning the unit on and off, changing the color of the light, activating a ‘scene’, toggling the light and blinking or slowly pulsing the light.
3 of the best ways to integrate IFTTT with LIFX Smart Lighting and Smart Light Bulbs:
- If you want to be made aware of when you receive a new Facebook notification, just let your lights tell you. LIFX smart light bulbs can be made to flash blue whenever you’re tagged in Facebook.
- For those (like us) who just can’t seem to get along with early mornings, IFTTT can be used alongside your LIFX smart bulbs to gently wake you by gradually increasing brightness to help you rise and shine without the shock of the alarm.
- At the end of the day, have your LIFX smart lights turn on automatically at sunset without the need to ever open an app.
PHILIPS HUE SMART LIGHTS
With the combination of the Philips Hue Bridge alongside up to 50 Hue smart light bulbs or smart light devices, IFTTT can be used to trigger any of 7 actions including turning bulbs on and off, blinking and dimming the lights, toggling the lights and changing the color.
3 of the Best Ways to Integrate IFTTT with Philips Hue Smart Bulbs and Smart Lighting Devices:
- Whenever you receive an email from a pre-set address, you can have your Hue lights to blink to notify you.
- Let your smart bulbs tell you about changes in the weather by changing your Hue lights to blue if it begins to rain.
- If you set your Nest Learning Thermostat to ‘away’ mode, automatically turn off your Philips Hue lightbulbs.
“Alexa, turn on the lights” – Using Amazon Alexa to Control your Smart Light Bulbs
For many people, smart lighting is at the top of the list when it comes to the devices they would most like to control using their voice.
With a combination of many of the best smart light bulbs and lighting solutions alongside Amazon’s Alexa enabled devices, this is now easier than ever before.
There are countless scenarios (think coming home from the store with an armload of groceries for example) when being able to tell your home to turn on the lights would be incredibly useful and simple integration with an Alexa based product such as the Amazon Echo makes this possible.
If you’re looking to get started with a voice controlled smart lighting system using Alexa, you’ll need the following:
- An Alexa enabled device such as Amazon’s Echo or Dot or the Invoxia Triby
- One of the following smart lighting solutions:
- Cree Connected
- GE Link
- Insteon Dimmable LED
- LIFX Range
- Osram Lightify
- Philips Hue Range
- Stack Lighting Downlight Kit
- TP-Link Smart Wi-Fi
Controlling it all – The Best Smart Lighting Apps for your Home Setup
So you’ve installed the best smart light bulbs, lamps, switches, and strips – what next?
Whether it’s a single smart bulb, a smart lamp device, or an entire house rigged up and ready to go, when not automated, the devices you integrate into your home’s smart lighting system will ultimately be controllable in one form or another through an app on a connected smart device.
The interfacing unit that you use to talk to your devices may take the form of a smart phone, watch or tablet, but in every instance you’ll be using either a native app specific to your smart lights, a third party app developed to work with your bulbs or a combination of both.
While the basic functions of on/off activation, color changing capabilities, dimming and timing of your smart bulbs are often controllable from the native app, it’s with the externally developed apps that things start to get really awesome.
From matching your smart lighting to your music to syncing the color with the scenes in a movie, the options to extend the use of your lights with other elements of your home are growing by the day – and it’s all thanks to the growth of apps and the intelligence behind the devices they work with.
Ambify – If you’re looking for a way to bring your music listening experience into harmony with your smart lighting, then the Ambify app is a great place to start. Combining your library of tunes with your smart bulbs for an interconnected, intelligent light show will change the way you listen to (and see) your music forever.
Huey – Have you ever played a game or watched a movie and looked for a more immersive experience? If so, then Huey could be just what you’ve been searching for. Through this epic app, the ambience of the scene is transmitted to your connected Philips Hue smart bulbs, projecting the colors from the screen onto your surrounding walls.
Smart Lighting A-Z Glossary of Terms
As with a lot of the smart tech out there today, getting started in the world of smart lighting can feel pretty overwhelming to the uninitiated! Whether it’s different protocols, particular functionality or lighting specific terminology, the nomenclature in the smart lighting space can get intense.
Don’t get turned off though! Our A-Z guide to some of the key pieces of vocabulary, information and general things to consider when looking for the best smart lighting will help demystify every bit of the jargon, shed light on the topic and will tell you all you need to know to decide on the very best smart lighting solutions for your needs:
Accent Lighting
You may read about smart lamps or bulbs that provide good ‘accent lighting’. This refers to lighting that is ideal for highlighting particular areas or objects in a room. Smart lighting is well suited to providing accent lighting as it allows for remote changes to colour and intensity, both of which are excellent features if you’re looking to add to the ambience of an interior space.
Actuator
In the world of automation, an actuator is the term used for a mechanism or device (like a smart bulb) that is triggered or activated by a sensor. An example would be smart lighting that turns on in response to motion or having detected a change in the overall light levels in a room.
Ambient Lighting
This refers to the general lighting and levels that usually illuminate an interior space.
Candela
You may see the output from a light measured in Candela (cd). This measurement is used for light intensity and refers to the amount of light that is emitted in a certain direction from the source.
Colour Changing
If a smart light offers colour changing functionality, it means the colour of the light emitted from the bulb can be altered within a spectrum of available colour options. This is considered a key feature of many high end smart bulbs, offering the ability to match the light output with the overall ambience of a room. Smart light bulbs are available in both white light and colour light varieties with the latter providing the option for regular white light output also.
Colour Temperature
When you read about the temperature of a bulb or lamp, it’s simply referring to the emitted colour of the light. This characteristic is measured in Kelvin (K) and lets you know the kind of colour range you can expect from a light. The higher this value is, the “colder” the colour given off by the light will be, with the inverse being true. Generally speaking, anything under 3,300 K is considered as a warm white, while bulbs above 5,300 K give off a cool light. If you’re looking for a neutral white, look for a smart bulb between these two figures.
Consumption
The energy consumption of light bulbs and lamps refers to how much power the unit consumes and is given in Watts (W).
Dimmable
Dimmable smart lighting and bulbs can be adjusted to increase or decrease (dim) the amount of light given off by the fixture. If this is a feature you’re looking for in a smart bulb, be sure to verify that the item you’re looking at is dimmable as not all are.
Kelvin
The unit used to measure colour temperature is given in Kelvin (K), with higher values denoting a ‘colder’ light colour and lower numbers (typically considered to be those under 3,300 K) referring to warmer colour temperatures.
Kilowatt Hour (kWh)
This is the standard measurement of electrical energy equal to 1 kilowatt of electricity that a device uses over the period of one hour.
LED
The shortened form of ‘Light Emitting Diode, an LED is an electronic component the produces light in various colours when powered. Almost all smart light bulbs and the majority of modern lighting are LED based over traditional incandescent bulbs. LED lighting includes a number of benefits from low maintenance and exceptionally low energy consumption through to high lifetime and good colour stability.
Lumen
This is the unit of measurement which used to describe the amount of light emitted by a light bulb or other source. Generally speaking, the higher the Wattage of a bulb, the higher the lumen output.
Lux
A unit of illumination measured in lumens per square meter.
Sensor
Sensors detect changes in the environment (think light levels, temperature, sound, motion etc) and then trigger other devices (known as Actuators – see above) to activate them and make things happen. A smart smoke detector for example, may sense smoke and in turn activate both an alarm as well as your smart lighting to guide you away from harm.
Conclusion
So, what’s next for the best smart light bulbs and smart lighting devices?
At the most basic level, smart lighting solutions are available in two flavours – color or white.
Whichever your preference, both of these options are effectively controlled in the same way regardless of brand and price and the differences really only begin to show when it comes down to performance and the ability to integrate with other smart devices around the home.
The great news is that there are now more choices than ever when it comes to integrating a system of smart lighting in your home, whether your looking for a no-frills white light that can be controlled and scheduled remotely or a top of the range, plug and play color changing smart light bulb with all of the bells and whistles.
While some of the bigger brands such as Philips Hue and LIFX are currently taking the lead in terms of cross-device functionality and the ability to integrate smart lights with multiple devices around the home, many others are also beginning to follow suit.
This is already leading to a greater choice of options both in terms of value and standard features and as we begin to move into a world where the internet of things plays a greater role in our lives, you can be sure that the world of smart lighting solutions will remain at the forefront of interconnected home automation and the best smart light bulbs will keep getting smarter.
Further Reading
The Best Smart Home Ecosystems for Creating a Connected Home- 5 Things to do with Philips Hue
- The Ultimate Guide to the Best Smart Plug, Smart Power Socket, and Smart Outlet Devices for 2021
- Let There be Light – The Best Smart Lighting and Smart Light Bulbs for use with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple HomeKit
