Smart ways to light up your life
From waking up each morning to a gently brightening room or throwing parties where the lights pulse in time with the music, smart lighting can be used to create a mood-enhancing ambience.
Controlled by an app on your smartphone or tablet, and sometimes by voice or touch, the new systems make a regular light switch with dimmer dial look positively ancient.
Christian Yan, co-founder of Nanoleaf, a company that makes wall-mounted smart lighting panels, says: ‘‘Our panels are a conversation piece. They tie in with a smart home but they have a lifestyle element, with nice clean design. You can use them to wake up in the morning, to improve your work or yoga or meditation practice, or at a party.’’
Controlled by an app, by touching the panels or by twisting or rolling the company’s new dodecahedron-shaped remote, Nanoleaf’s connectable triangular panels can be arranged into different designs on the wall. Each panel is dimmable and can be lit from a selection of colours.
‘‘You don’t have to be on your phone all the time to control it either. It’s interactive,’’ says Yan.
Many smart lighting systems are now designed for customers to set up. Nanoleaf’s lightweight panels are simply stuck on the wall with special adhesive tape, and the Philips Hue screws into your existing light fittings. Then it’s just a matter of downloading the corresponding app onto your device.
Many systems are compatible with home hubs such as Amazon’s Echo, Apple’s HomeKit or Google Home. This allows them to be controlled by voice and linked with other features, such as automated door locks or thermostats.
And if the smart lighting system, such as Philips’ Hue, is linked with an internet automation service like IFTTT (If This, Then That), it could also be set to change colour when an important email lands in your inbox, flash when your sports team wins or gradually brighten as the sun sets.
The Hue’s basic kit includes three bulbs that can glow in more than 16 million colours and unlike Nanoleaf, it is bright enough to light your whole home. The Hue bridge is able to connect with up to 50 bulbs, and there’s a portable option.
Using the timer function, the system can also make it seem like you’re home when you’re not by switching lights on and off, or add a motion sensor to turn the lights on as soon as you enter the room. ‘‘Lighting is one of those areas that’s been thought of as uncool,’’ Yan says. ‘‘We want to change that.’’