Smart lighting explained

12 November 2019

The light bulb is arguably one of the world's greatest inventions of the 19th century, transforming the way we live our lives and illuminating our homes much more easily. Skipping forward to the 21st century, you'll see an evolution in design and technologies that seemed, at one point, impossible for traditional light bulbs. With these advancements, it seemed as though they couldn't get any better — that is, until smart lights came along. This somewhat new term is known, but what is smart lighting, really?

Smart lighting is an advanced way to light your home. Smart LED bulbs contain software that connects to an app, smart home assistant or other smart accessory so you can automate your lights or control them remotely, eliminating the need for traditional wall switches.

Conventional light bulbs work by flipping a switch on and off. Sometimes they are hardwired into a dimmer switch, allowing you to dim or brighten the lights. However, this is generally the extent of the functionality of traditional home lighting. 

Smart lighting, on the other hand, gives you far more control over your lights. They are still connected to your home's power, but each smart bulb and LED-integrated fixture allows you to control it wirelessly with your phone, tablet or smart assistant, such as Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa.

The advantages of smart lights don't just stop at controlling your lights automatically or remotely — there are other, less obvious, benefits to switching to smart lighting.

Traditional bulbs require you to use a switch to control the lights — and nothing else. If you want to be able to dim your lights, you need to wire a dimmer switch into your wall. Smart LED lights, however, can be controlled — including dimming — via the app or other smart accessories.

Smart LED bulbs last much longer and generate less heat than the original light bulbs, thus using less energy. 

Using your smart lighting system with other connected devices such as cameras, audio equipment, thermostats or home assistants allows you to create an entire smart home.

Bright idea: Since your lights are controlled via an app, you can see their status from anywhere. Never ask, "Did I leave the light on?" again!

Smart LED bulbs can be configured individually or as a group. You can set timers that automatically turn off all the lights at a specific time of configure your lights to turn on and off when you're not at home, mimicking your presence.

Bright idea: Schedule your smart lights to dim to a certain setting every evening at the same time to signal bedtime or set a timer so that your lights get brighter after a one-hour nap.

Preset and customised light scenes create ambiance for any occasion, whether you're using warm-to-cool white light or colour LED lights and all you have to do is tap a button.

You may never have thought that you could improve your home lighting experience — but with smart lighting, you can. With just the touch of a button, you can automate your home lighting, control your lights with your app or voice, or set routines to make it look you're home even if you're not. With smart lighting, anything is possible!