Are Smart bulbs really that smart?

Everyone seems to be on the Smart Bulb bandwagon these days. Most electronic stores have dedicated sections for smart home products, hardwares have started selling smart products and there are hundreds of online stores selling smart bulbs. The battle lines have been drawn between Phillips Hue and Lifx as the two biggest players in this space. Each with their own set of features as well as pros and cons.

Phillips Hue uses a hub to bridge the gap between your bulb and your network, whist LiFx leverages Wifi so your bulbs connect directly to your home router. These two may very well have the market covered but there are challengers, Bunnings Warehouse has a range of Wiz bulbs as does Amazon. Kogan even have a range of their own branded smart bulbs and Ikea have also dipped a toe in the water.

I'm not going to share my thoughts on which is better or who has the best app, best accessories and so on, I'm interested in answering the question "Are smart bulbs really that smart?"

I've spent the last few years following the smart home - home automation space. I can see why bulbs have taken off. Its an easy market, after all each home has a significant amount of bulbs and secondly bulbs are DIY. Anyone can swing by JB-HiFi grab a smart bulb and install it. Thats perfect for both home owners and those who rent.

In a nut shell smart bulbs will be white or coloured, turn on and off and dim. Thats pretty cool in itself but is it revolutionary? Sure it is, when compared to existing bulbs. When you think about it not long ago pretty much all bulbs were incandescent and had been since the invention of the bulb. Then in a short time we saw the introduction of florescent bulbs and more recently LED.

So yes the evolution of the bulb in recent times is revolutionary, but are they smart? The dictionary states SMART (of a device) programmed so as to be capable of some independent action. ie "hi-tech smart weapons." So technically yes smart bulbs are smart but they have one big downfall that stops them being top of the class.

All smart bulbs need to have the light switch on at the wall, without the switch being in the on position the bulbs don’t receive power and thus are unresponsive to any control. So you just have to leave the light switch on right?

Well in theory yes, but as humans who are conditoned to turn the light on and off at the wall someone in the home is guarenteed to turn the wall switch off when the leave a room or go to bed. The typical scenario goes something like this…. Dad sets up his new bulbs and is proud a punch, shows them off to his mates then his 6 year old daughter turns the light switch off.

Lets face it not all people will take to turning the light on and off in a room via voice, each and every time, nor will they get their phone out, launch an app to do the same. The biggest single failure of smart bulbs are people and people are conditioned to walk past a light switch to control the lights.

In addition to the fact that most households would have expended some cash to buy energy efficient bulbs that last for years, smart bulbs are expensive. Just look at one room (ie a lounge room) with 4 x GU10 down-lights. One brand sells GU10 bulbs for $84 each, thats a massive $336 for just one room.

Functional home automation needs to be both simple and convenient. Smart light switches provide traditional light control at the wall, with all the convenience of voice and app control and at a fraction of the cost. Are smart bulbs smart? yes of course, but smart light switches are smarter.