How to Choose the Right Smart Light Bulbs for Your Home

~~(toc) #title=(TOC)~~

Smart light bulbs are one of the most exciting new technologies for home owners. Smart light bulbs can change colour or even blink to let you know something is happening in your home, such as when a door opens or the kids come home from school. They also offer Wi-Fi connectivity and are controllable via an app on your smartphone or tablet.

Think About Your Lighting Goals

When you're choosing the right smart light bulbs for your home, there are many factors to consider. For example, do you want a brand that's known for its reliability or one with a long track record of innovation? Do you want a bulb that can be controlled remotely or one that requires physical access to change color settings? What kind of functionality do these types of bulbs offer in terms of things like automation and scheduling?

In general terms, there are two main categories of smart lights: those used in homes and offices; and those used outdoors such as street lamps or parking lot lights. Both types have their advantages and disadvantages depending on what kind of system (if any) is already installed in your home or business space—and which features matter most when it comes time to choose between them!

Learn Smart Light Bulb Features

Smart light bulbs are the most popular option for replacing your old incandescent bulb. They can be dimmable, and many have built-in WiFi connectivity so you can control them using an app on your phone or tablet.

The main features of smart bulbs are:

Dimmability - The amount of light that comes out of the bulb is determined by how much current passes through it (the brightness). This means that if you want a bright white light, then more current will pass through than if you wanted something closer to daylight intensity level (we'll get into this later). You can adjust this level either manually or via an app on your smartphone or computer; but remember—if it's too dim for whatever reason (like when someone else is sleeping), don't worry too much because there are other ways around this issue! For example, some models have temperature control options which allow users to alter their brightness levels depending on whether they're home alone vs sharing with others who might want less than what's needed from time-to-time."

Choose Compatibility With Your Smart Home System

Make sure your smart light bulbs are compatible with the smart home systems you want to use.

If you're an Alexa or Google Assistant user, check out these products from Philips Hue. They're a little pricey but well worth it if you want your home to be fully automated (and maybe even a little bit sci-fi). If that's not what's going on in your life, though, don't worry about it—you can still get great lighting ideas from some of these other brands! For example: Nest uses ZigBee technology to communicate between its devices and their owners' smartphone apps; SmartThings uses Z-Wave technology; Wink enables users' homes or businesses via IFTTT integration (which means they'll work together with other popular programs like Tasker).

Know the Smart Lightbulb Brands

Philips Hue
LIFX
Sengled (formerly LIFUL)
Nanoleaf (formerly Nanoleaf)

The rest of this list is made up of smart lightbulbs that aren't necessarily brand-specific, but rather work with other brands. If you want to know more about them and their features, check out our guide to some of the best smart bulbs on Amazon—and don't forget to let us know what your favorite one is!

Consider Wattage

When it comes to choosing a smart bulb, you have a lot of options. You can choose from incandescent bulbs and halogen bulbs, which both use electricity to produce light (and which are typically not considered “smart”). Or you can go with an LED light bulb, which uses very little energy and lasts much longer than other types of lighting. But if you want something that's both easy-to-use and efficient—which means using less electricity—the best option may be a fluorescent or Xenon bulb. These types of bulbs tend to use less electricity than even incandescent lights do because they don't require as much juice as traditional lighting does when compared with other varieties like CFLs or Votive candles; instead they rely solely on their own internal heat source for illumination purposes!

Consider Color Temperature

Color temperature is measured in Kelvin, and it's a measure of how much heat a bulb produces. The higher the color temperature, the more blue or greenish-blue light appears; if you want to see more yellowish or orange colors like candle flames, then you should go for a lower number (like 5000K).

The best way to think about this is that if you're looking for something warm and cozy during winter months (and don't mind paying extra for it), then choose an LED bulb with a high color temperature that puts out lots of warm white light. Conversely, if your house needs some extra brightness but doesn't get too hot during summertime heat waves (or if you enjoy feeling cool), then consider picking up an LED bulb with a low number like 3000K or 4000K—they'll produce less intense yet still bright whites without giving off any noticeable warmth whatsoever

Decide on Smart Light Bulb Dimming Options

First things first: you need a smart light bulb. There are two types of bulbs—dimmable and non-dimmable. Dimmable means that the bulb can be dimmed with an app or via an app on your phone. Non-dimmable bulbs can only be controlled by their physical presence in front of the bulb (like an app).

Now that we've covered what type of smart lighting options there are, let's talk about how they work! The best way for most people to familiarize themselves with these options is by looking at them in action on Amazon's homepage or Google shopping results page (or wherever else you buy stuff online).

When viewing these images from different angles, it's easy to see which ones have better lighting quality than others—and whether they're compatible with each other based on specifications like brightness level or color temperature range capabilities

Consider Smart Light Bulb App Control

Smart light bulbs can be controlled using an app. The app can be used to set schedules, timers and other settings. It can also be used to control the lights remotely, so you don't have to get up from your couch or bed all day long just because a particular bulb goes out while you're watching TV (so gross).

The best part? These apps are free! You can even create groups of smart bulbs so that if one goes out, others in the group will take over its duties until it comes back online again at its regular time (or until someone calls for backup).

Choose Voice Control for Your Smart Light Bulbs

Voice control is an increasingly popular way to control your smart lights. You can do it with an Amazon Alexa device or Google Home, and it's easy to set up.

Voice control works by using the built-in microphone on your phone or tablet and apps like Siri, which are included with iOS 11 devices (iPhone 7/8 Plus/XR/XS Max) and Android phones running 6.0 Marshmallow or newer; or Cortana (Microsoft). Once you've downloaded these apps onto your phone, they'll speak through the speaker so that you can hear when something happens in your room at home. If someone calls out "Alexa," ask them what they need help with!

Choose Remote Control for Your Smart Light Bulbs

Remote control smart light bulbs are great for hard to reach areas of your home. They can also be used when you are away from home, or if you want to set the mood for a special occasion. The remote control allows you to adjust brightness and color temperature remotely through wireless technology that communicates with the bulb’s internal components wirelessly.

Choose Energy Efficiency for Your Smart Light Bulbs

We’ve covered a lot of ground in this article, so let’s take a moment to recap. Smart light bulbs are the future of home lighting—they can be programmed to turn on when you come home and off when you leave, they have built-in Wi-Fi capabilities, and they use LED technology (which lasts longer than incandescent bulbs).

But what should you look for when choosing a smart bulb? The first thing is an Energy Star logo—this indicates that the bulb meets strict energy efficiency standards set by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). If a company advertises that its product meets these standards but doesn't have an Energy Star logo on it, then don't buy it! Secondarily important is lumen per watt rating: The higher number here means better performance and more savings on your electricity bill going forward!

Consider Cost of the Bulb and Installation

Cost is important, but it's not the only thing to consider. There are other factors that go into choosing smart light bulbs:

Cost of the bulb. This is obviously a huge factor in any purchase decision, but you'll also need to consider whether or not you want to pay more for an energy efficient bulb or one with higher lumens (the brightness). Lumens matter because they directly correlate with how much energy your bulb needs—the higher the lumen count, the more expensive it will be. However if you plan on using your smart light bulbs often and have lots of light fixtures around at once then spending more might be worth it! For example if I had six lamps all lit up at once I could get away with buying two LED strips instead of just one because they would last longer than standard incandescent ones would under those same conditions; however if I only needed them for occasional use then getting an LED strip wouldn't make sense since there's no guarantee that it'll last forever either way."

Think About Lifespan of the Bulb and Warranty Options

A smart light bulb is a great investment, but it's important to consider how long you want your new bulb to last before its life begins. If you're looking for something that will last for decades, then you might want to consider getting an incandescent type of light bulb instead.

However, if you're more interested in saving money over time (and who isn't?), then buying one of these newer types of lights is probably ideal for your needs. As long as they're maintained properly and replaced when needed by professionals who know what they're doing, these bulbs should serve their purpose well!

Install the Smart Light Bulbs Correctly for Best Results.

Have the right tools and materials. You'll need to have a screwdriver, an LED light bulb socket, and some extra wire in your possession before you begin installing your new smart lights. You also may want to invest in some brackets or other mounting hardware if you're going to be using these bulbs inside of a ceiling fixture—this will make it easier for you to install them without having to break into the ceiling itself.

If there are any wires running from your hub through its home automation system, check whether those are compatible with each other before attempting installation (or just leave them alone). If something goes wrong during installation (and it almost always does) then at least know that all of the pieces work together as intended!

Think about what you want to do with smart light bulbs and then consider the various features, brands, purposes and compatibility with your smart home system to decide which ones are right for you.

When choosing a smart light bulb, it's important to consider what you want to do with it. Do you want your home to be more relaxing? Or do you want it to be brighter and more efficient? Do those two goals intersect?

Once those questions have been answered, consider the various features, brands and purposes of each model available on the market. There are many different types of light bulbs out there—some are more expensive than others but may offer certain benefits over their cheaper counterparts (for example: Philips Hue). Other models might not fit into any category at all because they're designed specifically for one application or another; these ones usually fall under the umbrella term "smart" due in part by being able-bodied enough to communicate with other devices using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi signals so they can turn themselves off when no one's around (or even better yet automatically dim when nobody's looking).

Conclusion

In summary, we hope that this article has helped you to find the best smart light bulbs for your home. If you think about your lighting goals and the features on offer from different brands, it will be easier to choose which ones are right for you.