It might be confusing to sort through all of the available options for smart home lighting. The following outlines the primary distinctions between various smart lighting standards and highlights factors to think about prior to making a purchase.
Everyone appears to be selling smart lighting equipment, from large box and niche retailers to neighborhood food markets. Not to mention the numerous internet shops that are available! It shouldn’t be surprising that additional manufacturers are joining in on the fun given how many sellers are offering these goods. Nevertheless, as a result, it is more difficult to distinguish between different smart lighting options.
Thank goodness we did the homework for you.
The three most common standards for smart home lighting are discussed in this article along with some examples of each. Then, you’ll be better able to choose which choices are ideal for your house and way of life.
What Constitutes a Smart Light Bulb?
Smart lighting systems include automatic controls that may alter based on external factors such as occupancy or daylight availability, in contrast to conventional LED bulbs, which are also energy-efficient.
You can tell if a lighting device is smart by looking at two straightforward giveaways. The product will first have the word “Smart” anywhere in its name. Second, scan the product’s description for information that suggests it may be controlled via an app.
All of your smart lighting fixtures should be able to communicate with your network and other devices wirelessly. Three automation protocols have become more popular among manufacturers: Bluetooth Smart, Wi-Fi, and ZigBee. This article will tell you how to choose between WiFi smart bulbs and Bluetooth light bulbs.
Smart Lighting Controlled by Bluetooth
The initial version of Bluetooth Smart, also known as Bluetooth Low Energy, was released in 2011 under the name “Bluetooth 4.0.” This Bluetooth standard is a wireless personal area network technology created for use in the home and healthcare, fitness, and security sectors. It is an extension of conventional Bluetooth.
Bluetooth Smart consumes extremely minimal energy and runs in the 2.4GHz ISM band, as its name would imply. As a result, it connects quickly and offers a high data rate. The reason it consumes so little power is that it then enters “sleep mode” until a connection is restored.
Pros: Unlike ZigBee, using Bluetooth Smart light bulbs doesn’t require the purchase of a separate hub, as you’ll see below. You can converse alternatively by using your smartphone or other controllers. If you don’t care what brand of smart lighting items you buy or if you prefer to mix and match, this approach makes sense. The cost of Bluetooth Smart lighting is typically less than that of lights that operate with other protocols.
Cons: When you’re outside of Bluetooth Smart’s range, you can’t control gadgets. Thus you cannot control your lights from outside your home. Instead, you must set them to turn on and off at specific times PRIOR to leaving your house.
One phone at a time may only be linked to a light using Bluetooth Smart, which is another restriction. Hence, only one device at a time may connect to and operate the bulbs if you have many devices in your house.
Smart Lighting Controlled by WiFi
Most likely, Wi-Fi comes to mind when you consider home networking. The majority of us use this protocol to link all of our various devices—including computers, smartphones, smart TVs, controllers for video games, and much more—to the outside world.
Wi-Fi consumes a significant amount of computing power, although this is not a concern for devices that can be recharged overnight. For smart home items like lightbulbs, window sensors, and the like, it hasn’t always been the best option. Yet because of increased energy efficiency, Wi-Fi solutions have become more and more popular recently.
Pros:: Wi-Fi lights may be used everywhere a Wi-Fi connection is available. Moreover, since Wi-Fi links to the web, you can manage these lights from anywhere in the world.
Cons: You are unable to manage these bulbs if your Wi-Fi is unavailable for any reason. It’s also crucial to remember that Wi-Fi lighting typically costs more than other options.
Excellent Wi-Fi Lighting Options
B22, E14, E27, and Gu10 LED Bulbs are among the entire range of intelligent lighting options that Lepro provides. The color temperature of the Lepro Smart WiFi Light Bulb may be adjusted from 2700 to 6500 kelvin, and it offers 16 million different color options (warm to cool white).
