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These Smart Light Bulbs Will Make Lighting Your Home So Much Easier
When it comes to adding light to your home, being environmentally and financially conscious is a bright idea (get it?). Though there are a variety of lighting types — for example, conventional, LED, and even string — the best smart light bulbs are, well, the smartest.
What To Look For In Smart Light Bulbs
- Device compatibility. Many of them work across smartphones and Alexa-enabled devices, so you'll want to make sure the bulbs you choose will work with your at-home technology.
- Set up. Some smart light bulbs require a hub or an app to operate, while others don't. You have to decide what works best for you.
- Easy-to-use features. For example, do you need voice control or are you OK with tapping your phone? Do you want to take your light with you on the go?
These are all important factors, and before you get too overwhelmed, know this — I'm here to help you on your smart light bulb quest. I've already done all the research for you, and if you keep reading, you'll find a list of my top picks guaranteed to improve your home... and fatten up your wallet. Once you've added your favorites to your Amazon cart, check out the best outdoor string lights.
1The Best Smart Light Bulbs Starter Kit That Comes With Everything You Need
Affordable, simple, and easy to use, this kit of four smart LED light bulbs by Sengled comes with a hub and an Ethernet cable, making it a great value. The bulbs have an optional voice control feature and are super efficient, with a lifespan of up to 25,000 hours. And if you have an iPhone, get this: Everything can be controlled and viewed right in your device's built-in Home App. So easy. Plus, because the hub and cable are included in the kit, you don't have to worry about any external connections or add-ons.
Compatible with: Amazon Alexa, Android, Apple HomeKit, Google Assistant, and more.
What fans say: "These lights were super simple to set up. Simply plug the base station into your router, download the app and follow the in app instructions which including entering your WiFi password. The two lights that come with the base station kit are already paired to the base station so all you do is put them in a lamp and you are all ready to go. I was worried that the lights might not work at a distance (from my basement router to my garage exterior) but that was not a problem either."
2A Splurge-Worthy, Feature-Packed Light Bulb That Doesn't Require A Hub
With a reported lifespan of about 22 years, LIFX's Smart LED Bulbs began as a Kickstarter project and now rival their more established competitors. They're great for beam and tile lighting (aka they can be hung or arranged on a wall), and, despite their loftier price per bulb, here's one special spec that makes them totally worth the splurge: They have built-in Wi-Fi capabilities, which means they don't require a hub to work.
Compatible with: Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Google Assistant, LIFX App, Nest, and more.
What fans say: "This bulb functions well with my Alexa device, Only issue is that I would not recommend consistently having brightness within 90-100% as it may heat up your bulb and cause loss in connectivity, as mine does that. Other than that these lights are extremely bright enough to illuminate and will do the job with your Alexa voice assistant or the LIFX App."
3A Portable Smart Light That You Can Take Anywhere
The Phillips Hue Portable LED Smart Light is the perfect take-anywhere bulb. It comes with lots of color options and other "smart" features including optional voice control and Philips-app-compatible functions. What sets it apart, however, is that it can operate with or without an outlet. It lasts up to three hours when fully charged and has an overall lifespan of 20,000 hours. It has seven lighting effects — from warm white to daylight — and can be turned on with the push of a button.
Compatible with: Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Nest, Philips systems (Hue and Bridge), and more.
What fans say: "Added some automation to my home. Love being able to have Siri set the brightness level. I use 3 primary settings. One when I wake up so I can see on my way out the door, one that lights up the house when I hit the Geofence (no more leaving on the lights or coming home to a dark house!), and finally, one that gives off a warm color set to wind down at the end of the night. Totally worth it!"
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