Smart bulbs can be turned on directly from the smartphone and change color depending on the user's need. The cost, however, is high
Once upon a time, controlling light bulbs with your voice or the simple clap of your hands was a science fiction movie scenario. Now, however, it's reality. Home lighting has made great strides by becoming smart and adapting to the needs of the user by eliminating waste and high consumption.
Between the companies that have invested first in this sector related to smart home we certainly find Philips. But lately also Ikea, Hive and many other companies are implementing their solutions in the field of smart bulbs. Most of you at this point will be wondering: how much does it cost me to make a system of lights of this type in my home? But let's take one step at a time and go in order. Let's start by defining the precise meaning of smart lighting. Smart lights are those that you can control and adjust directly from your phone, whether it runs on Android or iOS.
How can we adjust them? Simple, thanks to an app developed by the manufacturers of the bulbs themselves. Through the app we will be able to set the brightness and if the lights have different colors we can also change their shade. In addition, standard brightness adjustments can be set. Such as a bright light for reading, a dim light for dinner or watching a movie on TV.
How smart bulbs work
In order to install a network of smart bulbs, you don't need to make any major changes. Just use your home's current electrical system. The connection for the bulb is no different than the one that is usually used for light points. In addition, each bulb has a wireless connector that allows it to communicate with the nearest other. These in turn connect to the home router. The same router to which our smartphone is also connected. Some smart bulbs also allow remote control. So even from the office we can adjust the lighting of the outdoors or turn on the lights as we get out of the car back home. There are also special smart bulbs that warn us in case of power surges and storms and advise us, on the app, on the actions to be taken.
Smart bulbs and artificial intelligence
To control smart bulbs we can also use virtual assistants, as well as the smartphone. Systems such as Cortana, Siri or Alexa and Google Assistant. With these tools, all we have to do is tell the personal assistant "dim the lights, or set the cinema mode" and the bulbs will take up our voice command.
What are smart bulbs?
There are three different models of smart lights. There are bulbs with standard bulbs, candle bulbs, and spotlights, also known as spotlights. All smart bulbs use LED technology, which uses much less power than classic incandescent bulbs. A standard smart bulb ranges from 5.5W to 9.5W. Which is almost equivalent to a 50-60W incandescent bulb. As mentioned there are white or colored. Obviously, the ones that change color are more expensive.
How much do smart bulbs cost
Let's face it: smart lighting systems are very expensive. Although over time, the costs are getting lower and lower. Still, it's not an expense that pays for itself in a short time. Generally, a pair of bulbs (white) costs around 50-60 euros. While a trio of colored bulbs easily exceeds 130 euros. In practice, if we make a calculation per room it would take about 250-300 euros to illuminate a living room and about half for a bathroom or kitchen. A very high cost that pays for itself in a few years.