Automated home lighting has been around in some form for a long time now. Remember when The Clapper first broke onto the scene? The idea that you could turn your lights on and off without getting up to do so manually was a novelty. Today’s smart lighting devices can do so much more than turn lights on and off at your command—although they do that too.
Smart lighting devices such as smart switches, smart bulbs, and smart outlets combine forces to create an intricate whole-house connected lighting system that integrates with smart home technology to give homeowners unprecedented control over their home lighting, providing convenience, ambiance, and security.
With smart lighting technology, you can set your lights to turn on automatically when you arrive home from work, enhance home security while you’re out of town by programming lights to cycle on and off throughout your house at random intervals, control lights remotely from your smart phone from any location (accidentally leave the kitchen lights on when you left for work? now you don’t have to spend all day fretting over the wasted energy), and even turn on and off in response to a voice command.
With so many products flooding the market, it can be hard to know where to start. To help you out, we’ve identified some of the leading smart lighting devices on the market right now.
Smart Lighting Products for the Smart Homeowner
Wemo Light Switch by Belkin
The Wemo Light Switch integrates with your home Wi-Fi network to allow you to wirelessly control your home lighting system from anywhere in the world. Using the Wemo app, you set up automatic schedules for individual lights in your house, synchronize your front porch light with the sunset so that you always come home to a lighted path, and protect your house by setting the app to “away mode,” which will randomize your lights so that it appears like your house is occupied. Wemo works without a hub, but also integrates with Alexa and Google Home if you want to take the convenience one step further and control your lights with just the power of your voice.
LED Bulbs by Insteon
A leading developer of home automation products, Insteon’s award-winning LED bulbs are, dimmable, energy-efficient, power-saving, are available in a variety of bulb types, and can be completely remote controlled from your smartphone or tablet with integrated with an Insteon Hub. Using the scheduling function, you can program your lights to slowly brighten in the morning to give you a soft wakeup call. With the wireless app, you can check whether your kids remembered to turn the lights off before catching the bus to school—and turn them off if they didn’t. Insteon’s LED bulbs create a fully connected lighting system when integrated with Insteon Dimmer Switches, Keypads, Mini Remotes, and the Insteon Hub.
Bluetooth LED Bulbs from HomeBrite
Create customized lighting effects with HomeBrite’s Smart LED Bulbs. Using Bluetooth technology, HomeBrite allows you to control your home lights from the palm of your hand—even without a hub, Wi-Fi, or a cellular signal (up to a distance of 50 feet from your home). You can also use the HomeBrite app to group and zone multiple bulbs and control them all with a single press of a button. Store your favorite settings to create customized scenes to set the mood for any occasion.