Smart lighting for your home offers benefits like energy efficiency and compatibility with many voice-controlled assistants like Amazon Alexa.
But past those few perks, smart lights can also be fun too, bringing a new level of usefulness to the modern technology.
Here are some fun and unique smart lighting products for inside and outside your home.
The Nanoleaf Rhythm Edition is a unique option that combines smart lighting and music. The light panels are triangular, and nine are included in a starter package. Thanks to the unique shape, the panels can be placed in any orientation you'd like on the wall using the included mounting tape.
You can also use the smartphone app to explore different layouts and even preview them in a room using augmented reality technology.
With the smartphone app, you can create different scenes for the lights or even select options from the community. Light control and scene selection are also available through Apple's Siri, Amazon Alexa, and Google Assistant.
The Rhythm module attaches to any light panel and takes the system to a new level. It allows all of the panels to react to different music genres in real-time. The result is a beautiful show for your eyes and ears. No hub is needed, and you can purchase additional panels to increase the size of the on-wall artwork to use up to 30 panels.
- Light panels can show more than 16 million colors and react to music
- Place the panels in any shape imaginable
- Can use up to 30 panels with one controller
- Brand: Nanoleaf
- Integrations: Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Google Assistant
- Hub Required: No
- Music Reactive: Yes
- Multicolor Capable: Yes
- Works with Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Google Assistant
- Attaches to the wall with mounting tape, no drilling required
- Might not be worth it if you’re not a music fan
- Expensive to add additional light panels
The Philips Hue Play is tailor-made for the living room and your television. Philips includes a stand to place the lights near your TV or mounting equipment to place it on the screen's rear. In either location, the light bars can be positioned horizontally or vertically. You can select from 16 million colors to help showcase the room and the content on the screen.
Using the Philips Hue Sync app, you can even match the lights with the movies, music, and games you play. Like other Hue lights and accessories, you can control the Play with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit. As an excellent option, you can add three Play lights on a single power supply.
- Lights can show more than 16 million colors
- Made for placement around a TV or on the rear of the screen with included mounts
- Use up to three lights on a single power supply
- Brand: Philips Hue
- Integrations: Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Google Assistant
- Hub Required: Yes
- Music Reactive: No
- Multicolor Capable: Yes
- Part of the large and popular Hue ecosystem of lights and accessories
- Works with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit
- Requires use of the additional Philips Hue hub
The Sengled Solo Color Smart Music Bulb combines smart lighting and music in one package. The light bulb also features a built-in Bluetooth speaker. Just plug the light into any A19 socket to power the bulb and speaker.
With the smartphone app, you can select from 16 million different colors to brighten up a room and control music. You can also control the music via any Amazon Alexa device. One of the best features of the light is an automatic sleep timer.
You can fall asleep to music, and both the tunes and light will switch off after a preset amount of time. The rhythm mode will also sync the light up to whatever music is playing. As a nice touch, it is possible to play music even while the light is completely off.
- Combines a smart light and Bluetooth speaker
- The rhythm feature changes colors to the beat of the music
- Control light and music with companion smartphone app
- Brand: Sengled
- Integrations: Amazon Alexa
- Hub Required: No
- Music Reactive: Yes
- Multicolor Capable: Yes
- Fits a standard A19 socket
- Inexpensive compared to other smart lighting options
- No Wi-Fi support so can't be controlled away from home
- Alexa can only control the music and not the light itself
Smart lighting isn't just for inside your home. The Philips Hue Econic Outdoor is weatherproof and can withstand the elements while providing up to 1,150 lumens of light. The included hardware makes it easy for you to install the light on a wall or ceiling for maximum flexibility around a home.
The light is part of the popular and large Hue ecosystem. You can control the lights with popular smart home protocols Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit.
- Can be used as a wall or ceiling light
- Weatherproof design can withstand the elements
- Users can select from 16 million colors and 50,000 shades of white
- Brand: Philips Hue
- Integrations: Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Google Assistant
- Hub Required: Yes
- Music Reactive: No
- Multicolor Capable: Yes
- Part of the large and popular Hue ecosystem of lights and accessories
- Works with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit
- Must be hardwired
- Requires use of the additional Philips Hue hub
Smart lighting can also be used as a part of a more extensive security system for your home. The Ring Pathlight Starter Kit includes the required bridge to place indoors along with two outdoor lights. Powered by four D-cell batteries, each light automatically works from dusk to dawn.
Under regular use, the lights can go for up to a year before changing the cells. There are no wires involved, so that you can install the lights almost anywhere around your home. When motion is detected, from up to 15 feet away, the lights will automatically turn on.
The lights can also interact with Ring camera or doorbells and request that video begin recording on motion detection. You can adjust the motion sensitivity and turn the lights on and off through the Ring smartphone app or Amazon Alexa.
- Up to one year of battery life in normal conditions
- Can activate a Ring cameras when the lights detect motion
- You can add additional pathlights if needed
- Brand: Ring
- Integrations: Amazon Alexa
- Hub Required: Yes
- Music Reactive: No
- Multicolor Capable: No
- Easy installation and can be placed almost anywhere outdoors
- Adjust brightness and motion sensitive in Ring smartphone app
- Can group lights together
- Most useful for users with other Ring products
- Only compatible with Amazon Alexa
The Kasa Smart Wi-Fi LED Filament Bulb is an easy and inexpensive way to get started with smart lighting. The bulb fits any standard A19 socket and features an old-school design with an exposed filament.
You can control and dim the soft white bulb with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, or the Kasa smartphone app. You don't need any additional hubs to control the light as it directly connects via Wi-Fi. The bulb can also be grouped with other Kasa devices so you can easily manage all of them simultaneously.
- Exposed filament design looks great in open sockets
- Fits a standard A19 socket
- Can be dimmed
- Brand: Kasa
- Integrations: Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant
- Hub Required: No
- Music Reactive: No
- Multicolor Capable: No
- Use Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, or smartphone app to control light
- No hub needed
- Not compatible with Apple HomeKit
- The filament design can't be seen in some lamps
The circular shape isn't the only unique feature of the C by GE Sol. The smart light can also be used as a standalone Amazon Alexa device. This means you accomplish tasks like controlling the light, setting timers, and interacting with other smart home devices with just your voice.
The shape of the light also allows you to activate a visual clock and timer. At night, the light can switch into a unique mode that will change the brightness and color to help you get a better night's sleep. The light offers several different white hues too.
- Can be used as a standalone Amazon Alexa device
- Control the light and other smart home devices with just a voice command
- The light provides visual cues for options like clocks and timers
- Brand: GE
- Integrations: Amazon Alexa
- Hub Required: No
- Music Reactive: No
- Multicolor Capable: No
- A privacy option disconnects the microphone
- 360-degree omnidirectional audio helps the speaker fill a room
- A special light mode will help natural circadian rhythms by changing the light’s color during the day
- Unique shape might not be for everyone
- Not compatible with Apple HomeKit or Google Assistant
FAQ
Q: Does Smart Lighting Work With Normal Switches?
This is important to know, especially if you're just starting with smart lighting. The good news is that if your previous light worked with a switch, so will the smart version.
Smart lighting will also provide other ways to control the light source like through a smartphone app or smart home assistant like Amazon Alexa.
Q: Does Smart Lighting Work Without Wi-Fi?
Another important part of smart lighting is Wi-Fi. If your smart light isn't tied to a switch, it won't work without a wireless signal.
Wi-Fi is needed to control the lights via a smartphone app or smart home assistant. If the lighting uses a regular switch, you will be able to turn it on and off without a wireless signal. But it won't be possible to use other features like changing the bulb color.
Q: Does Smart Lighting Use Electricity When Off?
Smart lighting can help save money on electricity since you can set schedules for a light and turn it off for anywhere. But there is a downside.
Since the smart device is more than just a light source, it does use a very small amount of electricity when turned off. That's because the smart light's Wi-Fi component needs to stay on so it can communicate with the home network and receive commands to turn on.
