Tips From The Top

Smart lights – you’ve heard about them, seen them, maybe you even have a bulb or two, but really, what are the advantages? Is it just about doing cool stuff with colored lighting, or do they actually save energy and money? Do you need to completely change your home’s lighting system to make it worthwhile? Where do you even begin?

Fortunately, smart lighting systems and smart bulbs have reached new levels of illumination (sorry, couldn’t help it…) in the past few years. Besides complementing your home’s ambiance and giving you more creativity with color, they can improve your home’s energy use and overall security. With the variety of options on the market, you can make a plan to start small, with one light or one room at a time, or completely revamp your home’s lighting system, according to your preferences and vision.

Basically, smart bulbs use technology and light-emitting diodes (LEDs), which make their initial cost higher than your standard bulb, but they require less energy and last a whole lot longer, resulting in overall energy savings. A recent CNET report puts it in context: replacing that traditional 60-watt incandescent with a 10-watt LED will save you $6 annually. Multiply that by the number of bulbs in your home, and the savings add up quickly.

Smart bulbs give you greater control since you can manage them with your mobile device.

Entire home automation platforms like Savant allow you to control all the lights in your home from anywhere. You can program scenes, like “Movie,” “Dinner,” or “Away,” which will automatically bring up a pre-set lighting schematic. Having the power to adjust your lighting from anywhere in the world – whether it’s abroad or the comfort of your own bed – is a major bonus for security and quality of life when it comes to smart lighting advantages.

An increasing number of individual smart bulbs are now able to connect with Alexa, HomeKit, and Google Assistant, giving you voice control. You can schedule lights to go on and off and various times, or you can command the lights to go off for the night without even getting out of bed.

Advancements like “geofencing” connect your lights with the GPS in your smartphone; once you reach a specified place, your home’s lights will turn off. Some smart bulbs can be connected to other smart devices like security cameras and thermostats. Why would you want your lighting connected to your thermostat? At the peak of lighting management, “If This Then That” (IFTTT) allows the homeowner to prescribe scenarios for their home’s lighting to respond to specific events, like a weather change. When a snowstorm kicks up, the driveway and front yard floods with light, making your arrival home a lot easier.

To learn more about how smart lighting can improve your home, call us at Jackson Hole AV. We’d love to discuss the possibilities.

 

References

Alex Colon, “The Best Smart Bulbs of 2019,” PCMag, October 5, 2018. https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2483488,00.asp