Illuminate Your Space: The Ultimate Guide to Smart and LED Lighting
In today’s world, lighting plays a crucial role in shaping the atmosphere of our homes. With a variety of options available, from smart bulbs to traditional LEDs, the right lighting can enhance your living spaces, create mood, and even boost energy efficiency. This guide explores the best products, practical tips, and innovative technologies to help you achieve the perfect illumination for every room in your home.
Best Dimmable Smart Bulb
Philips Hue White Starter Kit
Philips Hue may have an expensive reputation, but its dimmable white LED smart bulbs are priced at just $15 each. You can also get a starter kit that includes three bulbs and the Philips Hue Bridge—essentially the brain of the system—for only $50. From there, you can add additional bulbs whenever they go on sale, gradually expanding your network of connected lighting.
We appreciate Philips Hue smart bulbs for several reasons: the well-developed app, the wide range of bulbs, fixtures, and accessories, as well as their strong customer support. With the Hue Bridge managing your setup, your bulbs are compatible with Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant. This allows for seamless voice-activated lighting adjustments. Next time you’re watching a movie and want the lights dimmed low, just tell your assistant to « dim the living room lights to 5%. »
Go for Maximum Brightness
If you have rooms with high ceilings or recessed lighting—like an entryway or a staircase with overhead lights or a candelabra—you’ll want to prioritize brightness over softness in your bulbs. When bulbs are installed higher, they need to be brighter to effectively illuminate the space.
One popular choice for overhead lighting is the BR30-shaped floodlight. The « BR » stands for « bulging reflector, » indicating that the light source sits above a reflective bowl, similar to a small satellite dish. When you screw a bulb like this into your ceiling, the bowl catches the upward light and reflects it back down, spreading a wide pool of bright light throughout the room. In fact, this principle is similar to how car headlights are designed to maximize light output in front of you while driving.
Energy-Saving BR30-Shaped LED Options
You have plenty of energy-saving BR30-shaped LED options in the lighting aisle. Among these choices, the most common option is the 65-watt equivalent bulb, which typically emits around 650 lumens of light. This output is a solid amount, making it perfect for average-height ceilings with a few bulbs shining overhead. In my testing, I recommend the 65-watt equivalent floodlights from Cree and Philips. Both offer excellent value and are highly energy-efficient, each drawing less than 10 watts. Additionally, these dimmable bulbs work well with dimmer switches and—most importantly for overhead lighting—they are both bright, each producing comfortably over 700 lumens. As of this writing, Home Depot has the Cree bulbs on sale in a two-pack for under $6 each—these are the ones I would choose for my own home.
However, if your ceilings are higher than average or if you have fewer bulbs illuminating the space than you’d like, consider opting for 100-watt equivalent BR30 LEDs to increase brightness even further. Cree offers these options, and Home Depot sells them for around $10 each, which is a great deal.
Dimmability: Adding Versatility to Your Living Room and Bedroom
While some rooms serve one or two primary functions, others accommodate a variety of activities. For instance, your living room might be a space for watching TV, reading, playing board games, or engaging in other pursuits. Such multifunctional rooms can truly benefit from high-quality lighting that adapts to your needs.
The Traditional Approach
The traditional approach has been to use a mix of different lamps and fixtures for various purposes—like a reading lamp next to your favorite armchair, overhead lights for game night, and everything off during movie time. While this method is effective, it confines you to a binary “on/off” lighting mentality.
A Better Strategy
A better strategy is to provide yourself with a full spectrum of lighting possibilities by ensuring all your lights are dimmable. Upgrading your light switches to dimmer switches is one way to achieve this, and it’s not as daunting as it may seem if you’ve never done it before.
Smart Options
There are also smart plugs from brands like Lutron that allow you to easily dim your fixtures and lamps. However, the simplest method is to replace your bulbs with dimmable smart bulbs. Prices have significantly decreased in recent years, and the introduction of voice controls offers a quick way to adjust your dimming preferences.
Benefits of Smart Bulbs
Best of all, nearly every smart bulb on the market is dimmable without flickering or buzzing. This eliminates a common headache associated with in-wall dimmer switches. Smart bulbs are excellent choices for bedrooms, where strong dimming performance and features like scheduled wake-up fades can greatly enhance your morning mood.
Philips Hue: Affordable Smart Lighting with Great Features
Philips Hue may have an expensive reputation, but its dimmable white LED smart bulbs are priced at just $15 each. You can also get a starter kit that includes three bulbs and the Philips Hue Bridge—essentially the brain of the system—for only $50. From there, you can add additional bulbs whenever they go on sale, gradually expanding your network of connected lighting.
After six years of reviewing light bulbs for CNET, I can confidently recommend GE Reveal bulbs. These bulbs consistently deliver enhanced color, including standard 60-watt equivalent LEDs, floodlights, and dimmable options. For example, a 4-pack of standard A-shaped Reveal bulbs is currently available for $14 at Lowe’s.
While considering options, these bulbs may cost a bit more and are often slightly dimmer than average LEDs. This occurs because they filter out some yellow light to achieve a better color temperature. However, these trade-offs are worthwhile for accent lighting or in areas where vibrant colors shine.
Ultimately, light bulbs are essential yet often taken for granted. In fact, they are among the most frequently used items in our homes. So, don’t let the lighting aisle overwhelm you! Whether you choose an energy-saving LED, a CFL, a smart bulb, or a traditional incandescent bulb, finding the right light for each room is easier than you might think.
Consider Colors in Your Kitchen and Closet
When discussing color, I’m not referring to color-changing smart lights, although they can add flair to your home. I’m referring to the colors that already exist in your space, such as artwork, furniture, clothing, and kitchen produce.
If it’s colorful, it will benefit from light bulbs with high color rendering scores. These bulbs enhance color temperature and help colors appear vibrant. However, finding these bulbs can be challenging since manufacturers aren’t required to list color rendering scores on packaging. Some bulbs that claim to enhance colors may not perform as expected.
My LED Lighting Tip: Stick with GE Reveal Bulbs
After six years of reviewing light bulbs for CNET, I can confidently recommend GE Reveal bulbs. Notably, they consistently deliver on their promise of enhanced color, including standard 60-watt equivalent LEDs, floodlights, and dimmable options. For instance, a 4-pack of standard A-shaped Reveal bulbs is currently available for $14 at Lowe’s.
It’s important to note that these bulbs may cost a bit more and are often slightly dimmer than average LEDs. This difference arises because they filter out some yellow light to achieve a better color temperature. Nevertheless, these trade-offs are worthwhile when used for accent lighting or in areas where vibrant colors are appreciated.
In the bigger picture, light bulbs are essential yet often taken for granted. Indeed, they are among the most frequently used items in our homes. Therefore, don’t let the lighting aisle overwhelm you! Whether you choose an energy-saving LED, a CFL, a smart bulb, or a traditional incandescent bulb, finding the right light for each room is easier than you might think.
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