Your lights are boring, fix that with some smart lamps. The proliferation of low-power LED lighting has meant that manufacturers can add features like wireless interfaces and RGB color-changing LEDs to the otherwise drab world of ambient lighting fixtures. What exactly is a smart lamp and what is out there?
“Smart” is generally a term given to a device once it gains the ability to communicate with other devices and software, enhancing its functionality. In the case of lamps, this could be as simple as turning on and off via a mobile app, but it wouldn't be a very compelling experience. The new generation of smart lamps can change colour, adjust brightness, react to music and much, much more.
Philips offers the broadest and most feature-rich product line under the Nuance and Friends of hue the brand, consisting of standard plug-in bulbs that can be fitted to existing fixtures and lamps, as well as RGB light strips, and a stand-alone 120-lumen projector called Bloom. There are a range of apps available that can interact with your lights (thanks to an extensive API that any programmer can interact with), including an innovative app from Disney that changes the color to match the scene in the story, an extension of Ambilight for your Philips TV, and even some IFTTT recipes.
It's not cheap, though:A starter pack of base station and 3 Hue bulbs is $200, with additional accent lighting around $80-100 each. Each base station can handle up to 50 lights, but reviewers have noted that even with a mix of 5 lights in a single room, it still appears dark.
Lifx offers a plug-in bulb to retrofit your own lamps, and started life as a Kickstarter; they are now available for $99 each. There are a variety of apps, but not as much support as the ringtone. The bulbs themselves put out a healthy 1,000 lumens of light, nearly double Hue's 600. Aside from being a bit brighter, there's little to recommend the Lifx, and reviewers have noted numerous bugs with the control software. Stay away.
An overpriced piece of milled aluminum with a few dim RGB LEDs; my Holi “Smart” review Mood Lamp Holi Smart Mood Lamp Review and Giveaway Holi Mood Lamp Review and Smart Mood Is the Holi Smart Mood Lamp the ultimate night light? ? mood lamp? disco ball? Read More With a custom mobile app to select between various dynamic and static lighting scenes, a music reactive mode that only works if you play songs from within the app, and a broken sunrise alarm mode - the lamp wasn't bright enough to use it on anything. aside from total darkness.
Belkin's WeMo is a broader brand of fully integrated home automation devices, and they've recently decided to expand the range with basic 800 lumen bulbs in warm white (although they don't change colour). The initial set of 2 bulbs and a base station is expected to cost $99 and integrate with existing WeMo products and apps. Like the Hue, WeMo has a wide range of IFTTT apps and recipes for maximum automation.
LuMen is nothing like half the light output of Lifx, at half the price ($50); It also works with Bluetooth, not WiFi, so you'll need to be in range.
LG introduced its own very low-performance smart bulb that adds features like flashing when you get a call, but it's only available in Korea at the moment.
You could pay ridiculously inflated prices for lights that barely put out any noticeable amount of light, or you can go the DIY route - make something much brighter, for a fraction of the cost. On the downside, the software won't be as polished.
For about $20, you can buy a 5 meter RGB LED strip directly from China, including controller and power supply. 5 meters is more than enough for most ambient lighting projects, but you can easily extend or shorten it. A standard RGB controller works with infrared (just like your TV), so any programmable universal remote, like Harmony Ultimate Logitech Harmony Ultimate Review and Giveaway Logitech Harmony Ultimate Review and Giveaway Your living room is a mess, admit it. You are forgiven for wondering which remote controls which device. With your TV, amp, TiVO, BluRay player, maybe even your lighting, switching activities becomes a long… More we review here:You can customize it to control your lighting too How to control your lighting Custom RGB from a Harmony Remote How to Control Your Custom RGB Lighting from a Harmony Remote If you own a Harmony remote, you probably know that they can now control the Phillips Hue "connected bulb" - a Wi-Fi enabled but at a price exorbitant. But did you know… Read more .
Once you throw an inexpensive Arduino or Raspberry Pi into the mix, the DIY becomes increasingly difficult, but the possibilities are endless. Last month, I showed you how to connect Siri to control your lights. Control Virtually Anything With Siri - No Jailbreak Required Control Virtually Anything With Siri - No Jailbreak Required Siri can be awesome at times, but it can only do what Apple allows it to do. Not anymore. Read More
While the promise of interconnected lighting is exciting, current offerings are too expensive and incompatible with each other, leaving you stuck with the choice you make. Right now I'd put my money on Philips Hue - with the most extensive product line and an open API for developers, they have by far the most compatibility.
Hopefully Apple is bringing the Smart Home API to the table in iOS8. What's new in iOS 8? What's new in iOS 8? After last year's big iOS 7 redesign, you'd expect a muted iOS 8 announcement at this year's Worldwide Developers Conference, but you'd be wrong. Read More
