How to apply to light automatically (both smart and non-smart).
Smart lights are one of the most useful smart home devices on the market today. They provide a wide range of possibilities for automating lighting inside and outside your home.
In this article, we’ll show you how to do this by using real smart bulbs or other smart home devices to control existing bulbs.
Options to Automate Lights in Your Home
You can control lighting throughout your home using your smartphone in different ways. If you don’t want to replace every light bulb, you can simply replace the strategically located switches and plugs. Or, if you need more advanced features like colors or dimming, check out the smart lamp options.
Here are all the options you can choose from:
- Replace wall switches with smart ones.
- Connect smart plugs to existing outlets.
- Replace existing bulbs with smart ones.
They each have their pros and cons, and the options you choose can significantly change the overall cost if you don’t plan wisely.
Smart System Compatibility
When you start building your smart home, you will need to decide on which smart home ecosystem you want to build your system on.
While the smart home industry is not quite the Wild West it used to be, there is no single central device that can be used to control all other devices. But there are several common devices called “smart home hubs†that attempt to do just that.
There are two areas of compatibility to consider: which bulbs, switches or plugs the hub will interact with, and which smart home controllers it will work with, such as Alexa, Apple HomeKit, or Google Home.
Replace Wall Switches With Smart Switches
If you want to automate all the lighting in every room using your smartphone, the best way to do this is to replace standard wall switches with smart ones.
There are several varieties of them. If you want to install several of these switches in different rooms, you should choose the ones that are compatible with ZigBee or Z-Wave smart hubs. Another option is the Lutron Smart Hub with Lutron Switches.
GE Zigbee Smart Dimmer
There aren’t many switches on the market that are compatible with Zigbee hubs, but it’s no surprise that GE offers one that works with Alexa. GE has created many smart home devices that continue to top the list of smart home reviews.
Install the GE Zigbee Smart Dimmer in multiple rooms in your home, then connect them to any Zigbee compatible hub like SmartThings, Wink, or most smart hubs offered by major cable companies.
The dimming function only works with dimmable bulbs, but you can also use the switch to turn the lights on or off.
Get the GE Zigbee Smart Dimmer for $ 32- $ 43 depending on style.
GE Z-Wave Smart Dimmer
GE also offers one of the best smart switches compatible with Z-Wave smart hubs like ADT, Honeywell, Nexia, Vivint and more. It also acts as an extender, extending the wireless signal from the Z-Wave hub. This means you can place switches throughout your home outside of the 150 feet limit set for the Z-Wave hub itself.
The GE Z-Wave Smart Switch is compatible with both Alexa and Google Home. It works with any standard room lighting, controlling it through the same wiring as the original light switches.
Buy GE Z-Wave Smart Switch for $ 40. If you prefer a smart dimmer, choose the $ 35 GE Enbrighten Z-Wave Smart Dimmer.
Wi-Fi Smart Switch
If you only have one or two rooms that you want to manage, you may want to consider just using a smart switch with Wi-Fi connectivity. These switches do not require a smart hub. Instead, they connect directly to your Wi-Fi network so you can control them from your Wi-Fi-connected smartphone.
Below are the 5 most popular Wi-Fi smart switches on the market.
Replace Bulbs With Smart Bulbs
If you only want to turn your home lighting into smart home lighting and are not interested in adding a family of different products, then dedicated smart home lamps may be the best option.
This is especially true if you only care about one or two rooms, so the number of smart bulbs you need is limited. Another benefit of this approach is that you don’t need to do any electrical work to automate the lighting. You just change the bulbs and you’re done.
Philips Hue Smart Bulb Starter Kit
The Philips Hue starter kit (color or white) includes a Philips Hue hub and a set of four bulbs. The lights communicate with the hub using the Zigbee communication protocol. Connect the hub directly to the router and you can control all the lights via the smartphone app.
With the app, you can set different color schemes, dim lights, or even automate lighting to match the movies or games you watch on TV in the same room.
By expanding the Philips Hue smart lighting system, you can install lamps in any room in your home. You can assign lights to any room and control them through the hub. You can also control the lights via Alexa or Google Home.
Get the Philips Hue Smart Light Starter Kit for around $ 200.
C by GE Smart Lights Starter Kit
If you really don’t want to spend a few hundred dollars to get started with smart lighting in your home, GE offers an affordable solution with the C by GE Smart Lighting Starter Kit.
This solution uses an innovative plug that can be used to control a lamp or any other device, and also serves as a Wi-Fi bridge to control light bulbs. Use Alexa or Google Home to control your lights and plug. It even has built-in voice control.
Buy a C by GE smart flashlight kit with 2 bulbs for $ 35 or 4 bulbs for $ 55.
Using Smart Plugs to Automate Lights
One of the easiest ways to automate the lighting in your home is to simply plug the lamps in every room into a smart outlet. Then use your phone to control all of these lamps from one app.
Below are the most popular smart sockets that you can use for this.
Automate Lights Inside and Outside Your Home
There are many solutions for controlling almost all lighting around and inside your home using your smartphone or smart home controllers such as Alexa or Google Home. It doesn’t have to cost a fortune.
If you want to remodel your entire home, you can do so for a more affordable price by purchasing a hub and adding compatible smart bulbs over time. Or you can just use Wi-Fi enabled devices and change the bulbs to smart ones in only one room at a time.
The option you choose depends only on how quickly you want to automate your home lighting and how much you are willing to spend.
- ZigBee: connects to your smart devices via an IEEE 802.15.4 personal area network.
- Z-Wave: A mesh network that communicates with smart devices using low-power radio waves.
- Lutron: Connects to Lutron smart lamps using Clear Connect RF technology.
- Philips: Uses ZigBee 802.15.4 networking technology to connect to Philips smart lamps.
- WeMo 3-way light switch ($ 45): Works with Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple HomeKit.
- Leviton Decora Smart Switch ($ 45): Works with Alexa and Google Assistant.
- C by GE 3-Way Smart Switch ($ 50): Compatible with Alexa and Google Home.
- TP-Link Kasa Smart Light Switch ($ 20): Works with Alexa and Google Assistant.
- iDevices Instinct Smart Light Switch ($ 100): Works with Alexa and includes audio and voice controls.
- TP-Link Kasa ($ 23): Works with Wi-Fi and does not require a hub. Works with Alexa and Google Home.
- Belkin WeMo ($ 59): Connect to Wi-Fi and turn it on or off using the WeMo app or Alexa.
- D-Link Outdoor Plug ($ 50): Control street lights or other devices with this smart 2-outlet plug. Works with Alexa or Google Home.
- Amazon Smart Plug ($ 25): An affordable Amazon smart plug that works over Wi-Fi and integrates with your Alexa device.
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How to apply to light automatically (both smart and non-smart)
How to apply to light automatically (both smart and non-smart)