Complete guide to smart lighting

jason rany
4 min readNov 4, 2022

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Self-monitoring, analysis, and reporting technology is referred to as “SMART” in technology. Your home’s lighting fixtures can expand their capabilities thanks to smart technology. Smart lighting systems can, at their most basic level, be remotely controlled, most frequently using an app that you use on your smartphone or computer.

Smart lighting typically uses various kinds of wireless transmissions to send and receive their signals in order for this to work. Smart lighting can connect to your smart home hub using Bluetooth connectivity or built-in Wi-Fi radios to connect directly to your router. Other smart lighting alternatives have illumination and motion sensors that, depending on the quantity of light detected or the presence of people and movement in an area, will automatically turn on and off.

These convenient features can cut down on energy waste caused by mistakenly keeping lights on in an empty house. Numerous smart lighting choices are available to homeowners, ranging from dimmable switches, smart light bulbs, and lamps, to systems that control the lighting throughout the entire house.

What Kinds of Smart Lighting Exist?

We’ll quickly go through a few of the most well-liked categories of smart lighting alternatives below.

Smart Lighting:

At its most basic, a single smart light bulb can be plugged into an existing socket and then paired with your home’s Wi-Fi network. Homeowners can use a specific smartphone app to regulate these individual bulbs thanks to this capability.

The number of individual smart light bulbs to install, as well as the space where they’d be most useful, are your choices. Additional capabilities offered by many smart light bulb models include programmable scheduling, mood-based lighting schemes, and adjustable brightness.

Smart Lights Controlled by a Hub:

Smart lights with hub controllers typically have a wider range of functionality and can serve as a whole-house smart lighting system. This kind of smart lighting system requires careful sourcing to assure compatibility with the smart home hub you select. If this, then those (IFTTT) apps can be used with hub-controlled smart lights in homes with a variety of smart devices.

For instance, you can set up your smart lighting to adjust colors based on internal temperatures or even external weather conditions (purple rain, for all those Prince lovers, for example).

What Kind of Energy Savings Are Possible with Smart Lighting?

The fact that the improved controllability of smart lighting solutions saves energy consumption is one of their most important benefits. When no movement is detected in the house, smart bulbs connected to an app, for instance, can notify you if a light has been left on and prompt you to turn it off.

The majority of smart lighting devices are designed to work with LED lighting fixtures, which are 25% more durable and 75% more efficient than conventional incandescent bulbs. The type of lighting fixtures you already have in your home as well as the actions and habits of the homeowner will determine the precise amount you could save by switching to smart lighting.

Can Smart Lighting Help You Feel Better?

Some smart lighting systems can do more than just lower your energy costs and make sure your house is lit when you get home. Recent studies have examined the detrimental effects of blue illumination on our melatonin levels and sleep cycles. Circadian rhythms have been demonstrated to be disturbed by the chilly, white light produced by many LED lamps.

This can eventually result in health issues brought on by irregular sleeping patterns. Many businesses are starting to create intelligent lighting items that change colors throughout the evening and night to aid in lulling us to sleep with warm hues. Smart light bulbs and lamps with dedicated night modes provide a distinctive atmosphere.

How Long Is the Life of Smart Lighting?

Almost all smart lighting products are made to work with LED lighting technology. According to this data, the typical smart light bulb will last for 15 to 25 years, or 15,000 to 25,000 hours. Smart LED lights may occasionally have theoretically shorter lifespan than non-smart LED lighting. They are still far more durable than previous incandescent bulbs, though.

What Are Smart Lighting’s Advantages and Disadvantages?

Smart lighting solutions can assist homeowners in reducing their energy consumption and ensuring that lights are not left on for extended periods when they are not at home. Homeowners may also regulate their lighting while away from their residence thanks to sensors and remote-control technologies.

These elements can increase a home’s security level and ensure you never have to scramble about in the dark looking for a light switch. Your home’s color scheme can be adjusted with smart lighting to enhance mood and ambiance. These qualities can also prevent your circadian rhythms from being disturbed.

On the negative, homeowners who do not currently use other hub-connected smart home devices may need to invest more money in smart lighting goods, especially hub-controlled systems. Additionally, although the difference is small, smart light bulbs may occasionally use a little bit more electricity and have a somewhat shorter lifespan than standard LED illumination.

Luminaries, lighting architecture, and lighting control technology by Cabsy make up a smart lighting solution. Together, they form a clever solution that enables you to use light where and when it is needed, saving a lot of energy and providing a variety of additional advantages. With automated lighting, you may save energy by using lights and lighting levels only when necessary. Users can lower their electrical bills by only using the energy they actually need. For convenience, lighting can be integrated with other automated systems, such as a home security system.

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