Smart lighting is taking the lighting industry by storm, revolutionising the way that we can illuminate our homes, gardens, businesses, and commercial properties. But how does smart smart lighting work? And importantly, how can you make it work for you?
If you’re interested in getting ideas for this innovative lighting solution, the team at Vision Lighting have put together a handy guide to demonstrate how smart lighting could work for you. Need a hand getting to grips with what smart lighting is first? No problem, we have a guide for that.
How Does Smart Lighting work?
Smart lighting takes many different forms, with new smart lighting technology emerging all the time, as we integrate more technology into our daily lives. Smart lighting essentially gives you the ability to communicate with a lighting system remotely, using sensors and home networks. They’re usually controlled by an app or home assistant.
When answering ‘how does smart lighting work?’ it’s important to bear in mind that the real answer lies in how you want it to work. Smart lighting makes it easy to design your lighting to meet your personal needs and preferences. There are hundreds of applications, some of which we dig into here.
Now that we’ve answered the important question of how smart lighting works, let’s get into some bright ideas for how smart lighting could work for you!
The Benefits of Smart Home Lighting
Colour Control
Change the colour or colour temperatures of your light bulbs from your smart device.
Whether you want to go from a cool white light to a warm glow - or bright red to pale blue - smart lighting allows you to experiment with your creative LED lighting ideas for your space. Colour control is very effective for mood lighting at home as well as for lights that serve a variety of purposes in retail settings.
Switch Control
No more standing up to flick the wall light switch on and off!
With smart lighting you can use a single switch on your smart device, known as a smart switch, to turn your lights on and off, or you can even schedule in commands for the future.
This can be particularly useful for people who are less mobile. Also, for times when you are going on holiday this feature is perfect for programming your lights to come on and off, as though you’re at home.
Smart switches can also help you to reduce your energy consumption, electric bills, and carbon footprint as you can automate your lights to come and off and on, or check them remotely. Just load up your app and take a look. If you have left them on, you can switch them off remotely with a simple tap of a button.
Dimming
Not only can you turn your lights on and off, but with compatible devices, you can also learn how to dim LED lights in order to create atmospheric lighting, cinema vibes, or get your body ready for bed. To do so, you will need to make sure that your smart lighting is fitted with a smart dimmer.
How do Smart Bulbs work?
Smart bulbs are proving to be an incredibly popular addition to the ever expanding range of smart lighting innovations. So how does smart lighting work in tandem with smart bulbs?
Here’s the answer: smart bulbs work by being wirelessly connected to their nearest neighbour. This creates an interlinked lighting system. The wireless network plugs into the router, connecting your phone – and home assistant app – direct to the bulbs.
Smart bulbs have some major pros: convenience, customisation, their ability to be automated, and the usefulness of coordinating with home assistant apps. You can also remotely monitor your lights even when you’re outside, giving you another way to remotely switch off any lights you left on by mistake.
Yet, as with all ultra-modern smart technology, it’s important to remember the drawbacks. As smart bulbs are still relatively new to the martyr, they can be expensive and complex to install. Also, not all smart bulbs are compatible with all home assistant apps or smart devices so check they work with your set-up. Wi-Fi drops and power outages impact their function, too.
Think carefully about what you need, and how smart lights can benefit your home before purchase. It’s a good idea to mull over whether smart bulbs or smart switches would serve your purposes better.
Easy Ways to Use Smart Lighting in Your Home or Business
Smart lighting is - well - smart! There’s no shortage of options for how to integrate automated lighting into your life in order to get the best results. To help you in your choices, here are a few easy ways to use smart lighting in your home or business.
Optimising Sleep
Having bright lights on before bed is medically proven to suppress melatonin production. This can then affect your body’s circadian rhythm, otherwise known as your internal body clock. Your circadian rhythm is what helps you to sleep at night and stay alert during the day, responding to changes in the light.
In order to optimise both your sleeping patterns and your alertness, you should stick to dimmed, warm lighting before bed and brighter, blue-white lights in the morning. With smart lighting, you can programme all of this to happen automatically.
Simply connect your smart lighting to the app on your smartphone. Then, schedule your bedroom lights to turn on at the same time as your morning alarm, begin to dim when you usually get into bed, and turn off at your bedtime.
If your lighting also has a colour-changing function, you can also programme it to glow a warmer colour as it dims to get your body ready for a good night’s sleep, then a cooler colour when it turns back on to wake you up in the morning.
Mood Lighting
Smart lighting can create an instant lighting scene at the press of a button. Most smart lighting will have preset functions to represent certain moods, such as relaxed, romantic, and happy. If not, you can play around with the brightness and colour of your lights to create the perfect LED mood lighting for every occasion.
Pools & Water Features
Smart lighting is so versatile, that bulbs also come in waterproof variations. Use them to add colour to your pool outside, or any water features in your outdoor space. Some homeowners decide to install smart bulbs to showerheads and faucets for a cool atmosphere in their bathrooms.
Accessibility
For people with reduced mobility, smart lighting can be an incredibly useful tool. If you are trying to improve the accessibility of your home or business, smart lighting can allow users to effectively control the lighting from their phones, without having to reach up to physically use a light switch.
This is particularly useful for people who need round-the-clock support. Lights can be operated from the comfort of a bed or wheelchair, eliminating the extra hassle of having to move around. This can increase independence and ultimately quality of life.
Going On Holiday
Many of us panic that, whilst we are away on holiday, our home may be left vulnerable to criminals. However, with smart lighting, you can programme your lights to turn on and off throughout the day, making it appear as though you are at home.
This also means that you never have to worry about whether you accidentally left the lights on. You can just log into your app, load up your linked lights, and switch them on and off from wherever you are in the world, allowing you to fully relax on your holidays.
Smart Home System
Smart lighting can be used in conjunction with other smart devices such as speakers, burglar alarms, CCTV, thermostats, TVs, and much more to create a comprehensive and bespoke smart home system. Smart homes can be beneficial both for entertainment and home security purposes.
Home Security
Smart lighting can also be used for home security. Consider using motion-activated smart bulbs in vulnerable areas around your property, like entryways, dark corners and the back garden. This can help to deter potential intruders.
Through the hub of your home assistant app, consider connecting smart lighting to your home security system – for instance to make lights flash in response to alarm activation to make your neighbours aware of danger.
The higher your smart light’s IP rating, the better it will be at remaining in good condition, and able to protect your home for longer. IP stands for ‘Ingress Protection', where light bulbs are given two numbers to rate their level of protection against solids and liquids.
Styles of Home Lighting for Your Smart Lights
Smart technology has revolutionised the way we live in our homes, and the invention of smart lights are no different. Many people wonder about the benefits of smart home lighting, and specifically how to make smart lighting work for them.
The important thing to know is that smart lighting is endlessly adaptable and should be used to help you get the best out of your space. Using smart lights, you can take advantage of different styles of lighting techniques to ‘spruce up’ your home set-up, such as:
- General Lighting - Lighting that mimics natural light in a room or space
- Task Lighting - This helps focus attention a particular task space
- Accent Lighting - This directs a viewer’s gaze to a particular aspect of a space, usually decorative or atmospheric
Smart Lighting Ideas for Around the Home
One of the fun benefits of smart lighting are the different ways to customise it to suit your space. Here are some interesting ways to use smart lighting around your home:
Crown Moulding Lighting - Smart light bulbs or LED strips attached to a smart switch can light around the crown moulding in your property, adding definition and visual interest from above.
Under Cabinet - Under cabinet lighting is highly functional, casting away shadows by giving an ambient glow to your kitchen, bathroom – or, for commercial spaces – product displays.
Walk In Wardrobes - By placing smart light bulbs inside your walk-in wardrobe, you can see your potential outfits in different lighting colours and intensities.
Staircase Lighting - For aesthetic appeal and safety, staircase lighting is a wise investment for any property. Smart lighting can be integrated along the staircase, or incorporated into the handrail, for consistent illumination.
Spotlighting Photos - Draw attention to beloved photographs by ‘spotlighting’ them with smart bulbs, easily positioned at any angle and set to any colour or intensity.
How Can Smart Outdoor Lighting Be Used?
Smart outdoor lighting is both a fantastic solution for all home security and practical needs.
There is nothing worse than coming home from work to find that you forgot to turn the switch for the outdoor lights on, and so can’t see what you are doing - especially when this means you can’t find the door key! However, with smart lighting, you won’t have to worry about this again.
Your smart lighting can be programmed to align exactly with when it turns dark outside. That way you’ll always be able to see what you are doing on those gloomy mornings and dark nights.
You could also use smart outdoor floodlights in conjunction with a motion sensor and CCTV as part of a home security system. LED floodlights can be a fantastic crime deterrent and ensure that your security cameras pick up everything they need.
How Can Smart Lighting Work With Home Assistants?
We don’t blame you for asking yourself the questions – ‘how does smart lighting work’ and, importantly, ‘how can smart lighting work with home assistants?’. After all, it’s all tech we didn’t have even a few years ago. However, it’s well worth integrating into your lighting set-up for true hands-free remote control of your lighting.
Let’s start by demonstrating how smart lighting and home assistants can go hand in hand.
Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple HomeKit are all popular choices for controlling smart lighting.
By installing a home assistant app of your choosing – like any of the above – it’s easy to add your smart lights to your list of devices. The companion app will guide you through the set-up process, though home assistants generally connect to smart devices through a wireless network. Use voice control to change the colour and intensity of your lighting, and even create automated lighting routines for the morning and night!
Home assistants can also be a central hub for controlling other smart devices – coloured LED strip lights, floodlights - all of which could be used as attractive lighting solutions in a smart lighting set-up.
Our experts are always on hand to offer advice about your lighting needs - even if we don’t possess the specialist parts in-house. To discuss your lighting solution today, get in touch with Vision Lighting.