Tech Life: How You Can Set The Perfect Mood In Your Home With Smart Lighting

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Back in 1977, every time Debby Boone sangYou Light Up My Life, do you think she thought this was something her not-yet-invented smartphone would someday be able to do for her? You’ve heard about “Internet of Things” and “smart” home appliances, but if you’re not tech savvy, this can be a confusing and intimidating topic. However, if you have the bright idea to add smart lighting to your home, it’s much easier than you might think.

These days, all sorts of gear for your home can become smart, but one of the easiest (and cheapest) ways to get started is to upgrade your home’s lighting. When you use smart lighting in your home, you’re able to control it with your mobile device or computer. You can get started with your existing lamps through inexpensive smart plugs, or go a step further and add smart light bulbs with more capabilities.

For instance, you can use voice commands (through Siri, Google Assistant or Alexa) via an optional smart speaker or mobile device, or take advantage of special smart light switches and motion detectors. You are even able to set up timers for the lights to switch on or off automatically at specific times, or whenever you enter or exit a room, for example.

What you’re about to discover is that setting up smart lighting in your home is less expensive and much easier than you ever thought. In most cases, no fancy tools or an electrician is required, and you won’t need to go back to school to pursue a computer engineering degree. In fact, if you can screw in a traditional lightbulb, you’re good to go.

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The Benefits of Smart Lighting

Setting up smart lights to turn on or off at specific times is easy, and makes your life much easier overall as a result. There’s the safety argument for starters. If you’re away from home, you can make it appear occupied to dissuade potential wrongdoers. Meanwhile, if you approach your home at night, the smart lights around your front door and foyer, for example, can be set to automatically turn on as you approach.

On the convenience side, if you’re relaxing on your coach and want to adjust the lighting—to make it brighter so you can read or dimmer so you can watch a movie—you can use your voice without having to move a muscle. Simply say something like “Hey Siri, dim the living room lights by 50 percent.” You can also set them up with motion detectors at night within your hallway, so if you get out of bed to use the restroom or roam into your kitchen for a midnight snack, you won’t need to peck around in the dark to flick any switches.

Another use for smart lights, some of which can display over 16 million colors, is to decorate a living space, make your TV watching experience more immersive or create instant ambiance in any room you’re in to match the mood you’re in.

What You Need To Get Started Using Smart Lighting

Since smart lights are controlled using the Internet, your home must be equipped with Wi-Fi. You’ll then need to have a way to control the lights. This can be done using your smartphone (or any Internet-connected mobile device from anywhere in the world), a smart speaker (if you want to issue voice commands), or special light switches, for example.

You'll also need to install smart lighting products within your home. You can do this one lightbulb or light fixture at a time, upgrade an entire room with smart lighting, or replace most of the lights throughout your home—based on your needs and budget. In some cases, a supplied “bridge” or “hub” will come with the smart lighting you purchase. This device gets connected directly to your modem or Wi-Fi hub using a supplied cable.

Unless you’re installing or replacing permanent light fixtures, such as recessed ceiling lighting, a wall sconce, or a hanging light fixture, hiring an electrician will not be necessary. Keep in mind, because smart bulbs utilize LED technology, they’re far more energy efficient than traditional light bulbs, they never get hot to the touch and each bulb is designed to last at least 15,000 hours of continuous use.

Several Types Of Smart Lights Are Available

You have many options for upgrading your home with smart lighting. You can use smart bulbs to replace the primary lighting within a room simply by replacing the bulbs in your existing fixtures. Another option is to replace the light fixtures themselves with floor lamps, table lamps, sconces, recessed lighting and ceiling lamps, for example, that have smart LED lighting built into them.

There are also decorative smart lights designed specifically to add colored ambience to a room, but not serve as a primarily light source. Plus, you’ll discover a wide range of specialty smart lighting options designed for indoor or outdoor use. As you start shopping, you’ll likely find it easier if you stick to just one brand to ensure compatibility and seamless integration.

Use Smart Lights Within Any Room

The easiest way to start using smart lighting in your home is to choose a room that relies on light fixtures that use standard sized light bulbs, and then replace those traditional incandescent bulbs with smart LED bulbs.

Philips Hue Offers Smart Lighting Starter Kits

Philips Hue White LED Starter Kit

This starter kit from Philips Hue comes with the required hub (that gets plugged into your modem or Wi-Fi router), three white smart bulbs and a wireless light switch that you can stick to any wall. This starter kit uses white bulbs that only shine one color, but you can adjust the temperature and brightness level of the light on command.

Replace the existing light bulbs in one or more rooms with these smart bulbs, and you’ll be able to program and control them from anywhere. Additional white smart bulbs (in a variety of sizes) are sold separately from Philips Hue—a company that’s been a pioneer in smart lighting. Individual, standard size, while smart bulbs that work with this Hue starter kit are available for $30 each.

Add A Touch Of Color To Your Lighting With This Hue Starter Kit

Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance Starter Kit

For slightly more money, you can get a smart lighting kit that comes with bulbs that can each display any of more than 16 million colors and that are fully programmable and dimmable. This starter kit from Philips Hue comes with the required hub, along with four standard smart light bulbs that can replace the bulbs in your existing light fixtures. Additional white and color ambiance Hue bulbs are sold separately in a wide range of sizes. For an additional standard size bulb, each is priced around $58.

In addition to selling its own collection of bulbs, Philips offers a complete line of smart lighting products and accessories, including wireless light switches, dimmers and stand-alone smart light fixtures—all of which work seamlessly together.

Alternative Smart Bulbs

Many companies offer individual smart light bulbs or multi-bulb packs that can replace any same-size existing light bulbs in your home, and they often don’t require a hub. Here are two examples of these low-cost options.

Keep in mind, some of these individual bulbs need to connect with your home’s Wi-Fi, but some rely just on a wireless Bluetooth connection between your smartphone and the bulb. If you want to control the lights from anywhere (not just from within a 30 foot radius), choose smart bulbs that use Wi-Fi.

Globe Electric Offers Individual Smart Bulbs For $22

Globe Electric Smart Light Bulb

Globe Electric offers a wide range of smart lighting products, however, these do not require a dedicated hub to function. The company sells these smart bulbs (that replace the existing bulbs in your light fixtures) individually, although if you purchase and install multiple bulbs, they can work together seamlessly.

Each of these smart bulbs can display white light at any temperature, as well as more than 16 million colors. The bulbs are also dimmable and programmable using the Globe Suite mobile app. Once set up, you can control them with your favorite voice assistant.

Sylvania Also Offers Low Cost Smart Light Bulbs

SYLVANIA Smart Lightbulbs (4 Pack)

Many companies, including Sylvania, manufacture and sell packs of smart light bulbs that do not require a hub. These bulbs come in a four-pack, but they’re only able to display different temperatures of white light (which is why they're so affordable), although they are fully dimmable and programmable. They also work with all of the popular digital assistants, so they accept voice commands.

Replace Your Existing Light Fixtures

Whether you have table lamps, floor lamps, wall sconces, recessed lighting or hanging ceiling lights, you can replace any of these fixtures with a smart lighting fixture that utilizes built in LEDs.

If the lighting fixture just needs to be plugged in—like a table or floor lamp—you can do this yourself. However, if you need to replace a wall sconce or hanging ceiling light, you may find it easier to hire an electrician to handle the installation. Smart lighting fixtures come in all shapes and styles, and pricing varies greatly.

This Table Lamp Lights Up A Room With Colored Ambience

Philips Hue Iris Smart Lamp

In addition to offering a vast selection of different size smart light bulbs that you can install in existing fixtures, Philips Hue offers a selection of stand-alone light fixtures. The Iris, for example, is a table lamp capable of lighting up an entire room with any shade or temperature of white light, or any of more than 16 million colors. The light can be bounced off a nearby wall to create interesting colored effects, or pointed outwards to brighten up a wide space.

You’ll need the Philips Hue hub use it. You can either purchase the hub separately or use this light in conjunction with one of the Philips Hue Starter Kits that comes bundled with a hub. (A single Philips Hue hub can control up to 50 different smart lights and bulbs.)

This Halo Split Floor Lamp IS Great For A Living Room Or Bedroom

Brightech Halo Split Floor Lamp

The Brightech Halo Split Floor Lamp is an example of a stand-alone lamp that comes with smart bulbs pre-installed, so once you plug in the lamp and pair it with your home’s wireless network, you’ll be able to control it via a mobile app or using voice commands.

This particular floor lamp offers a sleek and modern design that will brighten up any living room, home office or bedroom, for example. It’s able to generate up to 1489 lumens in brightness, but is not capable of generating colored lights. It does, however, allow you to select the temperature and brightness of the white light it displays. The LEDs in this lamp are rated to last 20,000 hours.

Replace A Ceiling Light With This Smart Version

Luvoni 12-Inch Flush Mounted Smart Ceiling Light

If you have a hardwired ceiling light that you want to replace altogether, companies like Luvoni offer a selection of flush-mounted ceiling lights that can display any of more than 16 million colors at up to 1,500 lumens in brightness. This particular light comes with its own mobile app, but can also be controlled using voice commands. Because it gets hardwired into the ceiling, you might want to get a professional electrician to install it.

Control This Modern-Looking Table Lamp From Anywhere

Govee Smart LED Table Lamp

Here’s an example of a low-cost table lamp from Govee that can either brighten up a wide area within a room using white light or display any of more than 16 million colors at the brightness you choose. This particular lamp has a music mode that’ll create an animated light show based on the audio or music you’re listening to. It takes up very little space on an end table, nightstand, tabletop or desk, but can easily create lighting effects that instantly change the mood and ambiance of an entire room.

Replace Recessed Lights In Your Ceiling With Smart Lights

Commercial Electric Smart Recessed Lights (4 Pack)

Most recessed ceiling lighting comes in a standard size (such as five inches or six-inches in diameter), so if you want to replace each fixture with more modern smart lighting, the process is pretty easy—with or without an electrician. Once the new smart lighting is installed, you can adjust the color and brightness of the lights, set timers and have full control using a smartphone app or voice commands. These lights advertise a 55,000-hour lifespan.

Keep in mind, a Wink Hub or any Smart Things-compatible hub (sold separately) must be connected to your modem or Wi-Fi router to use these particular lights.

Use Smart Lights For Decorating And Ambient Lighting

While primary lighting is designed to brighten an entire room or area, smart decorative or ambient lighting is used to enhance the décor of room or create a specific mood using colors. In fact, when you combine two or three colorful smart lights in a given area, each can display a different color or brightness and work together to create animated scenes that match your mood or sync up with the audio from a TV show, movie or whatever music you’re listening to.

This Smart Table Lamp Acts As A Moving Sculpture That Lights Up

Noxu Design Smart Table Lamp

Noxu Design manufactures many standalone smart lamp designs that can replace existing light fixtures in your home—or they can be used in addition to your existing lights. This particular smart table lamp has LED lighting built in and can display white light. It looks like a work of art while creating unique and colorful ambient lighting. Made from black coated aluminum, this lamp rotates 360 degrees under its own power and offers a minimalist and contemporary design, generating a wide range of colors in the process.

Nanoleaf’s Element Lights Offer Sophisticated Decorative Lighting

Nanoleaf Elements Smarter Kit (7 Panels)

Nanoleaf offers an ever-growing product line comprised of smart lights built into uniquely shaped “tiles” that you can attach to any wall in a layout of your choosing. The company sells separate starter kits featuring batches of color-changing square, triangular, straight line and hexagon-shaped tiles. Alongside app and voice control, the tiles can also respond to the music you play for an immersive light show.

The Nanoleaf Elements Smarter Kit bundle offers a more elegant approach to tile-based smart lighting. This particular kit includes seven tiles that look like wood panels. When lit up, these panels generate an animated warm glow that will add a soothing ambience to any room. You can use a wide range of pre-programmed scenes via the mobile app or easily create your own.

To create more complex patterns of tiles on your wall, expansion packs— featuring either three or 13 additional panels—are sold separately. You can also purchase another Smarter Kit and simply add them to the existing scene. Each tile attaches to your wall using removal adhesive strips which come in the box.

Nanoleaf’s Lines Offer Contemporary Lighting Décor

Nanoleaf Lines Smarter Kit

One of the newest offerings from Nanoleaf is called Nanoleaf Lines. These are a collection of 11-inch long (0.78-inch wide) LED light sticks that you can connect at 60-degree angles and stick onto any wall in the pattern of your choosing.

The Lines Smarter Kit comes with nine lines. Optional expansion packs containing three Lines are also available. Each line can display up to two colors (as a gradient) at once, so you have nigh-limitless options for creating unique scenes and color combinations. Like all of Nanoleaf’s smart lighting products, Lines are designed to provide decorating and ambient lighting to a room—not light up an entire room.

Govee’s LED Neon Rope Lights Offer Colorful Decorating Options

Govee Neon Rope Lights

One easy way to decorate a room with colored lights is to use a smart LED light strip or light rope, the latter being more flexible. You can place either under cabinets, around the edge of a ceiling, behind a television set, or anywhere that you want to add colorful ambient smart lighting. Because it’s bendable, you’re able to create different shapes with the line or wrap it around other objects.

The Govee Neon Rope Light is 10 feet long, flexible and allows both app and voice control. It supports a wide range of animated or still scenes.

You can also create your own scenes and set timers, for example. Best of all? It doesn’t require a hub. You simply plug in the Neon Rope Light, pair it with your home’s Wi-Fi network and then set it up using the Govee mobile app. This rope light is also IP67 rated, so it’s water and dust resistant.

Globe Light Strips Look Great Under Cabinets Or Behind TVs

Globe Electric Smart Strip Light

While less bendable than Govee’s Neon Rope Light, the Globe Electric Smart Strip Light is 16.4-feet long and is capable of displaying any combination of more than 16 million colors. To boot, it’s much cheaper. It doesn’t require a hub, instead relying on a smartphone app to manage colors and scenes. Once set up, the light strip responds to voice commands issued to Alexa, Google Assistant or Siri.

Smart Ways To Use Specialty Lighting

Many smart lighting companies offer a selection of specialty lighting options designed to handle very specific tasks, yet they provide the same convenience and functionality as any other smart light. Here are some examples that’ll likely work well within your home.

These Nightlights Offer Smart Functionality

Globe Electric Smart Night Light

These small nightlights plug into any electrical outlet, link with your home’s Wi-Fi and are programmable from a smartphone app. This particular smart nightlight can display more than 16 million colors at the brightness of your choosing and has a built-in motion sensor, so it will automatically turn on when someone (or a pet) walks near it. You can also schedule it to turn on and off at specific times.

While it won't light up an entire hallway, for example, each of these nightlights will provide enough brightness in the middle of the night for you to safely walk around. You can also set up multiple lights to work together. The built in LEDs will last upwards of 15,000 hours.

Surround Your TVs With The Hue Play Light Bar

Philips Hue Play Bar Starter Kit

The Philips Hue Play Bar contains two smart LED light panels that you position directly behind or next to a television set. Facing a wall, they’ll bounce colored lighting that’ll automatically match whatever show or movie you’re watching to create a more immersive and visually stunning experience.

The Play Bar works with all other Philips Hue smart lighting products, so a hub (sold separately) is required to use it.

Brighten Up Your Porch or Patio With This Smart Wall (Outdoor) Light

Philips Hue Impress Wall Light

With the Philips Hue Impress Wall Light, you can create a luminous aura in your home’s entranceway with either white light (at the brightness of your choosing) or whatever colored light you select. Like all of the Hue smart light products, you can program it using the Philips Hue app, the Apple Home app or the Google Home app. Also consistent is its requirement of the Philips Hue Hub.

Once set up, it’s possible to set automatic timers so the porch light turns on and off at specific times—such as sunrise or sunset—or when someone approaches the door. It’ll also respond to voice commands via your smartphone or a smart speaker.

Keep in mind, if you don’t already have a Philips Hue smart lighting system set up in your home, there are less expensive outdoor lighting options available. However, if you are already using a Hue smart lighting system, Philips offers a nice selection of optional outdoor lights (each sold separately).

Enhance Your Outdoor Security With The Smart Ring Floodlight Cam

Ring Floodlight Cam

In some cases, smart lighting is bundled with other smart equipment. This Ring Floodlight Cam, for example, combines two bright outdoor-ready floodlights with a powerful video camera. Using the Ring mobile app, you can receive alerts when there’s movement outside of your home and see what’s happening from anywhere in the world on your smartphone’s screen.

It’s possible to remotely control both the flood lights and camera using your smartphone or voice commands. You can also use the Ring mobile app to set timers, set up the built-in motion sensor, and fully customize the home safety and security features this combo smart device offers. It’ll also work seamlessly with a Ring video doorbell, any Google smart speaker or home hub, and a variety of other smart equipment designed to enhance your home’s security at an affordable price.

There Are Many Several Ways To Control Smart Lighting

The whole point of smart lighting is that you can control and program the lights using your smartphone, tablet or computer from anywhere in the world. This is done using either the Home app that comes preinstalled on your iPhone or iPad, the Google Home app on your Android-based mobile device, or a proprietary app developed by a smart light manufacturer.

When shopping for smart lighting, make sure the lighting products you choose are compatible with the technology you already have. For example, on the packaging of any smart lighting product, it’ll usually say “Works with” followed by a list of the equipment it’s compatible with.

If a product says “Works with with Alexa,” this means you can use any Amazon Echo smart speaker or smart hub, not to mention the Alexa app on your phone. The same is true for Google Assistant and the various products that incorporate it. Products that say they’re compatible with Siri or Apple HomeKit will work natively with the iPhone, iPad, a Mac, Apple Watch or the Apple HomePod smart speaker.

Control Smart Lights Using Your Voice

Your smartphone, smartwatch and tablet—and likely your computer, as well as any smart speakers and smart hubs in your home—all support a digital voice assistant. Apple’s voice assistant is known as Siri. If you’re using Android-based mobile devices, the Google Assistant is built in, while if you have any Echo smart speaker or smart hub from Amazon, it supports the Alexa digital assistant.

As long as the digital assistant you already use is compatible with your smart lighting equipment, you can begin a verbal command by saying, “Hey Siri,” “Hey Alexa,” or “Hey Google,” and then explain what you want the lights to do. For example, you could say, “Dim bedroom lighting by 50 percent,” “Turn on the living room lights,” “Set TV lights to blue,” or tell your digital assistant which lights to turn off at any given moment.

Take Advantage of Smart Switches And Smart Plugs

Yet another way to control smart lighting is by using an optional smart light switch, dimmer or motion sensor that’s compatible with the smart light. Because these switches and related devices are wireless, they simply stick onto a wall and typically do not require any wiring or an electrician to install. There are, however, some smart switches—like those from Brilliant Smart Home System and IOTTY—that require hard wiring as they replace your home’s existing light switches.

Don’t Just Make Your Light Switches Smart, Make Them Brilliant

Brilliant Smart Home Control Switch

Instead of using your smartphone to control the smart lighting (and other smart equipment) in your home, you can have an interactive touch panel thanks to these Brilliant Smart Home Control Switches. It requires a professional installation since this switch is designed to replace an existing light switch. It then links up with your home’s Wi-Fi network and pairs with all of your compatible smart equipment and appliances, including smart lights, door locks and your home’s smart thermostat, for example.

Lutron Offers A Wide Range Of Smart Light Switch Options

Lutron Caseta Smart Light Switch

This smart light switch provides an easy way to keep your existing light fixtures and bulbs, but give those lighting fixtures smart functionality that can then be programmed and controlled from anywhere. An electrician may be required to replace your existing switches.

GE Offers Plenty Of Smart Switch Options

C By GE Motion-Sensing Smart Switch

GE now allows you to transform any lighting in your home into smart lighting simply by replacing the light switch on your wall. These replacement light switches come with a hardware dimmer and offer a built-in motion sensor, which is a nice added touch that many other switches don’t have.

Transform Any Lamp Into A Smart Light Using A Smart Plug

TP-Link Tapo Smart Plug Mini (4-pack)

A smart plug is one of the easiest ways to get into smart lighting, as it can work with any existing lamp or anything that you plug into a wall. You’ll then use your smartphone or smart speaker to control the plug remotely. The only downside compared to some of the products discussed above is that there’s no fine control over the light color or intensity.

Don’t Stop With Smart Lighting...

Once you have smart lighting working within your home—and you see firsthand just how easy and convenient it is to control—consider upgrading other aspects of your home using smart technologies.

For example, you can replace your door locks with smart door locks, add a smart thermostat to control your home’s temperature, install a video doorbell to your front door and swap out your kitchen appliances with ones that use smart technologies. What’s possible is limited only by your imagination and budget.

Sure, people have lived for millennia without the conveniences of smart technologies in their caves and eventual proper homes. Since 1884—when the light switch was invented by John Henry Holmes—people have managed to deal with traditional light switches to turn on and off lights. However, since smart lighting is now so readily available, easy to operate and inexpensive, you owe it to yourself and your family to upgrade your home with lighting that would make Thomas Edison proud.