Smart Light Bulbs

Discover the Best Smart Bulbs for your Smart Home.

Usually, the first thing people automate in a smart home is their lighting. Remote controlling lights and bulbs in a modern home is essential, for added convenience, control and energy efficiency. With Homey, you get the ability to create advanced trigger or time-based Flows for your lights, going beyond the simple light toggle from a smartphone.

There are several ways to automate lights and make them smart. Some users opt out for replacing their wall switches and simply toggling/dimming their existing bulbs. Others install switch modules behind their wall plates for a more discreet and unobtrusive appearance. But the simplest way to automate lights? Smart Bulbs.

Choosing smart lights bulbs

While a smart bulb is a relatively simple device with little variation between models, there are some things that need to be taken into account when making a choice. The aspects listed are not absolute deal breakers, but they will hopefully guide you in the right direction.

• Connectivity: Prioritize bulbs with reliable wireless connectivity protocols such as Matter (Thread) or Zigbee to strengthen your home mesh network.
• Brightness and color control: Assess whether dimmable or color-controllable bulbs are necessary for your needs. Sometimes a simple on/off light bulb will do just fine (e.g., hallway).
• Quality: Consider the integrity of the brand producing the smart bulbs to ensure a certain level of quality. Opt for reputable brands highlighted in our Best Buy Guide.
• Energy efficiency:  Smart light bulbs vary in their energy efficiency, which can affect both your electricity bill and environmental impact. Look for bulbs with high efficiency ratings and avoid exceeding your necessary wattage.
• Price: With a standard home potentially requiring between 10 to 50 light bulbs, costs can add up quickly. Consider the prices highlighted in this article to stay within your budget.

Another important thing to note when deploying smart bulbs is the role of the wall switch. When a light bulb is installed in place, it needs constant power in order to function. Toggling your wall switch will cut power to the light fixture, causing the bulb to disconnect from your network.

Therefore, it's important to either keep the light switch permanently on and control the bulb exclusively through Homey, or consider removing the switch altogether. Another alternative would be to pair the bulb to a wireless wall switch and use it instead of your traditional switch.

Brand	Models	Protocol	Price
Govee	Smart LED Bulbs	Wi-Fi	From €12.99
IKEA	Tradfri Smart Lighting	Zigbee	From €7.99
Innr	Smart Lighting	Zigbee	From €9.99
TP-Link	Kasa Smart Light Bulbs	Wi-Fi	From €14.99
LIFX	Smart Lights	Wi-Fi	From €25.99
Nanoleaf	Essentials Light Bulbs	Thread	From €19.99
Philips Hue	White and Color Ambiance	Bluetooth	From €29.99
Sengled	Smart Bulbs	Zigbee	From €14.99
Shelly	Duo & Vintage Smart Bulbs	Wi-Fi	From €14.40
Wiz	Connected Smart Bulbs	Wi-Fi	From €10.99
Yeelight	Smart Bulbs	Wi-Fi	From €15.95

Govee is a well-known smart home brand specializing in smart ambient lightning, smart home appliances and other IoT systems. Among their line-up of smart lights, various different models of light bulbs can be found, made to fit different fixtures and bulb bases.

Almost all of Govee’s light bulbs are RGB capable, characterized with a good color rendering index of up to 16 million colors. Their devices are suited for small-to-medium sized spaces, although the ceiling-recessed BR30 model can illuminate even more spacious rooms.

While the colors Govee bulbs produce are very vibrant and lively, the low maximum brightness might not be enough to illuminate a room sufficiently. Paired to Homey, you can toggle, set color, change temperature and brightness level. 

Ikea's Tradfri product line offers a diverse selection of ambient lights, ceiling lights, lamps, and light bulbs. They provide a cost-effective solution for transforming your home lighting into a smart system, particularly when purchased in bulk.

Within Ikea's smart light bulb range, you'll find various options, including basic dimmable bulbs, RGB bulbs, spotlights, globe-shaped bulbs, and filament bulbs reminiscent of traditional lighting. 

The Tradfri lights use Zigbee to communicate with your Homey Bridge or Homey Pro directly, skipping the Tradfri gateway completely. The IKEA Tradfri app enables simple On/Off toggles, temperature and brightness control as well the ability to adjust hue and saturation of RGB bulbs. 

While the white and warm white illumination beaming at 1000 lumens of the Ikea Tradfri bulbs is great, they have a mediocre color rendering index, with colors feeling very pale.

Founded in 2012 by two ex-managers at Phillips, Innr introduced beautiful, practical and affordable smart lighting into the market including light bulbs, LED strips, ceiling lamps and recessed puck lights. 

Innr's light bulbs are known for their accurate temperature control, excellent color rendering, and accurate dimming capabilities, ranging from 1 to 100%. This offers users precise control over brightness levels with very smooth transitions. 

Innr bulbs connect directly to your Homey Bridge or Homey Pro, thanks to the well-developed Innr App, which supports their entire product range. All Innr Smart Bulbs act as Zigbee routers and extend the network coverage in your home. Great for creating a mesh of smart bulbs!

With an impressive life span of 50.000 hours, Innr bulbs have one of the longest lives compared to other brands on our list. While they may not offer the highest maximum brightness levels suitable for large rooms, they are perfectly suited for medium-sized spaces.

Kasa Smart Bulbs are part of TP-Link’s Kasa Smart Home brand, which includes various devices like plugs, cameras, motion sensors, switches, LED strips and other smart devices. Their light bulb range includes basic dimmable bulbs and multicolor RGB bulbs of up to 1000 lumens.

Their high color rendering index (CRI) provides more attractive and brighter colors to help you see the true color spectrum throughout your home. This is complemented through a fine grain dimmable range of 1-100%, which introduces no choppiness or flickering when controlled through Homey.

What sets Kasa apart from competitors is their bulb’s low power consumption of just 0.2W when in standby mode. Since Wi-Fi is very battery hungry, this is a feature that needs to be noted and commended.

TP-Link Kasa bulbs need to be onboarded through the Kasa Smart mobile app installed on your phone. You need to create an account with an email and password, accept their terms of use and then find your way through a thicket of menus until you finally make it to the correct screen to select your bulb type. This results in a tedious setup process when compared to other brands, as simply scanning a QR code is concept unknown to Kasa apparently.

Once integrated in Homey, the Kasa Light Bulbs work perfectly well, where you can change color, set the temperature, hue, saturation and dim/brighten the bulb.

LIFX Smart Lights are a series of energy-efficient, multi-color, Wi-Fi-enabled LED light bulbs distinguished by their unique flathead design. Known for their high Color Rendering Index (CRI), LIFX bulbs accurately render vibrant and true-to-life colors, making them ideal for tasks requiring precise color perception like art projects or makeup applications.

It’s not all RGB though, as their latest SuperBright lineup can deliver up to 1600 lumens, effectively illuminating even large rooms with a single bulb. For simpler needs, LIFX offers white and warm-white only light bulbs, perfect for room lighting where you don’t need color.

The LIFX Night Vision bulbs are also a very interesting line-up of infrared lights, dramatically improving the night vision of security cameras, making them a powerful partner in home security.

LIFX seamlessly integrates with Homey, allowing users to control color, temperature, and brightness levels, as well as create elaborate lighting Flows triggered by the time of day or preset scenes.

LIFX light bulbs are pricier than the competition producing comparable light bulbs, so deploying many can be hard on your wallet.

Nanoleaf is known for producing captivating wall and décor lights in the shape of hexagons, lines and triangles as well as full color ceiling lights. The Nanoleaf Essentials Smart Bulbs are a series of Matter-enabled bulbs relying on the latest Thread communication protocol to connect to your Homey Pro.

The company focuses exclusively on smart lighting, and even though their bulb line-up is slim, Nanoleaf devices are characterized with great color reproduction, bright whites, and fine temperature control. If you are on the hunt for top quality light bulbs, Nanoleaf is for you!

Integrated in Homey, you can set brightness levels, change temperature, hue, saturation, as well as trigger various dynamic lighting effects such as blink, strobe, flash etc. Adding flair to your space or creating visual alerts is very easy with Homey and Nanoleaf.

It's worth mentioning that Nanoleaf bulbs can sometimes be a bit stubborn during the Matter onboarding process, which may lead to difficulties when trying to connect to your phone over Bluetooth.

Philips Hue bulbs are leading the way in smart lighting solutions, offering a diverse range of options to illuminate homes with both efficiency and style. Their White and Color Ambiance lineup includes tunable color bulbs, as well as white and warm white options available in various fixture bases.

Renowned for their exceptional color reproduction, illuminance levels, temperature control, and overall build quality, Philips Hue is often considered the top choice in smart lighting. With an average lifespan of 25,000 hours, these bulbs are built to last, with the potential to endure up to 25 years according to the company's claims.

Integrated with Homey via the Hue Bridge, users gain full control and automation capabilities for their Hue bulbs. Beyond basic toggling, users can adjust temperature, colors, set gradients, activate lighting effects, and adjust brightness levels with ease.

However, Philips Hue's premium quality and extensive feature set come at a higher price point, making them the most expensive option in our best buy guide for light bulbs.

Sengled is another well-known brand in the world of smart bulbs that should definitely be on your radar. The company specializes in producing ambient lights, LED strips, and high-quality smart light bulbs. 

From full color RGB to simple filament models, Sengled offers a variety of different bulbs to cover every possible scenario a modern smart home would require. This wide portfolio results in a spectrum of pricing across the board, making Sengled a versatile brand suitable for budget devices as well as top tier premium devices.

Among their full stack of light bulb choices, lies an interesting gem of a device: a motion-activated light bulb, with a built-in PIR motion sensor! This model automatically turns on when it detects motion within its huge range of 12 meters.

Sengled integrates seamlessly via Zigbee with your Homey Bridge or Homey Pro, ensuring a stable and reliable connection. However, it's worth noting that Sengled bulbs do not function as Zigbee repeaters, limiting their ability to extend network range.

Shelly Duo and Vintage Light Bulbs are the company’s take on what a smart light bulb should consist of, each with its own distinct features and charm.

Shelly Duo stands out with its versatility, offering both color-changing and white light variants. With an output of 9W, you can use this bulb to illuminate small to medium sized rooms or create ambient lighting in the corner of your room.

On the other hand, Vintage Light Bulbs offer a familiar nostalgic appeal, combining modern technology with classic design. These bulbs mimic the look of traditional filament bulbs, adding a touch of vintage elegance to your space.

Shelly bulbs use Wi-Fi to connect to your home network and integrate seamlessly in Homey, allowing you to fully control the bulbs and set brightness levels, change color or use them in Homey Flows.

Both Shelly Duo and Vintage Light Bulbs are equipped with a built-in energy meter, a unique feature ensuring you're always informed about your light bulb's power consumption.

Established as a startup in 2017 in Hong Kong, WiZ slowly became a leading IoT platform for smart lighting solutions. Among its portfolio of smart lights, LED strips, downlights, luminaries and outdoor lights, a wide selection of smart bulbs can be found.

WiZ Connected Smart Bulbs are categorized in two groups: modern and filament. Even though the labeling is pretty self-explanatory, it's important to note that their portfolio includes a wide selection of bulb shapes, types, and lumen ratings. You will definitely be able to find what you are looking for among WiZ’s bulb line-up!   

Characterized with rich and vibrant colors, smooth controls and a great build quality, WiZ is considered a top pick among lighting enthusiasts. Their filament candle bulbs are highly praised for their ability to provide subtle, dim ambient lighting.

WiZ lightbulbs connect directly to your Wi-Fi network without the need of a bridge. Integrated in Homey, users can toggle, set brightness, change temperature, color and activate preset scenes.

Although rare, it’s worth mentioning some color presets don’t react as they should when triggered by third party controllers.

Yeelight is a globally recognized pioneer in smart lighting technology. Even though their focus has always been ambient lighting, Yeelight also produces high-quality smart light bulbs, available for the EU and US markets.

Yeelight’s W3 bulb is set apart from the competition by having very low standby power use as well the ability to sync to music and games. With 16 million colors and tunable whites, these bulbs are top tier for a fraction of the price.

Yeelight devices integrate very well with Homey, granting the user the ability to control brightness levels, change colors, set scenes, change temperature and create Flows based on the status of the devices.

The only downside of Yeelight is the limited variety of models available, with no options for filament or white-only bulbs, restricting users to a single type of light bulb.

About Matter Light Bulbs

Light bulbs are one of the first device types to receive Matter support, either through Wi-Fi or Thread. If you are a Homey Pro user, you will be happy to learn that any Matter-enabled light bulb model will work seamlessly with your Homey Pro - no matter the brand.

For example, TP-Link's Tapo bulbs use Matter-over-Wi-fi and do not require a separate Homey app. Similarly, Linkind, GE Cync and Orein bulbs are all very popular budget choices among early adopters, also using Matter Wi-Fi to pair to your Homey Pro.

Whichever brand or model you choose that bears the Matter logo, know that it will work with your Homey Pro out of the box!

Summary

Even though there are many ways to automate lighting in your home, smart bulbs are definitely the easiest approach. With the wide variety of options presented in our best buy guide, it’s hopefully clear that your options are endless.

From the budget-friendly selections offered by IKEA and Shelly, to the premium models from top-tier brands like Philips Hue and LIFX, this article covers the best smart light bulb choices to illuminate your modern smart home.