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Smart Lighting Review
Initially I had problems connecting to the WiFi. I moved the light inside close to the router and it connected no problem. I then moved the light outside again and it still had the WiFi connection. Since then there have been no problems.
I then bought two smart bulbs (TP-Link Tapo Smart Bulbs) as wall lights. They are programmed to come on 30 minutes before sunset and switched off using an Alexa command. Although I bought them to illuminate the living room they also act as a burglar deterrent when I am out.
They are very easy to set up using the free app available for Android and IOS. Hive bulbs need a Hive hub but these do not need a hub, just the free app. They are much cheaper but do just as good a job.
When you are looking for a smart bulb, it is not just the name you should look at, it is also the way that it works.
Depending on the make, the smart bulb can be controlled from your phone and virtual assistant directly through your WiFi but others, such as Hive, require a hub as well.
I would recommend that if you plan to use a number of smart bulbs throughout your home then you should get the same brand. If you don’t you will end up with a number of apps on your phone and potentially a number of expensive hubs. Obviously if you already have a hub that you are happy with then you may be tempted to buy bulbs that use that hub.
What to look for when choosing bulbs
There are basically three types of fitting but these three types have different sizes. For many years most fittings in the UK were the B22d bayonet fitting and occasionally the smaller B15d fitting but increasingly screw fittings are being used. There are six different sizes of screw fitting but most commonly used are the E27 and E14. The third type of fitting is for spot lights. These can be the twist and lock GU10, or the push fit GU5.3.
WiFi or Hub?
A WiFi bulb has, inside it, all of the things necessary to connect to the WiFi. Put the bulb in the fitting, add your bulb to your home network using the app, and you can control your bulb from the app.
A bulb that connects to a hub uses the hub to connect to the WiFi. So put the bulb in, power up the hub, connect the hub to the WiFi using the app and the hub will find the bulb.
Hub bulbs are generally smaller than WiFi bulbs because hub bulbs do not contain the WiFi element. This generally means that they are cheaper but they do have the additional cost of the hub itself.
Lumens
Lumens measure how bright the bulb is. 800 lumens is equivalent to the old fashioned 60W bulb. You may want brighter bulbs than this in the living room but dimmer in the bedroom. Most smart bulbs use LEDs so, although they produce the same amount of light, they consume less power.
Smart bulbs do consume marginally more power than ordinary LEDs because they are not really switched off they are on just very very very very low.
Dimmability
Some bulbs can be dimmed, perfect for watching the television or a romantic evening.
Colour
The colour can be changed on some bulbs. I have never found a use for this apart from entertaining the grandchildren.
Amazon has a large selection of smart bulbs and I have found them to be the cheapest that I can find. Among them are:
As I said earlier, my preferred bulb is the TP-Link Tapo Smart Bulb
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