Smart home lighting has been around for a while, however with increasing energy costs, I look at ways to use smart home lighting to reduce energy consumption and save on electricity. Also, which smart home lighting products are worth buying as well as alternative ways to save on electricity used for lighting our homes.
The Lights are on, but Nobody’s Home
A survey performed by Statista in 2020 found that 49% of Brits admit to leaving lights on while they are not in a room. Although this survey only included a small number of people, the figure has not improved since the same survey performed in 2012. It seems despite our increased awareness of carbon emissions and their negative impact on the planet, bad habits are hard to change…
49% of Brits admit to leaving lights on while not in the room
Apart from the environmental impact, the costs of leaving lights on soon mounts up. It was estimated in 2011 (based on industry averages at the time) that the average cost for leaving a light on could be as much as £ 838 per user, per year, depending on the scenario.
With the price of energy going up, it got me thinking: ‘How can we use technology to help counter our bad habits and save us money?’
Considering that 57.8% of electricity consumed in Europe is used for lighting homes (according to Eurostat based on data extracted in 2019), lighting is a clear area to address if we want to save on electricity.
Smart Home Lighting
Photo Credit: IKEA
A variety of smart home lighting products have appeared on the market in the last five years. Some of the popular ones include Philips Hue, LIFX as well as new budget options you can buy from supermarkets and online retailers like Amazon. I have tried a few products over the years, and I share my experiences below.
When considering which smart home lighting is best, you need to think about which of the wide range of functionality available, will be most utilised in your household to ensure you get value for your investment as some brands are pricier than others.
Some manufacturers have teamed up with other smart apps and products to further extend the smart capabilities and uses. Whether it’s an entertainment space, lounge, children’s bedroom, kitchen and even outdoor or garden space, there are countless applications for smart home lighting, however I will be focussing mainly on those uses applicable to saving electricity with lighting.
Energy Saving Uses
Of the features available with Smart Home Lighting products, I have found the following most useful in terms of saving electricity.
Setting schedules for turning lights on and off automatically
In winter, I turn the lights on in my office in the morning, however I am not as quick to turn them off once the sun is up. I find that once I am immersed in work, I don’t notice the light is no longer necessary and don’t get up to turn the light switch off (or maybe I’m just lazy…). The smart lighting in my office allows me to set a schedule that will automatically turn the lights off based on when sunrise is for my location - one less thing to remember.
You can also set the reverse, for example to turn the lights on at sunset. This is useful if you have security lights or lights to aid visibility for safety.
You can of course also set schedules for lights to go on and off at set times of the day.
Being able to control the lights remotely from my phone
The feature I use the most! On very cloudy days, I find it gets a bit too dark in my office at times and rather than strain my eyes (ok, yes I am too lazy to get up and flick a switch), I can turn the lights on from my phone while sat at my desk.
Additionally, if I have left the room and want to check whether I forgot to turn the lights off, the app will show me whether the lights are turned on AND I can turn them off remotely.
Dimming lights and controlling individual lights
I can control individual light bulbs in my office, even though they are on the same circuit and controlled by the same light switch. This is useful for when I am working only at my desk and don’t need the whole room to be lit up.
This can also be used to create a backdrop or ambient light when you don’t need particularly bright light. Dimming the lights also means less electricity is used.
Photo Credit: Philips Hue
Turning lights on or off based on my location
Using the location services on my mobile phone, I can set all the lights to go off whenever I leave the house. Granted, I will need to take my phone with me for this to work.
Similarly, you can set the lights to come on when you are within a certain radius of your home. This is especially useful for added security when arriving home in the dark at different times of the day.
Motion sensors
Not unique to smart lighting, however many manufacturers offer infra-red motion sensors as part of their smart light solutions.
Motions sensors are perfect for those that forget to turn the lights off when leaving a room. They can also be used for security, automatically lighting the area when motion is detected.
My favourite use of motions sensors is in our kitchen, where we have set the low level LED strip lights to turn on when you walk in. No need to search for that light switch in the dark OR trying to turn the light on with your elbow when you have your hands full of dirty plates and dishes! Leave the room again, and the lights turn off by themselves… magic.
Brands and Other Features
Philips Hue
Philips Hue is perhaps the best known brand. Although Philips have reduced the cost of their products in recent years, they are still more expensive when compared with other brands on the market, however they offer a wide range of products with TONS of features.
Photo Credit: Philips Hue
Philips have also teamed up with Amazon Alexa, Apple Homekit, Google Assistant, IFTTT, Razer and Samsung SmartThings to provide many more usages, than just in their app alone, however you will need additional Hue products to enable these features.
Some of the Hue highlights:
Controlling your lights with voice commands, i.e. using your Amazon Alexa or Google Home devices to turn the lights on.
Pairing your lights’ behaviours with gaming or movies, i.e. changing the colours of your lights automatically based on what is being displayed on your TV or PC screen.
Pairing your lights’ behaviours based on an action detectable by your smartphone, i.e. turning the lights on when the weather app predicts that rain is imminent.
Photo Credit: Philips Hue
These features sound like a lot of fun, but realistically they are not used often once the novelty is worn out. The functions I found most useful for saving energy, are available with their standard white bulbs and are also offered by other brands, therefore to get your money’s worth you really need to make use of all the available functions with Hue in my view.
IKEA
IKEA’s smart lighting solutions also offer a variety of functions and they too have teamed up with Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit or Google Assistant, making it possible to control their products inside and outside of your home.
Photo Credit: IKEA
Some of the features available with the IKEA Home smart app and TRADFRI gateway are:
Setting the mood with different colours and brightness
Creating groups to enable controlling certain lights together
Setting timers and schedules to turn lights on and off automatically
Setting a ‘Rise and Shine’ timer will turn up the brightness of the lights slowly over 30 minutes to gently wake you
These IKEA light panels can be used in inventive ways to add interest to your interior and provide additional lighting in dark areas.
Photo Credit: IKEA
What I love about the IKEA smart products is the ability to easily add remote control buttons, dimmers and motion sensors to your solution.
Photo Credit: IKEA
Remote control buttons are great for kid’s bedrooms where you can add a light switch right next to their beds without having to destroy the wall to install an additional switch. It can give kids peace of mind to go to sleep without the lights on, knowing that the switch is within easy reach, should they need it.
I have already highlighted the great uses for motions sensors, but I can’t sing their praises enough. Just try it.
CALEX
CALEX is a smart lighting brand available to buy from many retailers. They have an impressive range of aesthetically pleasing products. Although many manufactures now include LED filament style blubs in their ranges, Calex’s range certainly impresses, like this Smart Led G200 Titanium lamp.
Photo Credit: CALEX
I picked up two of their standard RGB light bulbs while on a Tesco run and used it in our landing for a few months. Unfortunately, the bulbs kept losing connection with our Wi-Fi and needed to be reconnected manually each time you turned them on.
Although, I did buy one of the lower range products I would none the less expect it to work the way in which it was intended. Having said that, I did not pursue a solution to the issue and it may well have been a fault with my two units or an issue with compatibility with our Wi-Fi.
Reasons to Buy and Avoid
In addition to the energy saving benefits of smart light bulbs, these are some of the other reasons to buy and avoid smart light systems.
Reasons to buy
Available in Cool, Warm, Daylight shades as well as Colour bulbs offering up to 16m colour variations to add to your interior ambiance and aesthetic in a fun way without having to redecorate.
Can be installed in existing light fittings for Children’s Bedrooms, brightening up Living Rooms, Home Cinema’s, Bathroom lighting as well as Outside Garden areas.
Prices have come down, bulbs can be purchased for under £9 and app controlled linked to your home Wi-Fi.
Reasons to avoid
The smart colour bulbs are fun, but unless you use the colour features often, you will save money by buying the smart white bulb as they are utilised more frequently.
Some of the leaders such as Philips and LIFX are still expensive, especially with large rooms where multiple bulbs are required to light a number of sources.
Some of the cheaper supermarket and online models are controlled via apps and Wi-Fi linked, if the connection isn’t very stable the lights can lose connection.
Alternative Options to Save Electricity with Lighting
Smart plugs
Yes, along the same lines - a smart plug can be used with your existing lamps and appliances and add the same benefits that smart products provide like remote control, setting scheduled turn on and turn off times, etc.
My favourite use of a smart plug is in areas where the light switch is hard to reach, for example when you have purposely covered a socket by putting a bookcase in front of it. And of course, Christmas lights! Not having to reach behind the tree to turn the lights on or remembering to turn them off each night is bliss… A smart plug can do all that for you.
PIR sensors
You can buy PIR sensors (not part of a smart solution) for around £10 each. They can be wired in with your existing lights and fitted recessed in the ceiling. This will need to be done by a certified electrician and he’ll probably make a couple of holes in your ceiling, however if you are decorating already, this is an inexpensive and quick way to save electricity if your household suffers from forgetting to turn lights off when leaving a room.
LED bulbs
It has been said so many times, but is worth repeating because LED bulbs use 80 percent less energy than traditional bulbs and last for up to 15 years, making them cost-efficient and eco-friendly.
If you do only ONE thing, check that all your lights have LED bulbs fitted. If you have lots of bulbs to replace with LEDs, focus on the lounge and kitchen first as they are not only high traffic areas in the evenings, but also tend to have more lights fitted per square meter.
Links provided throughout my blogs are not affiliated but based on my personal research and what I would use or recommend. Any other products shown are not intended as a recommendation for a specific product, but as examples of what is available and to provide ideas and inspiration.