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5 Advantages of Smart Lighting

Lighting is arguably one of the most important features of any home. Too bright, and it can be abrasive, increasing your sensitivity to light. Too dim, and it hides the unique characteristics of your home and can have adverse effects on your mood. When you design your home, the type of lighting and fixtures you choose are just as important as selecting a paint color or deciding on what pieces of furniture to buy.

Traditionally, the lighting options available to homeowners have been rather limited. But all of that has changed. As we embrace a more digitized world and become more interconnected, smart lighting is revolutionizing the way homeowners can incorporate lighting into their homes. Smart light bulbs aren't only longer-lasting, but they can be customized and controlled by other smart home devices, such as Google Assistant or Alexa.

Five advantages of using smart lighting in your home

1. Lower energy use

Instead of incandescent light bulbs, smart lights use light-emitting diode (LED) or compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) bulbs. Both are heralded for their energy savings, but LED lights win out in the battle of energy efficiency, cost, and overall life span.

While CFL lights cut energy use by around 25-35 percent, LED bulbs account for a 75 percent decrease in energy usage. And these are just standard bulbs. If you use an ENERGY STAR-certified bulb, for example, you can expect to use 90 percent less energy.

Even though these bulbs are more expensive than traditional lighting options, the cost-benefits you will enjoy over time make smart lighting a great investment.

2. Longevity

Smart lighting options don't only use less energy and decrease your monthly electric bills, they also last longer than standard light bulbs, which is another cost-benefit to switching to smart lights.

Incandescent bulbs will typically only last for an average of 1,200 hours. CFL lights average a lifespan of 8,000 hours, which is seven times better than standard lighting, but still not as good as LED bulbs, which can get around 35,000 hours of use. When your lights last longer, you don't have to pay to replace them as often.

Overhead shot of woman reading on the couch

3. Increased safety

You can control your smart lighting from a mobile phone or through one of your voice-controlled home devices. This is convenient when you're at home and don't want to have to walk around the entire house to turn off the lights that have been left on. But one benefit that homeowners don't think about is how smart lighting can actually increase security.

Are you on vacation? Do you work third-shift at your job? You can use your smartphone to turn your lights off and on throughout the day so it looks like someone is home — all you need is a good internet connection. You can even have alerts sent to your phone if unexpected movement is detected inside or outside of your home.

4. Personalization

Just like you can control your smart lights for safety purposes, you can use these same features to personalize your lighting. You can customize your smart bulbs so that they turn on or off at different points throughout the day. You can even program them to dim in certain areas of your house, specifically where you like to sit and relax after you return from work or before you go to bed.

5. Easy installation

Smart lighting has evolved to become more user-friendly than ever before. You no longer need to account for days and weeks to have your new lighting system installed. Many installations no longer require rewiring and, now, most bulbs even fit standard sockets. And all of these lighting options easily connect through WiFi and other apps. Oftentimes, it only takes a few hours or, at most, a single day to transition to smart lighting.

Today's homeowners want practical fixtures that fit their everyday lives. This is what inspired my own company's smart lighting features. The future of lighting is here, and it's all about interconnectivity, versatility, and convenience.