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Voice and app control means you don’t even need to get off the sofa
Smart lights bring real convenience, enabling you to turn them off and on from your phone or with your voice. You can transform the atmosphere from bright to cosy in seconds, or turn on the house lighting from the other side of the world.
There are smart light bulbs, which are the easiest to install as they simply replace the existing bulbs. There are also full-on smart lights which can replace table and floor lamps, for instance.
If you have other smart gadgets then they can work together, so that on a voice command like “film night” you can dim lights, close the blinds and turn on the TV. Imagine saying, “Alexa, turn on the bedroom light”, so you can traipse across the room with your arms full of laundry if the switch is on the far side, say.
Since most smart lights exclusively use LED bulbs, there are power savings to be made compared to regular incandescent bulbs too. Some systems connect straight to the broadband router wirelessly, while others need a bridge unit.
We tested for ease of use, how simple it was to set up the lights, and whether the need for a hub or bridge complicated the set up process. We also looked at how quickly they responded to voice commands where appropriate, as well as app controls – faster over wi-fi, slower over Bluetooth was the rule here.
Since most stated lifetime claims were 15,000 hours or more, we weren’t able to test this (yet!), but we considered how effectively they changed colour, brightness or warmth, for instance. We also judged how bright they were and if they were suitable for taking the place of incandescent bulbs. Spoiler: apart from the Nanoleaf tiles, which are more decorative than illuminating, they were all decent replacements for regular bulbs.
The short answer is yes, but it depends on what lighting you currently have. Smart light bulbs use LED technology, which is far more efficient than halogen bulbs, and the old incandescent or filament bulbs you might still be using. In many cases, these older bulbs actually produce more heat than light. If you already have modern LED bulbs in your home, switching to smart bulbs won’t lower your energy bills on a like-for-like basis.
While it is true smart bulbs draw a tiny amount of electricity when not emitting light (to keep their wireless connections, such as wifi, Bluetooth or Zigbee), this really is a small amount. That said, if you turn a smart light off with the conventional wall switch, it’ll be fully powered down. Flick the switch, and it’ll come back on right away, before reconnecting to your smart lighting system in just a couple of seconds.
Lastly, it’s worth remembering many smart lights can be controlled remotely, when away from the home. That way, you can turn off any lights mistakenly left on, from anywhere in the world, lowering your energy usage and saving money.
Philips Hue smart lights are the most advanced and capable ones around, so the Philips Hue white and colour ambiance starter kit is a good place to start. For simplicity, the LIFX A60 and its clever LIFX clean stablemate are also well worth considering.
Brighten up your abode with the best floor lamps and our round-up of the best lampshades