As lighting technology consistently improves, new variants of LED bulbs are created―and one of them is the smart bulb. It may look like any other light bulb out there, but a smart bulb comes with great features that make it stand out and become useful to homeowners. Not to mention its easy usage, a smart bulb is definitely a must-have item in your smart home.

Here’s what a smart bulb is and what makes it a cut above regular LED bulbs.

What Is a Smart Bulb?

hand holding a smart bulb

A smart bulb is an internet-capable LED bulb that users can control wirelessly by syncing it with a smartphone app, a smart-home assistant―such as Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, or Apple Home—or other smart gadgets. Unlike traditional lighting fixtures, smart bulbs offer more capabilities to make your home life convenient and comfortable.

Features of a Smart Bulb

1. Remotely Controllable

smartphone controlling colors of smart light bulb

Once you have set up your smart bulb, you can now enjoy the convenience and flexibility of controlling the lights anywhere, whether you're lying in bed, working from your desk late at night, or even a country away. You don't have to physically be there just to switch on or off the lights. All you have to do is open an app and make a few effortless taps on your smartphone.

This feature is particularly useful when you don't feel like getting off the couch. Additionally, they help to make it look like you're home when you're actually not.

2. Option for Group Control

When using normal light bulbs, you have no other choice but to go from one room to another just to check if nothing is left on.

Lucky for you, smart bulbs have made this tedious task easier.

They give you the convenient option to use the Group Control function on the app, so you can turn everything or a particular group of bulbs on/off all at once with only a single tap.

Apart from that, you can change their brightness to your liking simultaneously. No more configuring the bulbs one by one.

3. Ability to Changing Light Temperature, Color, and Brightness

string lights and smart bulbs for mood lighting in bedroom

When you want to enhance the aesthetics of a room, smart bulbs eliminate the need to purchase dimmable LED bulbs, alongside dimmer switches and dimmable transformers. Through the app, you can already change the light's brightness, color, and temperature to create the kind of atmosphere that suits your mood or situation–be it for reading a book, watching a movie, or taking a nap.

You're also free to customize the scene for your daily routine, like having dim lights in the morning to let your eyes adjust slowly, or turning on only the lights by the door when you're heading out. Another benefit of changing colors is that they aid in lessening eye strain and boosting sleep quality.

What's more, smart bulbs can make the process of decorating your home for various events less complicated.

4. Can be Added to Smart Home Routines

You can set up routines and automation using the smartphone app or your smart home platform to turn your lights on and off depending on your daily routine.

A smart assistant can execute any task that you add to your routine after detecting events such as sunrise and sunset or receiving a trigger like a simple voice command. For instance, when you say, “Alexa, sweet dreams,” your smart assistant will automatically turn off the lights, close the curtains, and sing you a lullaby.

Alternatively, if you're not using any smart assistants, there are also plenty of IFTTT automations to try with your smart bulb. You don't have to do it yourself from now on and can just let your smart assistant/automation handle the heavy lifting for you.

5. Controllable via Voice Commands

phone with words "ok google" overlayed

Thanks to its capability to connect to a smart home assistant, a smart bulb lets you control your lights via voice commands. You can just simply say, "Alexa, turn off bedroom lights," especially when you're already curled up in bed and don't fancy getting up to switch off the lights.

Aside from that, you can ask your smart assistant to change the light's color and brightness however you like. You can automate the smart bulb by turning the color from a bluer shade of white during the daytime to help you become productive to a warmer shade at night to prepare your body for a good sleep.

6. You Can Create Schedules

Another practical feature smart bulbs have is setting schedules. If you’re using a particular bulb frequently and at a particular time, it can get tiring to manually switch it on or off every time. Instead, you can just automate this task by setting a schedule on the smart bulb’s app.

This feature is also handy if you're the type of person who often falls asleep with the bedside light still on. Just create a schedule at night that turns off your bulb at a specific time, then turn it back on again in the morning.

Additionally, you can make the most of this feature by syncing your lights with sunrise and sunset, so you don't have to set a schedule ever again.

7. Saves Energy

lightbulb with green leaf inside

Smart bulbs don't only make people's life convenient and easy, but they also help save energy. It is worth noting that LED bulbs use less electricity than the average ones, while still giving the same brightness or warmth as any other bulbs. Making use of smart, energy-efficient light bulbs in homes means we only burn fewer fossil fuels, which naturally results in less toxic gas emissions.

Besides reduced use of electricity, smart lighting also leverages motion-sensing technology, which is another easy way to save energy. Motion sensors turn the lights on automatically when you walk in a room and then off when you’re gone.

They can also be used for security and safety as they send an alert to your security system or directly to your mobile phone, which is really helpful especially when you're away.

Make the Switch, Choose Smart Bulbs for Your Home

Using smart bulbs is arguably the easiest way to begin building a smarter home. From automatically turning on and off the lights to creating an ideal atmosphere for events, smart bulbs are a big help around the house.

And that's not all. They also contribute to the worldwide effort of saving energy and the environment. So, if you still have regular light bulbs, you might want to consider purchasing these smart LED bulbs soon.