Upgrading your home’s lighting can make a big difference in ambiance, functionality, and even energy efficiency. Many homeowners today are considering smart lighting as an appealing option, but still have questions about how these new high-tech bulbs differ from familiar regular lights. This comprehensive guide will compare key aspects like features, cost, installation, and benefits to help you make an informed choice for your space.
Defining Smart Lights and Regular Lights
What Are Smart Lights?
Smart lights are LED bulbs that connect to your smartphone or smart home system for app and voice control. The most popular options include:
- Color-changing bulbs: Allow you to shift between different colors/temperatures like warm white, daylight, or even rainbow hues for fun ambient effects.
- Tunable white: Give you control to adjust the shade of white light from invigorating daylight to relaxing warm.
- Dimmable: Enable easy control of the light brightness level from your phone.
Key smart lighting brands like Philips Hue and LIFX use technologies like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or Zigbee to enable wireless connectivity and control.
What Are Regular Lights?
Regular lights refer to traditional light bulbs that do not offer app, scheduling, automation or voice control of any kind. Common options include:
- Incandescent bulbs: Classic bulbs with glowing wire filaments that are inexpensive but inefficient .
- Halogen bulbs: Slightly more efficient than old incandescents with brighter light.
- CFLs: Twisty bulbs using fluorescent lighting – more efficient but some find light quality less pleasing.
- LED bulbs: Energy saving and long lasting, but basic LEDs still require manual on/off switching.
While regular LEDs are now available with basic dimming capabilities, their options for customization and automation are still extremely limited compared to smart lighting.
Smart vs Regular Lights Comparison
Feature | Smart Lights | Regular Lights |
---|---|---|
Connectivity | Connect via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc. Enable wireless control and automation | No connectivity; manual switching only |
Control Options | App and voice control, scheduling, automation rules | Wall switches, dimmers |
Customization | Tunable shades of white and full-color ambient effects | Standard (non-tunable) white shades only |
Energy Efficiency | Good. Smart LEDs sip minuscule energy | Varies. Incandescents use more energy than LEDs |
Cost | Expensive initial purchase but can save over time | Cheaper upfront cost |
Diving Deeper on Key Differences
Now that we’ve defined the basics, let’s do a deeper dive into some of the functionality differences between these two lighting approaches. We’ll analyze key factors tech-savvy homeowners care about – like customization, ease of use, efficiency and cost.
Lighting Control and Automation
One of the biggest differences between regular and smart bulbs comes down to methods for controlling your lights.
The Convenient Controls of Smart Lighting
Smart lights open up a wider range of lighting control compared to flipping manual switches:
Intuitive app interfaces give you dimming, color tuning, grouping and scene saving control from one tap on your smartphone. Scheduling and automation settings can also customize when and how lights turn on/off during certain times of day.
Voice assistant compatibility with Amazon Alexa and Google Home takes hands-free voice activated light control to a new level of convenience in the home.
Integration with smart home platforms like SmartThings, Apple HomeKit, IFTTT or Hubitat enables tying automated lighting functionality into broader home automation ecosystems – allowing your lights to react to sensors and other events.
So if you’re keen take advantage of home automation possibilities, smart lighting delivers on that promise much more than typical light switches and bulbs can.
Limited Automation of Regular Lights
With manual lighting, options for automation and customized control are quite limited. You’ll be stuck relying mainly on:
Clunky mechanical timers to automate when table lamps or ceiling fixtures turn on/off. But timers are not dynamic or particularly convenient.
Wall-mounted light switches which allow basic manual on/off control when you walk into a room. Some support dimming capability too. But there’s no customization or automation possible beyond that without a major electrical rewire.
The bottom line is that regular bulbs will leave you operating lights through the same manual switches people have used for decades – severely limiting automation possibilities compared to smart lighting.
Expansive Color Control and Dimming
Color changing and tuning is another area where smart LED lighting transforms possibilities in exciting new ways – while regular bulbs remain quite limiting.
Vibrant Colors and Customization with Smart Lights
With app-connected color LEDs from brands like Philips Hue, Lifx, Cree, Sylvania and others:
- You can shift lighting colors across the entire visible spectrum – from energizing blues to calming reds.
- Mix fun colors like purple and orange for ambient lighting in a kids’ playroom.
- Save customized
scenes
likeReading Mode
orDinner Party
for one-tap ambiance. - Adjust color temperature from
2700K
warm white to5000K
energizing daylight. - Set decorative color loops or effects like
Fireplace
orForest Canopy
for visual intrigue.
With 16 million available color combinations to play with, the possibilities are vast compared to traditional lighting.
Limited Color and Dimming of Regular Bulbs
In contrast, most regular light bulbs restrict you solely to varieties of plain white light limiting flexibility:
- Incandescent and halogen lights emit a somewhat
warmer (2700-3000K) white
that can’t be customized. - White LED options enable upgrading to more natural
bright white (3500-4100K)
tones. - But most regular LEDs and CFLs provide no color adjustment at all beyond
cool / warm white
.
And while LED and CFL bulbs may allow for some basic dimming, their capabilities still pale in comparison to smart LEDs controlled by robust apps and automation.
Bottom line – if customizable scene setting, color shifting ability, and advanced dimming control appeals to you, smart lighting delivers a far more versatile experience.
Energy Efficiency and Cost Comparisons
Another key consideration as you evaluate lighting options for your home is energy efficiency and long term costs.
Potential for Savings with Smart Lighting
It’s true that smart LED lighting does come at a higher upfront cost due to built-in Wi-Fi and automation. Individual bulbs can retail anywhere from $15 to $50 depending on features.
But over a 5+ year lifespan, those costs can pay off handsomely from energy savings with smart lighting:
- Automation can turn lights off in unused rooms saving
30%
on lighting costs. - Smart LEDs sip just
10 watts
vs60W
for old bulbs – slashing consumption. - Electricity cost savings combined with multi-year lifespan for LEDs drives value.
Budget pick Vilo Smart bulbs retail for $10-$15 providing an affordable entry point to try smart lighting. And keep an eye out for seasonal sales allowing you to save on starter packs from top brands too.
Cheaper Upfront Cost for Regular Lights
There’s no doubt regular LED and CFL bulbs are generally cheaper to purchase than smart varieties:
- Decent white LED bulbs retail for just a few dollars per individual bulb.
- Even a 4-pack of Wi-Fi smart bulbs can run $40-60.
However outside of initial cost, regular bulbs provide little opportunity for automation and advanced control. And if your goal is to maximize long-term energy savings, then smart lighting can pay dividends on investment over years of use.
Benefits Beyond Cost Savings from Smart Lighting
Beyond potential energy and cost reductions, smart bulbs unlock a range of lifestyle functionality and design benefits as summarized below:
Key Advantages of Smart Lighting
- Customization of millions of colors, whites, dimming levels.
- Enhanced Security from automation such as timed lighting when traveling.
- Ambiance Control via rooms scenes tailored to activity like reading or dining.
- Easy Voice Control thanks to smart assistant compatibility.
- Smart Home Integration with other devices and sensors for superior automation.
Where Regular Lights Fall Short
While regular LED light bulbs have certainly improved general energy efficiency, they lack in key areas vs smart options:
- Manual Control Only: via clunky switches and wall dimmers.
- Limited adjustability: Restricted to basic on/off/dim functionality.
- Difficult to automate for security, convenience.
- Isolated operation: No integration with other smart devices.
So while regular lights check the box for general illumination needs, they offer none of the lifestyle enhancements that app-connected smart bulbs provide.
Finding the Right Balance for Your Needs
Given the pros and cons on both sides, choosing smart vs regular lighting ultimately comes down to personal preferences and needs in your unique home environment.
Here are some key factors to consider as you evaluate the best lighting approach:
When Smart Lighting Makes Sense
Smart bulbs offer the most value if you want:
- Advanced automation: For scheduling, routines, vacation lighting security.
- Smart home capabilities: To integrate lighting with other connected devices for superior control.
- Ambiance customization: To perfectly tailor rooms for entertainment or relaxation.
- Hands-free voice control: For convenient voice-activated lighting adjustments.
Due to higher hardware expenses, smart lighting works best in key accent areas vs trying to upgrade every socket. Focus first on places where you’ll actually utilize the features.
When to Stick with Regular Bulbs
Regular LED bulb replacement still makes sense in some scenarios:
- Budget concerns: If smart lighting costs are prohibitive, regular LED bulbs provide cheap efficiency boosts.
- Low-tech spaces: Simple manual switching may suffice in closets, laundry rooms or garage lighting applications.
- Dedicated use fixtures: Such as a ceiling fixture reserved only for a porch light – automation offers less value there.
Figure out which rooms you occupy most and would benefit from customization so your initial investment goes farthest. You can always expand smart bulbs to secondary spaces later.
Finding the Right Balance
The good news is, integrating regular bulbs and smart lighting can help balance personalization, automation and affordability. A hybrid approach of:
- Core smart bulbs in your most used living areas + entryways.
- Regular LEDs in background and infrequently used spaces.
Allows you to maximize the advantages of smart lighting where you get the most enjoyment and energy saving benefits day to day.
Conclusion: Experiment with The Possibilities
With this overview of differences between regular and smart lighting – including key aspects like features, efficiency, cost and installation – you hopefully feel better equipped to make the lighting choices aligned with your home and lifestyle.
The market for connected lighting and bulbs continues to grow exponentially with no slowdown in sight. As smart home technology evolves, expect even more advancements in the future like automated color tuning based on circadian rhythms to boost health, mood and sleep quality.
Whichever approach you choose today, keep an eye to developments as smart lighting solutions become even more affordable and valuable for the average consumer in years to come. Why not start experimenting with a few smart bulbs to enhance ambiance in your most used living areas based on this guide? With a wide range of budget-friendly options now available, you can easily tap into the key benefits of smart lighting at your own pace.