Artificial intelligence is available for every living area, whether it be household appliances, entertainment or the security concept for your own four walls. But as a smart home newcomer, does it make sense to deal directly with each area and possibly lose the overview with the multitude of options? It’s better to focus on just one of them in the first step to get into a smart home topic. Smart lighting is most suitable for this: it is easy to implement, affordable and offers many different scenarios that increase comfort and security at home.
According to a study by Conrad Connect, lighting is one of the most popular areas when it comes to the smart home: around 34 percent of those surveyed said that their smart devices are attributable to lighting. This was the highest value in the study. The following article will show you what products are available for smart lighting, how it works, what possible scenarios and what advantages you can benefit from smart lighting.
Why do you need smart lighting?
Smart lighting is all about adapting the lighting conditions at home to individual needs, while increasing comfort and safety through intelligent control of the lamps. It becomes more comfortable, for example, if the light can be dimmed via smartphone without even getting up from the sofa or bed – ideal for cozy movie nights. You can increase security at home by combining light and motion detectors. If someone is on the property or approaching the front door, the corresponding lamps will turn on. Alternatively, you can control the light to turn on at the same time every night, whether you are at home or not.Preliminary considerations when planning smart lighting, In the beginning, you should ask yourself the question of how extensive smart lighting should be:
– Is it just a single spot in the apartment?
– Or are you thinking of an entire house, including a garden?
Also, think about what you want to achieve with the smart home light:
– Is it primarily about comfort, safety or perhaps also about energy savings?
– Or should it be a mix of all three areas?
You should also think about how you want to control the smart light:
– By smartphone?
– By voice control?
– By remote control?
If various light switches or major installation work is necessary, it may require more planning and the help of a professional. Also, make sure you get thorough information about the quality of the possible light sources. Well-known suppliers include OSRAM LIGHTIFY and Philips Hue.
What products are available in the smart lighting sector?
There are now numerous products for smart lighting – both indoors and outdoors from bedside lamps and ceiling lights to path lights, skirting lights and wall lights for exterior facades. Whether you can control the smart light sources independently via WLAN and smartphone or whether an intermediate device – called a control center, bridge or gateway – is required for this depends on the respective lighting system.
WLAN lamps are mostly LED lamps that you can insert and control via WLAN connection and the manufacturer’s app. You do not need a bridge. Devices that work with a wireless standard like ZigBee, however, need a bridge. We will explain the functionality of the smart home light in the next section.
How does the Smart light control work?
On the one hand, there are lamps that are permanently integrated into the electrical circuit of the house, such as ceiling lamps. These are integrated into the smart lighting system by having wireless actuators inserted into the flush-mounted switches of the corresponding lamps. Attention: This work should be done by a professional. On the other hand, there are lamps that are integrated into the circuit via a socket, such as bedside lamps or floor lamps. These are integrated into the Smart lighting system with intermediate radio sockets. In order to be able to control the Smart lighting system wirelessly, one or more different transmission standards or radio standards are required. The most common radio standards include WLAN, Bluetooth, ZigBee and Z-Wave. A smart lighting control system usually requires a control center that is connected to the router of the home network. This is how your commands get from the used terminal device to the lamps. The control center can also be used to create a wide variety of scenarios, such as a specific lighting atmosphere when getting up or going to bed. With these scenarios, there are no limits to your individual wishes. You can control your smart home light as you wish using a switch, smartphone, tablet, remote control or even a voice assistant.
Tip: If you want to know more about terms such as actuators, control center, open and closed smart home system, then take a look at our article on the definition of a smart home.
Can different manufacturers be combined?
In principle, products from different manufacturers can be integrated into the smart home system or networked with each other via a central control unit. This bridge creates the bridge between different products and radio standards and “translates” the data that needs to be exchanged between them. In doing so, the control center connects all the components in the smart home with each other, whether lighting, heating or entertainment. For example, With a gateway, it is possible to connect a lamp system based on ZigBee with a motion detector based on Z-Wave.
What colors are available for the Smart light?
The color palette for Smart lighting ranges from various shades of white to multicolor, offering several million color nuances to suit every taste. Stepless white is the most economical. Stepless in this case means that only one color is used. This “simple white” is often used in hallways or in the basement. In contrast, there is also the option of dimmable light with different shades of white, which you can adjust according to the situation. If you want to watch a movie in a relaxed way, you should rather choose a darker and warm white. If you need to work and see well, you should choose a cooler and brighter white. Multicolor lighting is also possible in all colors, but is the most expensive option.
What are the advantages of smart lighting?
Smart home lighting advantages are mainly the increase in comfort and safety and energy and cost savings. Since you can control the light using a smartphone or voice assistant, this primarily increases comfort in everyday life. There is no need to go to a light switch or dimmer.
When you leave the house, you no longer have to wonder whether all the lights are off, as this can be checked and controlled remotely. Or you have created a scenario for this so that all lights go out as soon as there is nobody left in the house. It is not least these automations that make life at home easier and more comfortable. If you always use the light only in the way you need it, you save energy and costs in the long run – a win-win situation for the environment and your wallet. Last but not least, increased safety is one of the advantages of smart lighting. Depending on your daily routine and absences, individual schedules for lighting control can be set – and burglars can be successfully deterred.
Smart-Home lamps for a comfortable home
Ideal lighting conditions are decisive for a feel-good atmosphere at home. But light can create so much more than just coziness: it can make everyday life easier and create more security. The prerequisite for this is smart light that can be controlled via smartphone or tablet. If you want to get into the subject of smart home, you should turn your attention to lighting, because this area is easy and inexpensive to implement – whether with individual WLAN lamps or a complete lighting system that works via a gateway and allows many different automated lighting scenarios. It is important to plan exactly what you want to achieve with the smart home light and the products’ compatibility and networking. After that, nothing stands in the way of the fast light by clicking on a device.
