Whilst this is generally the case, do make sure that your back boxes the wall cavities where your light switches are installed are deep enough for the new switch. For instance, Lightwave smart dimmers require at least 35mm of clearance behind the facia, although spacers provided can add an extra 8mm of clearance, if you find yourself in a tight spot.
Some smart light switches may require a neutral wire as well as the customary live present in UK lighting circuits. Whilst in most genuinely retrofittable solutions the installation of the neutral wire and earth is optional as with Lightwave , it is worth checking that the requirements your chosen solution are similar, as the majority of older UK lighting circuits will not include a neutral wire.
By far the most important consideration when installing smart dimmers is the compatibility of the LED lamps that are used with them. This is actually something that is common to all electronic dimmers, smart or otherwise, because, unlike a simple, traditional, incandescent light bulb, LED lamps include their own electronics not all of which works in the same way.
Smart speaker systems such as Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit or Google Home have recently added a whole new dynamic to smart home offerings, as you can now control your smart devices instantly using voice commands without even having to open up your smart app. As this exciting new market expands, you can expect increasing numbers of smart connections to integrate into these platforms and the possibilities for smart home to rapidly develop.
Once you have your smart lights installed, linking to these services is generally quick and easy. To take Alexa for example, all you need to do is to download the Alexa app available on Android or Apple smartphones.
You may even already use this if you have an Amazon Echo or Dot smart speaker. Whilst nothing beats the initial child-like thrill of being able to command your lounge lights using your voice alone, linking your system to a smart speaker is far from just a gimmick and can be immensely practical.
If you've got one of those, adding in lights that your assistant of choice can control is almost a no-brainer, and you'll be able to use them alongside things like cameras, thermostats, and smart security systems. Read more: The best LED floodlights you can buy in Smart lights use wireless transmissions to send and receive their signals, and different bulbs use different methods to get the job done. Some use built-in Wi-Fi radios to connect directly with your router, which lets you control them remotely wherever you have an internet connection.
Others use Bluetooth radios to connect directly with your phone when you're within 50 feet or so. To control bulbs like that from further away, you'll need a Wi-Fi hub to relay their signals to your router and on to you via the cloud.
And then there's Zigbee, which you can think of as a local wireless network for your smart home gadgets. Lots of smart lighting products use Zigbee to send their signals -- if so, then you'll need a Zigbee hub plugged into your router in order to translate those signals for your home network.
Most Zigbee bulbs offer their own version of a hub, and setting them up typically isn't complicated at all, but it does add a little extra expense into the equation. All of that said, things are getting easier. The most notable Zigbee brand, Philips Hue, recently started putting secondary Bluetooth radios into its products , which lets you skip the hub and connect direct with your phone for basic controls.
You'll also find a number of smart home gadgets that double as a Zigbee hub -- most notably the Amazon Echo Plus and the second-gen Amazon Echo Show. Both of those can translate those Zigbee smart bulb signals into something your Wi-Fi router can understand.
Then, in , rising efficiency standards and market-moving government subsidies spurred the industry into action, which led to lots of new options in the lighting aisle. The new competition helped to bring prices down, while the demand from consumers incentivized the industry to keep innovating. The result: LED light bulbs that kept getting better and cheaper. And no, recent efforts to roll those efficiency standards back shouldn't change that reality -- the lighting industry has already moved us into the LED age, and there's no sign that it's interested in reversing course.
Setting your smart lights to fade you to sleep at night or fade you awake in the morning is a great way to put the things to use. Your brain is pretty sensitive to light, which plays a huge role in our sleep cycles. When it's dark for a while, our brain tells us we're tired and that we should go to bed.
When the sun comes up and it gets bright again, our brain senses it and tells us it's time to wake up. Smart lights can help you hack that biological clockwork by simulating a nice, slow sunrise to help ease you out of bed on an early morning. Personally, I also have an easier time falling asleep when I set my bedroom's smart lights to a low setting, then tell them to fade out slowly over 20 minutes.
Lifx bulbs are a good bet for use cases like this, because their best-in-class integration with IFTTT allows you to trigger a customized fade with something like a voice command. It allows remote configuration, status monitoring, management and programming of only the connected lighting devices.
Localized smart lighting is typically a proprietary solution that works independently on its own ecosystem comprised of dedicated hardware and software. For example, a network of smart light fixtures that run on Remote Device Management RDM a 2-way communication protocol based on DMX or proprietary Ethernet protocols is a localized lighting solution.
Any wireless smart lighting system that supports only short range point-to-point communication can be considered a localized smart lighting device. Such devices include smart light bulbs that use the original Bluetooth protocol, known as Bluetooth Classic. Network-based smart lighting goes one step further by standardizing communication protocols to add scalability and interoperability to smart lighting systems while reducing the pain of commissioning and pairing. Ubiquitous smartphone apps, wireless sensor networks and WPAN Wireless Personal Area Networks solutions contributed to the explosive availability of smart lights that allow easy installation and intuitive control.
Smart lighting systems that communicate using standardized wireless protocols such as ZigBee, Z-Wave, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Mesh, and Thread feature excellent scalability and overcome challenges with interoperability.
Such lighting network effortlessly scales from a small number of lighting nodes to highly integrated installations of tens of thousands of smart devices that include not only smart lights, but also occupancy sensors and environmental sensors.
Internet of Things makes smart lighting on steroids. It incorporates processing capabilities, firmware, connectivity and an IP-based architecture to establish communication and interaction between all smart devices and the Internet. IoT unlocks the full potential of connected lighting by harvesting the data from connected sensors to create new insights and actionable information through a highly secure, scalable cloud-based platform.
Compared with network-based smart lighting, IoT-enabled smart lighting scores with higher reliability, scalability, robustness, interoperability, and greater range for point-to-point connections. In IoT applications, lighting devices are either connected directly to the Internet or mediated through local or wide area networks. Smart lighting is designed to provide adaptive illumination with greatly simplified lighting control. A smart light includes a controller or microprocessor that responds to signals generated by computers, smartphones, sensors, time clocks, or other smart devices.
Depending on the control signal sources, smart lighting can have various levels of adaptation. Level 1 — Adaptation based on time scheduling.
This strategy involves using a controller programmed to automate lighting control base on a time event. The time signal is provided by a time clock or software-based intelligence. Level 2 — Adaptation based on sensor activation. Photosensors provide daylight harvesting by measuring an increase in daylight illuminance and dimming or switching off the lights when a threshold is reached. Level 3 — Adaptation initiated by intelligent and integrated systems such as building automation systems BAS , energy management systems EMS , smart home systems, and third party services.
This strategy allows smart lighting to be triggered by a variety of events, which is not possible with self-contained smart lighting systems. For example, connecting a smart light to IFTTT If This Then That , a cloud-based task automation platform, allows you to develop lighting rules based on events created by other smart nodes within a smart home network. These smart nodes can be thermostats, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, security cameras, etc.
Level 4 — Adaptation that uses a mix of above-mentioned strategies. Smart LED lighting offers intriguing possibilities in lighting automation.
Interior lighting can be programmed to change gradually in color temperatures and light intensities over the course of the day in a way that mimics the effects of natural sunlight. Smart matrix LED headlights interact with the car's onboard camera system to regulate light output while integration with GPS makes it possible for the lights to perform predictive high beam control. A smart lighting system designed for commercial or industrial facilities can harness the insights created by an IoT platform to optimize its sensor-controlled operation for enhanced energy efficiency.
These applications require a hybrid approach of adaptive lighting control. As with the concepts of smart lighting, smart lights have a great variation with regards to design considerations and product features because the end-user preferences differ a lot in residential, commercial and outdoor lighting markets. Here's a roundup of smart lighting products targeting these markets.
Smart light bulbs are an entry-level investment for anyone who aspires to explore the delight and magic of smart lighting. The consumer market has an increasing interest in this type of smart lights.
Energy efficiency isn't a compelling feature that appeals to consumers. It's the extraordinary lighting experiences that make them highly admired smart home gadgets. Change the color temperature and intensity to support your natural circadian rhythms with human centric lighting.
Navigate the color palette to create vibrant, colorful scenes. Sync lights to your favorite music, TV and games for an immersive experience. Wake up in the morning with a gentle ambiance. Integrate with motion sensors to add an extra layer of security and safety. Smart light bulbs provide a plug-and-play solution to facilitate your home's transition to smart lighting.
Simply screw the bulb into the sockets of existing fixtures and lamps, no rewiring, no need to hire an electrician. Street lighting is one of the largest energy expenses as well as one of the most valuable assets for a city. Adding intelligence and communications capabilities to street lights enables remote control and management of widely distributed light fixtures from a central management system and makes it possible for aggressive control of the streetlight illuminance.
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