Smart Lighting

Philips Hue is probably the most well-known smart bulb. It gives you a color-changing bulb that helps you recreate different lighting situations inside the home.  You can control or manage the Hue lights using a mobile app or via several integrations that allow the smart bulb to work with other smart devices. Philips Hue is now on its third generation and it uses a bridge that … [Read more...] about The Best Philips Hue Alternatives – Too Expensive?

The nice thing about wanting smart bulbs is that your choices keep on expanding, each option offering something better, or something unique.  As the technology becomes increasingly common, you get to choose from a wide variety of smart bulbs that offer some cool features which go beyond just lighting your rooms. One smart bulb that is worth looking into but is not getting … [Read more...] about Loftek Sansi Smart LED Review: Is it Right for You?

Smart lighting might be cool and funky for some smart home owners, but for others it is already old and boring. That’s how fast the technology moves these days. For those who want something with a little more epic, enter Nanoleaf, a system that takes the lights off the ceiling or lamps and puts them on the wall, makes them interactive and ideal for a designer … [Read more...] about Nanoleaf Review – Making Smart Lighting Cool Again?

Meet ZenCube, your smart, natural health lamp! While most smart home vendors are trying to sell us ever-smarter, or cleverer bulbs, one company at least is looking at the holistic benefits that light, and salt, can provide. Recently 250% funded on indiegogo, https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/zencube-the-coolest-healthiest-smart-lamp--2#/, Zencube promises to provide … [Read more...] about Zencube Review – The Smart, Natural Health Lamp

Introduction We warned you in the recent Eero vs Luma piece that lots more vendors were getting ready to play in the smart home WiFi space, and here comes the first of the challengers. Securifi is ready to roll with its update on last year’s Almond router box.  That model could offer a range extending function, by using multiple units, but this year’s update makes for a more … [Read more...] about Almond 3 Smart Home WiFi Review – Is it A Contender in the World of Smart Home WiFi?

Smart light bulbs and the technology to control them are available from a fast growing range of makers and brands, with a confusing array of hubs, bulbs and applications. Our guide should help anyone understand what’s on the market and which is the best product for them. Smart lighting started out simply adding remote control features to standard LED bulbs. This quickly … [Read more...] about The Best Smart LED Bulbs on the Market Now

Lutron Electronics has made a name for itself selling energy-saving wireless lighting dimmers and windows shade units and remote controls. It entered the smart home market in 2014 with its Lutron Smart Bridge Pro. It creates a wireless bridge to connect its Caseta Wireless dimmers and Serena remote-controlled shades, and other devices to the Lutron app, for iOS and Android … [Read more...] about Lutron Smart Bridge Pro Review – Worth the Price?

Philips Hue lighting range is far from inexpensive, but the results in the modern smart home are pretty impressive. From the original Hue bulbs to the new light strips and now the Hue Go, there’s a Hue for most lighting needs and the range of accessories and features is enough to turn whole houses into festivals of light. Key Features of the Hue Go Flexible: Philip’s … [Read more...] about Philips Hue Go Review – More Than a Gimmick?

Amazon’s Echo continues to drive smart home technology adoption, impressing users with the Alexa voice assistant, her growing usefulness at providing information and ability to control smart devices. The recent limited launch of the Dot and Tap give buyers two new ways to make use of Alexa and enjoy the features that make the growing Echo family popular. The new Tap adds … [Read more...] about The Amazon Dot vs Tap – Which to Choose?

Last year we reviewed the Hue Go, Philips’ portable fancy smart lighting unit. As we arrive in 2016, here’s the Hue Bloom, another addition to the company’s growing range. While the Hue family remains very much premium priced, this is another opportunity to have fun with your lighting, syncing it to music, creating lighting patterns and generally splashing out with … [Read more...] about Hue Bloom Review – What’s to Like About this Smart Light