A Beginner’s Guide to Updating Your Home With Smart Lighting

In Lifehacker’s “Whole Home Automation Guide” series, we’ll cover all the ways to power your home with autonomous technology, room by room. Whether you want to create a smart security system, turn a dumb device into a smart one, or simply control your lighting from your phone, this guide will help you figure it out.

We may not yet have seen a future where we can cook, wash dishes, and walk pets at home. But there’s one area where the smart home of the future has become commonplace while we barely noticed: lighting. I’ve been using smart lighting for almost ten years now, and I can’t go back to the usual.

There are several smart light brands from companies like Philips, GE, Wyze, and others that can turn any lamp or light fixture into controllable smart lighting for your home. You can use your phone, smart speakers like Amazon’s Echo line, or Google’s Nest speakers.

The best smart lighting brands right now

Smart lights are produced by several major brands, and while it’s technically possible to combine bulbs from different manufacturers, it’s easier to stick to a single ecosystem. With this in mind, here are some of the most well-known companies and the advantages of each:

• The current champion: Philips Hue . I personally use these bulbs. Philips Hue is the most reputable competitor, with a huge selection of bulbs, LED strips, lights, and other lighting equipment. Its software package is also one of the most advanced, with powerful automation tools and colorful scene libraries. Historically, it was also the most expensive system, but the company recently announced a line of more affordable bulbs .

• An affordable starting point: Wiz . If you don’t want to spend $50 on a light bulb for your home (and who’s to blame?), Wiz is an affordable alternative to Hue. The company offers full-color bulbs starting at $12 each in a variety of formats.

• For a stylish look: LIFX . Similar to Philips Hue, LIFX is a bit more expensive, but the company offers a wide range of unique and stylish lights, such as colored tube lights or flexible LED strips .

• For customizable lighting systems: Nanoleaf . While Nanoleaf technically produces its own line of regular smart bulbs , the company is best known for its modular lighting kits. These kits come in hexagonal , linear , block , and other shapes. Each element can be individually controlled, and you can combine them to create your own wall lighting designs. They’re not fancy, but they’re damn fun.

These are just a few of the many companies producing smart light bulbs. While some, like Philips Hue, require dedicated hubs to function, most companies are now focusing on producing standalone bulbs that connect directly to Wi-Fi.

The growing Matter standard is also gradually making it easier to integrate lights from different manufacturers. While you’ll likely still need to access the company’s proprietary app or hub console to make some changes, Matter-compatible smart lights typically eliminate the need to search for “Works with Google Home” or similar labels for your specific system.

What do you need to set up smart lighting?

In most cases, all you need to set up smart lighting is the bulbs themselves. Most smart lighting manufacturers produce bulbs compatible with at least the A19 base (used in most lamps and fixtures), and ecosystems like Wiz, LIFX, and GE Cync don’t require a separate hub. Philips Hue, in particular, does. If you’re just starting out with Hue, your best bet is probably to get the Hue Bridge Pro , which supports syncing lights with a media player, using bulbs as motion sensors, and other new features.

While that’s technically all you need to set up smart lighting, there are a few things you can do to make even more effective use of your new system:

• Smart speaker. It’s impossible to overstate how pleasant it is to turn off the lights in the bedroom while snuggling under the covers. Voice-controlled speakers like the Google Nest and Amazon Echo are perfect for this.

• Smart display. The only downside to smart lights is that you can’t use wall switches the same way you used to (more on that later). But a smart display can be a huge step forward. Devices like the Google Nest Hub or Amazon Echo Show allow you to place multiple smart light controls in a prominent location, so anyone in your home can not only turn lights on and off with a single touch, but also change lighting levels or color schemes.

• Some smartphone widgets. While all of the above are convenient, most often your phone is always at hand. Some smart light manufacturers create robust widgets for iPhones and Android devices, allowing you to turn your lights on and off with a single tap on the home screen. Before investing in an ecosystem, it’s worth checking what features the company supports.

The last thing you’ll need to set up smart lighting is time and patience. While the process is much simpler than it was even a few years ago, you might still have to spend a bit of time choosing room names, syncing services, and testing a few commands. Luckily, this usually only needs to be done once. I even moved to a new house while keeping my old system practically intact.

What can you do with smart lighting?

“Sure, smart lights are getting cheaper, but are they really worth the extra cost compared to regular light bulbs and a wall switch that’s lasted for decades?” I hear you crying. And I’m here to tell you: absolutely. Over the years, I’ve used many new technologies that seem exciting at first, but then become annoying after the novelty wears off. But smart lights are one of the few areas I don’t want to go back to.

Here are a few ways I use smart lighting regularly:

• Change your lighting with the sun. During the day, bright, cool light from windows has a different quality than the warm, dim light from lamps you’re used to. With smart lighting, you can set your lamps to automatically adjust brightness according to a preset schedule (or based on sunrise/sunset times in your region) to improve the lighting in your home.

• Set the mood for a date… Sometimes, turning an ordinary Tuesday evening into a romantic one is as simple as changing the lighting. I have several scenes in the Philips Hue app that I save for when I want to create a pleasant atmosphere for my partner during a quiet evening at home.

• …or for self-care. As with the previous example, one of my favorite Hue scenes is an animation that mimics the flickering of candles. Turn on the bathroom lights to match this scene, fill the tub with warmth, throw in a bath bomb, and have the most relaxing evening.

• Feign activity while you’re away. One of the best ways to make a local burglar think twice about breaking into your home is to convince them someone is there. Using a lighting schedule, you can set up your home so lights turn on and off even when you’re away.

• Turn on your lights automatically. Have you ever tripped over things in the dark while grocery shopping? Never again. Most smart lighting ecosystems allow you to automatically turn on certain lights when you enter a designated area (like your home). Additionally, some models, like Philips Hue, are equipped with motion sensors, so you can turn on your lights when you enter a room without using tools like GPS.

With automation services like IFTTT , you can even set up more complex controls—for example, flashing your lights when your doorbell rings or flashing your office lights when you receive an email from your boss.

Smart light switches make everything even easier

When I first installed smart lighting in my home, most of my family was in favor, but one point of contention arose: the switch. People are still accustomed to flicking the switch when entering a room. Smart lighting typically needs to be on all the time, and it even takes a bit of muscle memory retraining to remember and accidentally turn it off manually.

In the smart home world, there are two main ways to solve this problem, and which one you need depends on how much effort you’re willing to put into it (and, frankly, whether you rent or own your home):

• Smart light switches built into the wall. Some smart switches, like this one from LIFX, can be installed directly in place of existing switches. This switch allows you to turn the light on and off using the wall switch without losing the ability to turn it back on with a voice command or smartphone app. Since it also replaces the old switch, you’ll have less need to retrain your muscle memory.

• Remote-controlled switches. If you don’t want (or can’t) replace your existing switches, companies like Philips Hue offer a convenient alternative: remote switches . They feature buttons for turning lights on/off or dimming them using a battery-powered remote. This model, in particular, comes with a plate that can be attached to the wall next to a regular switch, and the remote itself is removable, making it easy to take with you around the room. It uses adhesive pads and magnets, so you can securely place it in your apartment and take it with you if you move.

Strictly speaking, smart light switches are optional. After all, that’s the appeal of smart lights. But if you have multiple people living in your home and have guests who may not have access to lighting controls, a physical light switch can be a useful addition.

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