Your illuminating guide to smart lighting
Bec Summer
STACK Writer
If you’re after a practical and exciting update to your living space, add some flair and get creative with smart lighting. Here's what you need to know to light up your home, both indoors and out.
At a glance
What is smart lighting?
How does it work
How to get started
Types of smart lighting
What is smart lighting, and why should you get it?
It’s pitch-black outside. You arrive home, arms laden with groceries, fumble for a light switch and spectacularly drop everything… Imagine being able to simply tell your home to turn the lights on for you? With smart lighting you can.
That’s just one simple, practical scenario. Essentially, smart lighting offers you many new levels of control. You could use sensors to trigger a sequence of lighting as you approach, and turn lights on and off at random intervals while away to deter would-be intruders.
On the more fun side of things, the opportunities for making an incredible at-home cinema or gaming experience are pretty much limited only by your imagination. Or you can just play with various colours in the app, or via voice control.
Another practical reason for going smart with your lighting is both the environmental and economic impact. With their low thirst for electricity yet brilliantly bright performance, replacing old school lights with shiny new smart LEDs can pay for itself in next to no time via power bill savings. Plus, with lifespans that run into decades rather than months, they’ll probably outlive some of us!
How does it work?
At its simplest, smart lighting refers to sources of light that can be controlled remotely, adding convenience – and personal expression – to how you light your surroundings.
This may be via a mobile phone app, a remote control, programmed automation, or even vocally telling your home exactly what you want to happen.
If you already own a smart speaker or display, look for smart lighting that's compatible with your voice assistant (Google, Alexa or Siri) so you can call out from the couch, "Turn the lounge room lights blue", and watch the colour change before your eyes.
How to get started
Working out what you’d like to do with your smart lighting is the place to start.
Solutions range from bulbs to strips, string lights, lamps and more, and with a little effort it’s easy to give all of your old style lighting the smart treatment. Best of all, you can work up to a totally amazing system incrementally, one smart light at a time.
Not all of your smart light choices need to be obvious ones. Inside those dark cupboards, in the kitchen pantry, or even under the lid of a toy box are great options, especially when coupled with a smart motion sensor.
All that you need to get going at the very least is something most of us have with us at all times – a smartphone. Just install an app such as Google Home, and all of your smart devices can be controlled from one central place. Alternatively, you can consider a dedicated smart hub such as something from the Google Assistant range or Amazon Alexa family.
Types of smart lighting
The most basic type of smart lighting is a single bulb, which can be installed anywhere from a ceiling to a lamp, as they come with standard B22 (bayonet cap) or E27 (screw) fittings. You can even get them in classic plain white light versions if don’t wish to colour your world.
Some smart bulbs can require a hub, such as the Philips Hue Bridge, to get them up and running, while others can connect directly to Wi-Fi.
Light strips are another super-handy staple, also available in single or multicoloured varieties. There’s barely any limit to their uses, from bright lights under kitchen overhead cupboards, to mood lighting behind the TV, to highlighting your prized collectibles or library of movies in your bookshelves.
When it comes to brightening up the backyard, bringing a burst of colour and personal expression to your outdoor entertaining space, or adding a tranquil glow to the garden, there are classic spotlights, but with added smart ability, while practical outside lights include smart spotlights and dedicated ways of lighting up your pathways and plants.
Looking for something more decorative? Options abound, from classic festoon lights given a smart update, to various panels, shapes, bars, strings, and more. Many of these go beyond just being off or on, allowing routines to be programmed for astounding lighting displays. Some can even be set to react to music or whatever you’re watching on TV.
Smarter security
“Smart” really is the operative word when it comes to eufy’s smart ecosystem. You can pop into the eufySecurity app and set up various light controls to sync eufy smart lights with eufy security cameras.
Scenarios include always-on sunset to sunrise ambient light, and motion activated light that can be protective or welcoming, reacting to any motion that’s detected, or specifically when a person is identified. It can even be personalised for specific people.
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