These are LED lamps or bulbs that can be controlled directly from the smartphone or by voice (if compatible and integrated with a smart speaker such as Amazon Echo or Google Home). These can function either as normal white (or yellow) light or as colored light, meeting your needs and requirements.
They easily connect to the home WiFi network and, via the integrated app downloadable on Android and iOS, allow remote control of lights. With these devices, it is, therefore, possible to create a wireless lighting system without the intervention of a professional.
Right below we had listed out the latest and advanced quality smart wifi lights.
Buyer Guide to Choose the Best Smart Wifi Lights
Smart Light Bulb Installation: Is It Difficult?
Absolutely not. Simply replace the old bulb with the connected one, download the dedicated app and you’re done. Obviously, for the smart light to work, the physical switch that controls it must be in On mode, otherwise, you will not be able to control it. Now we know what a WiFi light is. But what are its advantages and why is it convenient to manage wireless lighting?
Energy Saving
LED lights in themselves consume much less than a normal incandescent bulb. So imagine this combined with the possibility of being able to program the lighting according to your presence inside the house … result: reduced costs and savings on the electricity bill. The purchase of a WiFi light bulb should not, therefore, be considered a cost, but an investment that will be repaid over time.
Control
The WiFi lamps allow lighting control from a smartphone or, as anticipated, by voice. Remote control of lights brings undeniable advantages in terms of comfort and flexibility.
- Light control from a smartphone
- Control of lights from a smartphone
In fact, you can manage the lighting from wherever you are, even thousands of kilometers away. Furthermore, thanks to the integration with smart speakers, you can also use only the voice.
Outdoor Spaces
If you own a garden, switching to a WiFi lighting system is the wisest choice you could make. You will have total control of the lights of your outdoor space, being able to illuminate some areas rather than others. More granular and precise management.
Integration
Not only control and reduced costs but also comfort. This certainly thanks to the integration with home automation systems, as well as motion and presence sensors. You will no longer have to move a finger to turn on the light, but your presence in the house will be enough to activate the lighting.
A Light for Every Occasion
Most WiFi lights and bulbs offer a selection of colors to choose from (for example with Philips Hue, up to 16 million colors can be chosen). A smart light bulb is therefore also a piece of furniture.
Moreover, every moment needs its light: a romantic dinner wants a warm and soft light, while dining with friends certainly requires more lively lighting. In addition, some smart bulbs allow you to preset scenes (for example, “movies” or, precisely, “romantic dinner”, which can be fully integrated with other smart products in the home).
How to Choose Smart Bulbs?
Color: Colored or White Bulbs?
One of the first factors to consider before purchasing a WiFi light bulb is certainly the range of colors available . In fact, you can choose between a multicolor or white smart bulb. Obviously, the best WiFi bulbs on the market are those that guarantee a wide combination of colors to choose from and adequate power.
So by combining red, green, and blue, these bulbs offer the possibility to choose from about 16 million different combinations. On the contrary, single-color lights are more limited from this point of view, but cost less on average.
Power
We have always been used to evaluating the power of a bulb by the number of watts. However, the latter indicates how much energy a light uses and not how much it actually emits.
So, to better understand the level of brightness at which a smart LED bulb reaches, it is advisable to use another unit of measurement: the lumen. The number of lumens indicates the amount of light visible to a human eye.
Therefore, the higher the number, the greater the brightness of the light. So, with LED bulbs, it is possible to have a light source of good intensity, with a significantly lower energy consumption compared to traditional incandescent bulbs.
Voice Control
The advent of voice assistants and smart speakers brought the possibility of voice control of connected devices to the fore . In order to turn the light on and off only with your voice, however, the bulb must be compatible with Alexa, Google Assistant, or Siri voice assistants.
Don’t worry, most of the WiFi bulbs on the market are compatible with this artificial intelligence. This also allows you to insert the bulbs into an ecosystem of connected products that interact in synergy with each other.
For example, with Alexa or Google Assistant routines, it will be possible to set a series of actions by different devices, with a single voice command.
Dimmable Wi-Fi Bulbs
The best smart bulbs have the ability to be dimmed. In other words, if a light is dimmable it is possible to adjust its intensity so that it emits only the desired amount of light. In other words, they are bulbs with remote control.
- Dimmable Wifi Light
- Dimmer for Lights
This feature is very useful and interesting in case you want to create a particular atmosphere, or you simply don’t need the full potential of the bulb. Or, with some bulbs it is possible to set the “natural awakening” mode, with which the light will automatically increase in intensity, replicating the trend of that of the sun.
Presence of Bridge
Not all smart bulbs connect directly to the WiFi network. Some, for example, Philips Hue, need a central hub (“Bridge”), from which a large number of light points can be managed in an integrated and organized way.
So in this case the hub will be connected to the WiFi and will transmit the signal (for example Zigbee or Z-Wave) to the bulbs. Hubs are useful if you want to create a really complex wireless lighting system, perhaps that also includes outdoor spaces, so you can easily control each area.
If, on the other hand, you need a simpler configuration, for example, 1-2 smart bulbs, you can move towards products such as Yeelight, which offer good performance to native WiFi connectivity. Just install the bulb, connect it to WiFi via the app and it will be ready for direct control.
Frequently Asked Question
What Are Smart or Wi-Fi Bulbs / Lights?
Smart bulbs/lights are devices equipped with WiFi / Bluetooth connectivity or other types of connectivity (in this case they require hubs) that allow them to be controlled remotely via smartphone or vocally (if compatible). In addition, they offer several advanced features (multiple colors, scenarios, geolocation, scenarios, etc.).
How Does a Smart Light Bulb Work?
A smart light bulb is used as a normal light bulb: once screwed in, simply configure it via the dedicated smartphone app. Most intelligent light bulbs offer different color combinations, some will also adapt to the time of music and work within scenarios (night, cinema, studio, day, etc.).
Do Smart Bulbs Require a Hub?
Most smart bulbs don’t require hubs, as they have WiFi connectivity. There are however some models, usually the most complex ones or belonging to a specific brand/ecosystem, which requires a home automation hub, with which they communicate using a different protocol (for example Zigbee).
An example is Philips Hue. Just a smartphone or tablet and WiFi connection to control your bulbs, lamps, spotlights, and intelligent outdoor lights.