Home technology expert Ross Trethewey shares some home smart light products that are on the market today. He demonstrates uses with smart light switches, smart bulbs, and strip lights that react to sound.
Smart Lighting: Explained
Smart light technology is a huge boost to home convenience and enjoyment. By equipping a home with smart lighting, users can program their lights to turn on and off as they wish, control them with their voice, or even change colors and set moods.
There Are Three Options
There are three options for creating a smart lighting setup in a home. The first is to replace existing light switches with smart switches, which contain the WiFi chip and relays inside them, and they completely replace the existing switch. The other option is to install a smart relay on an existing switch, converting existing switches into smart devices. The other option is to use smart bulbs, which contain the WiFi chip inside them and don’t require any wiring.
Switches or Relays
Smart switches do keep everything neat and tidy, but they’re not always the best solution. For example, if you’re only replacing one switch, adding a relay allows you to retain your existing switch so it matches with the rest of the house. Also, some smart switches might only work with certain smart devices, keeping homeowners in a narrow lane of possibilities.
What Can You Do with Smart Lighting?
Smart lighting is all about convenience (with a bit of entertainment flair mixed in). You can use them to set schedules, such as turning on and off at specific times during the day. They’re also voice or app controllable, allowing users to control them with their voice or phone.
There are even more possibilities with smart bulbs. With these, you can program the bulbs to brighten or dim, and you can also change the color or warmth. This helps with setting scenes automatically.
There is even a music mode on some LED light strips that will flash and intensify with music for a party-like scene.
Resources
Most smart lights use their own apps to control them. Features include turning on and off the lights, adjusting the color, dimming, automatic timers, and more. Ross used the Caséta by Lutron system and app to demonstrate turning off an exterior light from a phone.
Ross also showed how to create moods by changing the color of a light bulb. He used Phillips Hue light bulbs and their app.
After he showed a Roku Smart TV with Roku Smart Light Strips behind the television. The strip lights can sync to sound, have millions of color options, and can be programmed to have custom schedules, sleep mode, or vacation mode.