Controlling lights with your voice used to be something only a god could do, but these days we have smart lighting systems to make any of us feel all-powerful.
The biggest name is Philips with its Hue bulbs, but now IKEA, Hive and a whole host of others have got in on the act too. Let’s get to the important stuff: what’s right for you, is it going to cost a fortune and is it likely to become obsolete any time soon? Let’s find out.
What you need for a smart lighting system
Smart lighting generally uses mesh networking, where each smart bulb wirelessly connects to its nearest neighbour. That network is controlled by a hub that plugs into your router, enabling your other networked devices – such as your phone or tablet – to communicate with your bulbs. Some systems also have an away from home mode that enables you to control the lights when you’re far away, which is handy if you’ve just remembered you left the lights on or want to terrify the babysitter. Not all systems require a hub, though. The LIFX platform just connects directly to your Wi-Fi.
You’ll often find that smart light systems can also be accessorised with additional items such as dimmer switches or motion detectors, and in some cases they can be linked to the IFTTT (If This Then That) service to create complex rules that trigger particular recipes for particular things. Fancy a flash of colour to notify you of an instant message, or a glow to gently break the news of today’s weather forecast? This and much more is possible without too much tinkering.
Siri, Alexa, Cortana and more
Smart lighting systems aren’t just controllable with smartphone or tablet apps. Philips’ Hue system works with Apple’s HomeKit, Amazon’s Echo and Google Home, and that means you can use those platforms’ voice assistants to relay your voice commands. There’s something undeniably cool about saying “Hey Siri, set scene to cinema” or “Alexa, turn the lights off” and seeing it happen. With HomeKit you can also control the lights with an Apple Watch. IKEA’s Trådfri will get similar compatibility later this year.
Because developers have targeted mobile platforms first that puts Microsoft in the unusual position of being an afterthought: Hue works via a third party app, Huetro, and IKEA doesn’t appear to have any plans for Windows support. We’re sure somebody will hack something together, but for the time being Windows isn’t really welcome at the smart lighting party.
What kinds of bulbs are available?
There are three main kinds: standard bulbs, candle bulbs and spotlights. Standard bulbs come with E27 or bayonet fittings; candle bulbs with SES (small screw) fittings; and spotlight bulbs are most commonly GU10 spotlight fittings.
Smart lighting bulbs are LED, which draws much less power than traditional incandescent light bulbs. A typical smart bulb is 9.5W or 5.5W for spotlights and candle bulbs. That’s roughly equivalent to a 60W incandescent bulb and a 50W spotlight bulb respectively.
You’ll usually have a choice of two kinds of bulb: white ones or colour changing ones. The latter are more complex to make and therefore cost quite a bit more. As with normal LEDs, white bulbs come with stated colours: warm white has a yellowish cast which more closely resembles incandescent bulbs’ light, while cool white is blueish like modern car headlights.
How much does a smart lighting system cost?
Put it this way: if you’re hoping that switching to a smart LED lighting system is going to save you so much in energy bills it’ll pay for itself in no time, you’re going to be disappointed. Smart lighting systems don’t come cheap, although they are slowly getting cheaper.
A range of smart lighting products will be added to www.lamps2udirect.com soon – Be sure to keep and eye out!
Source – Digital home