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Every once in a while, I get an urge to connect more of my house's lighting to the internet. It's a silly idea on some level--how hard is it, after all, to flick a light switch?--but at their best, smart lights can be a big help.
A set of bulbs outside your home, for instance, can automatically turn on at sunset and off at sunrise. Smart lighting in your bedroom can keep you from stumbling around in the dark after turning off the lights from your wall, and can wake you up in the morning automatically. A spread of smart bulbs around the home can simulate activity when you're on vacation, or ensure that you're not wasting energy by forgetting to turn off the lights. You can even install smart lighting in the living room, and have the lights dim during movie time.
But between bulbs, switches, hubs, and bridges, smart lighting can easily become complicated. If you don't plan ahead, you could end up with more headaches and higher costs in the long run.
The simplest way to get into smart lighting is with Wi-Fi bulbs, such as those from TP-Link or LIFX. Wi-Fi bulbs connect directly to your wireless router, so they don't require any extra hardware, and to install them you only have to unscrew your existing bulb and screw in the new one.
The main downside with Wi-Fi bulbs is the price. TP-Link's basic A19-style bulb costs $20, its wider BR30-style bulb costs $30, and LIFX bulbs are even pricier. In rooms that require lots of bulbs, the costs can quickly add up.
To minimize how much you'll pay, you have a couple options:
You could invest in a smart home hub device such as Samsung SmartThings or Lowe's Iris. (You can also buy Amazon's Echo Plus, a smart speaker that doubles as a smart home hub.) These devices work with bulbs that use a special wireless protocol, called ZigBee, and while the up-front cost of buying a hub is greater, the bulbs themselves are often much cheaper. Sengled's A19 and BR30 bulbs cost $10 and $15, respectively, which is half the price of Wi-Fi alternatives. Hubs also ensure that even if you buy lighting from different brands, you can control them all through a single app.
If you have a room with lots of bulbs tied to a single switch, you can save money by installing a smart light switch, such as Leviton's Decora Smart switches or Belkin's WeMo switches, both of which connect to your home network over Wi-Fi. (You can also buy ZigBee or Z-Wave switches that work the the smart home hubs I just mentioned.) These replace the existing light switch on your wall to control all the bulbs in the room, and a single switch generally costs between $30 and $60. Replacing a half-dozen or more bulbs could cost you twice as much.
Smart switches also eliminate the biggest downside with all smart bulbs: If you turn off your light switch while using bulbs, you lose access to all smart features, including voice commands, phone controls, and automation. With smart switches, you can keep using your lights like regular lights.
The trade-off is the installation process, which requires cutting off the power to your existing switch, pulling it out of the wall, and wiring up the new switch. If you're not comfortable messing around with your home's electrical connections, you'll want to hire an electrician to do the job, thereby wiping out the cost savings.
Unfortunately, there's no easy, one-size-fits-all answer for which solution you should choose. The best option for you will depend on how much lighting you want to connect, how much work you want to do, and--most importantly--how much you want to spend for a little more convenience.
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