Best Smart Home Light Bulbs for 2022
Smart lighting is one of the most reliable ways for you to get a smart home and a more convenient and attractive place to live in. Not only do smart light bulbs add to the convenience of lighting up your home, but they also help you to save when it comes to energy costs, can act as a safety night light, a security light when away from home, or even just having there canton of your lights turning on as you pull up on the drive.
Considering the variety of smart bulbs available in the market, making the right purchase can be challenging, which is the reason I am here to guide you on how to make the right choice. Read on, as here is a review of the best smart home light bulbs that you should consider. Be sure to read our guide after the table which provides advice and tips to help you determine the right bulb to buy.
Best Smart Home Lights
A review of the best Smart Home Light Bulbs. This table give an overview and comparison of our top choices.
 |  |  |  |  | |
| Philips Hue | Cree Connected LED Bulb | GE Link Connected LED | LIFX | Ikea Tradfri | |
 | |||||
| Rating | |||||
| Available in Color? | - | - | |||
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi, ZigBee | Wi-Fi, ZigBee | Wi-Fi, ZigBee | Wi-Fi | Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, ZigBee |
| Max Output | 800 lumens | 815 lumens | 800 lumens | 1,055 lumens | 980 lumens |
| Requires Hub? | - | ||||
| Dimmable | |||||
| Geofencing | - | - | - | ||
| Amazon Alexa | - | ||||
| Apple HomeKit | - | - | - | ||
| IFTTT | - | - | - |
Smart Lighting Buying Guide
Here are some important points and considerations when buying smart bulbs for your home.
Control
What’s the method of controlling the smart light bulb you want to purchase? This is also an essential factor to consider since this determines the convenience the bulb will provide for you. Note that there are those bulbs that allow you to control them via an App on your smartphone, others integrate with Apple watches and other wearables, others work with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant to allow you to control them via voice controls, among other options. As such, it is crucial that you determine the way you want to control the bulb so that you can get a bulb that matches your selected method of control.
Connectivity
Besides the method of controlling the bulbs, what is the connectivity method adopted by the smart bulb to allow you to control its functionality? Bulbs can connect to your gadgets via wifi or Bluetooth. Most of the wifi bulbs are ZigBee based allowing them to all talk to each other. Bluetooth only allows you to control the bulbs when within the Bluetooth range. Hence, if you will be away from your home most of the time, a bulb that connects via wifi makes a better option to enable you to control them from any location.
Color
You can get your smart home light bulb as one that produces bright white smart light or one that emits a range of colors. Selecting among these bulbs is a personal decision. So, you will need to decide whether you are okay with the smart white lights or the bulb with multiple colors. You may want a multi-colored bulb when you want a bulb for use in different settings. Moreover, you may decide to go with this option if you want a bulb to give light that will match your decor. So, determine your choice for you to get the appropriate smart home light bulb.
Price
Once you have determined a bulb that suits the factors discussed above, you will need to consider the amount you will have to part with for you to get the best smart home light bulb. Although you will have to spend more to purchase a smart bulb while compared to the regular bulbs, it is crucial for you to get a bulb that will give you the best value.
So, compare the prices and features of the available bulbs and be sure to get one that comes at the most reasonable price. Moreover, consider the energy savings that the bulb will provide and its estimated lifetime so that you can determine if it is worth purchasing. After all, you will want a smart bulb that will render many gains for the price you spend.
Our Favorite Smart Home Lights
Below we have given an overview and writeup on each of our choices.
1. Philips Hue
Do you want to control your lights at your convenience? With the Philips Hue starter kit, you can be sure to control your lights from anywhere be it the bedroom, backyard, among other places from your smart device. With this light, you can set automated light schedules so that you will never have to come back into a dark house. Hence, this enables you to have a more secure home since this gives an idea that you are home even when you are not.
These bulbs come as a pack of 4 A19 bulbs and one bridge. You can connect the Hue Bridge with three bulbs that fit the standard size table lamps. Moreover, you can grow the system since it can support up to 50 lights, making them suitable for use in even bigger homes. The bulbs are easy to install since you can fix them like the ordinary bulbs and pair them with the Hue bridge. The bridge is what that makes it easy for you to control them via the Philips Hue App at your convenience.
You can also expand your lighting system with up to 12 accessories including the Hue motion sensor or Hue Tap. The bulbs are Energy Star Certified making them convenient for you to use when matter concerning energy savings come to play. They come with a power adapter and ethernet cable so that you will not have to get these separately.
Read – Check out our Full Hue Starter Kit Review
2. Cree Connected LED Bulb
Cree Connected bulbs do not have the common LED bulb design. They use airflow instead of a heat-sink to cool their electronic components. The design incorporates a plastic envelope over the elements. These envelopes have slots on their tops and bases to facilitate circulation using convection.
Currently, Cree Connected is an LED bulb that is ZigBee based. It will work with a hub/bridge that is similar to one that comes with SmartThings or Wink Connected Home. If you have either of these, you can be sure Cree Connected will work in your home. Other ZigBee hubs also work with Cree Connected.
Cree Connected smart bulbs are affordable and efficient. However, you should avoid installing them in closed fixtures due to their cooling design.
3. GE Link Connected LED
GE Link LED bulbs connect to Wink app (using a hub) on your mobile device. This enables you to control them from any location. You have the option of controlling groups of bulbs or individual bulbs. Syncing with other smart products is possible allowing you to automate lighting that fits your schedule. You can automate the lighting to turn off when you leave, on when you arrive or wake up, or dim when you want.
They are energy efficient as they use 80% of the power in traditional bulbs. Installation is very simple. All you need to do is install the bulb(s), connect the hub, turn on the hub and bulb(s), and sync with the Wink app.
The GE Link bulbs are affordable and attractive. They are recommended to people who are trying out smart lighting systems for their home for the first time.
4. LIFX Smart LED Light Bulb
This is one of the best smart home light bulbs when you want a bulb to produce different lights to complement different settings. The bulb features up to 16 million different colors and 1000 shades of white. Hence you can select the color you want to use to set the tone for your mood. You can use the deep blue color when you want to concentrate or wind down to the warm red light for relaxing.
The biggest selling point of LIFX is you do not need any extra hardware or hub for the bulb(s) to work. Each bulb connects independently and directly to your wireless network. The bulbs follow a two-step process to connect to a smartphone directly to a temporary network automatically created by the bulb. The bulb then becomes part of your home network.
It is easy to work with LIFX app. Key controls for switching on/off bulbs individually or in rooms are front and center. You can access bulb settings with a single tap on the app. Switching between a specific white temperature or a festive color is simple. Effects and themes available allow you to give a room a party vibe, inclusive of a strobe light. White light from the bulb is clean, while colors are bright and accurate.
Besides allowing you set the color you want the light to produce, the bulb helps in enhancing the security in your home. It is compatible with Nest so that you can use it with Nest Protect and Nest Thermostat. As such, you will never have to worry about the safety of your house when away. Once Nest protects detects smoke or CO2 in your house, the lights flash to notify you of danger so that you can react to that sooner.
Additionally, the bulb is compatible with Apple watch and Android wear. Here, you can set up the bulbs to react when you receive an email, text, or social network message so that you can reply to them sooner. When it comes to setting up these bulbs, you can be sure to do that with a lot of ease since no hub is required for operation. You simply need to connect to your existing wifi since each bulb has LIFX technology built right into each bulb.
Read – We compare the LIFX bulbs with the Philips Hue system
5 IKEA Tradfri
This is the new range of smart lighting from IKEA. They currently do not have color bulbs, but the company states they will be releasing the same soon. The bulbs have similar features like any common LED light bulb. Fitting is standard and you can put them in any fitting that matches your choice.
On the plus side, the bulbs are brighter than others in the market as they have 1,000 lumens. For those who prefer lower brightness, there are options for the same. Unfortunately, they only have their app which is limited. However, steps have been taken to release an update which will allow users to integrate Apple Home Kit and Amazon Alexa.
For the price point, IKEA Tradfri smart bulbs work well. Their setup can be streamlined even though their app has a few glitches.
Our Verdict
Philips Hue – It was the first product to give users the best experience and show the options available with smart lighting. Hue was the first product to provide users with app control and color-changing bulbs. Currently, the system now supports SmartThings, Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and Apple HomeKit. Additionally, it has its own range of motion sensors and switches.
Philips Hue has the widest range of controllers, greatest third-party support, and widest range of smart bulbs. Every bulb is quick to respond and produces high-quality light. Even though Hue slightly costs more, it offers value for money. It is the smart lighting system to buy if you can spend a little more to avoid messing around with the wiring in your home.
Our Top 5
- Philips Hue
- LIFX
- Ikea Tradfri
- GE Link Connected LED
- Cree Connected LED Bulb
Whats more is that these bulbs come at reasonable prices to provide you with the best value. So, be sure to try one that includes the features you want in your smart bulb and be sure to have made the right purchase.
Other Smart Bulbs
Here is a quick round up of other bulbs on the market that you could look at.
TP-Link Multicolour Smart LED Bulb
As one of the best smart home light bulbs, this bulb does not need a hub to operate. It works with any wifi router eliminating the need for you to get a separate hub or a paid subscription service. When your wifi coverage does not reach the bulb, you can use a range extender to allow you to control the bulbs from any place.
Once you get these bulbs, all you need to do is to download the free Kasa app that works with all TP-Link smart home devices. As such, you can control the bulbs remotely from a smartphone, tablet, or any other Android or IOS device. Therefore, this means that you can turn on the lights from your car when you get close to home so that you can get into an already lit house.
With this lights, you can set the colors or brightness level that suits your mood. You can use the dim brightness option when you do not want a lot of brightness in the house, or even fine tune the light appearance from a soft white light (2500K) to a daylight (9000K). Whats more is that you can select multiple colors and as such set colors that match to your current mood.
The bulbs work with Amazon Alexa and google assistant to allow you to control the devices through voice control. You can assign a name to each of the bulbs so that you can communicate to each easily by using its assigned name. Moreover, you can assign one name to a group of bulbs to allow you to control them with one voice command.
GoControl Z-Wave Dimmable LED Light Bulb
This bulb works by connecting to your Z-wave network so that you can control it from close by or remotely via the Z-wave controller or hub that is sold separately. Hence, you can forget about the expensive wiring and electrical work and still experience an energy-efficient home lighting.
To make it even more convenient, you can operate it through a gateway via an application on your smartphone or tablet, or even manually through a wall switch. As such, you get a bulb that is easy, and convenient to operate both for you and your family at large.
The bulb is compatible with all certified Z-wave based systems. This means that you connect it to Z-wave certified products including motion detectors, door/window sensors, thermostats, Nexia home intelligence, alert sounders, light bulbs, among other Z-wave accredited products.
More to that is that it is built to last. It has a lifetime rating of 25000hour life which is equivalent to 22.8 years when you operate it three hours per day. Hence, you can be sure to get a good value for money by purchasing one of these.
Once you get the bulb, you can be sure that you will start saving a lot when it comes to energy costs. The reason behind this is that it can provide a brightness equivalent to a 60W incandescent bulb while using 9W of electricity. Hence, it helps reduce the energy costs over its lifespan. Whats more is that it allows you to select the brightness level you want in your house from the featured 100 levels of brightness. As such, it assures you of getting a comfortable light setting based on your mood.
TP-Link Smart LED Light Bulb
This is a 60W equivalent smart bulb that allows you to control your lighting from anywhere. It does not require a hub to operate since it can connect to your home’s wifi via the Kasa app. Hence, you get a bulb that is easy to control since this App works with Android devices and IOS devices. With this bulb, you can control your lighting from anywhere. Whats more is that you can adjust the brightness, set schedules, and scenes, or even track the energy used through the Kasa app.
Additionally, the bulb works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant so that you can manage it through voice control. Here, you can assign a name to each of these smart bulbs so that you can communicate with each by its name when making a voice command. Even better, you can assign one name to a set of the bulb to allow you to communicate to all of them by using a single name.
With this bulb, you can fine-tune its white temperature so that you can create a lighting suited to your mood. Hence, you can create a bright daylight (6500K) or soft relaxing colors (2700K) when you want to relax. What’s more is that you can save a lot of energy costs by getting these bulbs to light up your home. They result in a saving of up to 80% while compared to incandescent bulbs without sacrificing the brightness delivered.
SYLVANIA SMART+ A19 Full Color LED Bulb
This is one of the smart bulbs that is extremely easy to set up. It does not require a hub or a wifi router. You simply need to pair it using Bluetooth on your iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch and you are ready to go. With this bulb, you can name your light and select the color you want it to produce from its millions of colors and dimming capabilities on the Apple Home Kit.
Moreover, you can adjust the white color temperature so that you can use the soft white (2700K) to relax or the natural daylight (6500K) to read or concentrate on other activities. The smart bulb is compatible with Siri voice commands. Hence, you can dim your lights, turn them on and off, set a scene, or change the colors without any touch of a button. With it, you can be sure to save in energy costs for a long time since it has a 25,000 hour rated lifespan.
Eufy Lumos Smart Bulb
As one of the best smart home light bulbs, this bulb will not only provide you with the convenience of lighting up your home, but you will also spend a little to enjoy that convenience. It illuminates your home with a 60W-equivalent incandescent light but only uses 9W of power to produce such light. As such, it helps you save over 80% of the power used when using traditional bulbs.
With this bulb, you simply need a smartphone to control the illumination, and hence, you will never need to touch a light switch. The bulb can produce a comfortable lighting for every setting. You can dim the illumination when you want a dim glow to sleep, or brighten the light when you want to study.
Besides controlling the bulbs via the EufyHome app, you can also control it via voice controls. The reason behind this is that it is Alexa and Google Assistant compatible to allow you to operate the bulbs hands-free.
You can access the bulbs from anywhere whether at home or on the go as long as you can access a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network support, and with an Android 4.3 and above, or iOS 8 and above. Hence, you can light up the bulbs before getting home so that you can get in an already lit home. Additionally, you can set schedules to have the bulbs automatically turn on and off in your absence.
Nanoleaf NL22-0003TW-9PK Aurora Smarter Kit
This kit works perfectly with an Android or IOS device to provide you with the convenience needed when it comes to operating your smart bulbs. It works with the App on your smartphone to let you control the lighting design from any point. Whats more, it is Amazon echo and Google Assistant compatible. As such, it allows you to use voice controls to operate it so that you will never have to touch any button when you want to light up your house.
The bulb is a color-changing smart bulb that allows you to select from up to 16.7million colors. Hence, you can select the color you want it to produce to complement your mood. More to that, you can fine-tune its white color to give a soft, warm sunset (1200k) to allow you to relax or a bright white daylight (6500k) suitable when you want to read.
This bulb is easy to install since you can easily mount it onto any flat surface using a mounting tape. It comes with double-sided mounting pads so that you will never have to drill holes for a hassle-free installation.
Xiaomi Yeelight Bluetooth BedSide Light LED
With over 16 million colors featured by this smart bulb, you will never lack a color to match your everyday mood. Hence, you can use the bulb to personalize your setting from the multitude of color options available for you to select from.
Whats more is that the bulb comes with 14 Osram LED, accurate color mixing algorithms and color rendering index up to 93. This enables you to create the perfect settings with smooth colors and brightness transitions.
The bulb is easy to operate. It features a touch board button on the top that allows you to select the modes, adjust the brightness and colors, and also set the sleep timer. More to that, you can control it features via the App on your smartphone or tablet making it even more convenient.
FluxSmart Bluetooth LED Bulb Sunrise Light
This is a Bluetooth enabled, energy efficient and multicolored smart LED bulb. It allows you to control it from your smartphone or tablet giving you the flexibility you need. The bulb features a color palette of 16 million colors allowing you to personalize your lighting so that it matches your everyday mood.
Its colors are also dimmable to enable you to enjoy your setting the way you like.
Due to the wake-up mode featured on the bulb, you can schedule it to turn on or off at specific times. As such, you can be sure to wake up in a house with vibrant colors once you set it to light up some minutes before waking up. More to that, it is a great source of security since it can turn on and off even when absent. Hence, you can be sure to have neighbors or intruders think that you are home even when away.
With this bulb, you can design your color changes to allow you to bring favorite memories to life. Whats more, you can use your favorite photos to set up the colors or even pick them from the camera. You can also play music on a smartphone or tablet and enjoy the automatic color change of the lights when you make use of the music sync feature. This allows you to enjoy every bit of the music you play.
The bulb is simple to use and install. It simply requires you to screw it in, download the “Flux Bluetooth app” on the Google play store, connect, and control your bulbs. You can choose to control each bulb individually or as a group of up to fifty. As such, you do not have to stress out when you need to connect lots of these lamps. The bulb is energy efficient since it only consumes 7.5W. You can be sure of it serving you for up to 20,000 hours after buying.
Is this a viable alternative to a Philips Hue? This bulb boasts 16 million colors, including warm and cool white. This means that you can choose the perfect color for any desired ambiance. All of the colors are also dimmable.
This bulb uses a Bluetooth app for control. Though this is convenient because it doesn’t require an Internet connection, the bulbs also cannot be controlled from too far away. This app is also known to lag frequently, and is not compatible with Alexa or any other digital assistant.
If these flaws don’t deter you from this bulb, you may like to know that other users have been impressed with the long life and customizability of the bulb. They are notable for being great at recreating natural light, and can be adjusted to perfectly suit the user’s needs.
What system do you use? What do you like, dislike and want to see in smart bulbs this year?
