Over the last five years, there has been a push to introduce smart technology into the home. Refrigerators are smart, T.Vs are smart, and now, so is lighting. While the push towards smart lighting has been slow, the possibilities now seem endless for this new lighting fad. But could the push for smart technology in the home end up costing you more money and stress? Some see it as the wave of the future, while others just want a light that turns on and off.
Your Lighting Just Got Smarter
It’s amazing what you can do with a smartphone and Wi-Fi these days. Some refrigerator models can tell you when you’re running low on milk, for example, and you can make sure you locked your doors at home from your office. But really, one of the most impressive of the new ‘smart’ technologies is the smart light. Products like Philips’s new Hue are paving the way towards a brighter, and more colorful future.
If you are away from home on vacation, you can set certain lights to turn onto a certain brightness to give the illusion that the space is occupied. Also, when you’re walking home from a day at work, your phone can send signals to your lights that you are approaching your home. With certain settings on the app, you can make it to where, as you approach your door, the porch light comes on. Once you get to the door, your kitchen and living room light will come on. Also, these lights change color, so depending on the time of the day or on the lighting that you’d like to have for a party, you can pick up your phone and change from red to blue or pink to purple. These new technologies will prove to be the future of lighting, but there are still quite a few kinks to be worked out.
The Problems with Smart Lighting
As with most new ‘smart’ technologies, the makers of the products are still working out the kinks. First of all, these new lights are LED. LED technology has advanced greatly since it was invented, but there are still some problems. LED lights are extremely sensitive to humidity and heat, for example, so these lights cannot be placed outdoors. Although Philips states that the electricity usage of these lights is 80% less than other lights, you will end up charging your phone and using a bit more Wi-Fi than you normally would since these lights are dependent on Internet technologies. Also, these lights take a tremendous amount of time to set up. To install, program, and use these lights takes around 3 hours, as opposed to the old school ‘twist-and-go’ light bulbs of days past.
It’s not doubt that these lights are the wave of the future, but, as with all new technologies, there will be a grace period where these lights aren’t living up to their potential. There may be a few problems, but time will surely fix them, and your home lighting is about to get a lot more intelligent.
It doesn’t really matter where the future of lighting is going, because chances are you’ll still need a light cover. Here at Diffuser Specialist, we carry a wide variety of lighting products for you and any of your lighting needs. From globe covers to tube guards, egg crates to flat sheets, we’ve got something for you. Click on the button below to view our selection, and remember, if we don’t have it, we’ll find it for you.
Sources:
http://www.fastcodesign.com/3044549/fast-feed/philips-makes-moves-to-exit-the-led-lighting-business
