Many reputed companies are manufacturing LED lights. But with so many companies offering different models, it is hard to find the right smart bulb. So, we tested 32 smart bulbs for parameters like performance, durability, efficiency, compatibility with smart devices, and many more to find the best smart LED bulb for you. After 139 hours of research, Philips Hue A19 Starter Kit outperformed all the other smart LED bulbs. If you want to know more about our test process, navigate down to the section describing the complete testing process. Also, we provide a comprehensive buyer’s guide to help you buy a smart bulb that fits your home.
Top Pick
Best Smart LED Bulb
1. Philips Hue White A19 – Editor’s Pick
Philips is a huge brand known for offering electrical appliances. The Philips Hue White A19 is a perfect starter kit to begin the transformation of your home or office. The starter kit includes four A19 white bulbs and a hub to connect the bulbs. Besides, bulbs and Hub can connect to smart devices like Alexa, Apple HomeKit, and Google Assistant.
The first thing we wanted to know was what kind of installation is required for these bulbs. There is nothing different in terms of installing the bulbs. You can simply swap your traditional bulbs with them. The only additional step you have to do is to download the Hue app on your smartphone and connect it with Hue Hub via WiFi.
The brand manager told us that the Hue Hub could control almost 50 bulbs without slowing down your WiFi. Also, you can add accessories like Hue Dimmers, Hue Motion Sensor, or Hue Tap.
Another thing we looked at is how compatible the bulb is with smart home devices. As mentioned earlier, it works with Alexa, Google Home, and Apple HomeKit, you won’t have to worry about changing the smart home device. As for the performance, voice commands really make the process of controlling lights cool.
- Hue Hub can control up to 50 bulbs.
- You can easily add other accessories to the system in the future.
- Support all three major smart home devices.
- Very easy to use.
- It consumes less power than fluorescent bulbs.
- You cannot control light when you are away from home.
Bottom Line
If you haven’t adopted any smart devices for your home but badly want to, start with The Philips Hue White A19 starter kit.
2. Smart WiFi Multicolor Lumiman – Best Multicolor Bulb
If you want something that allows you to change the lights depending on your mood why not get the smart color light bulbs. The Lumiman multicolor bulbs are just perfect as a package. We liked the fact that requires no hub. Just pair it with your home smart device and you are good to go. However, it works as the best smart light bulbs with Alexa.
Though there is no delay between the app and the bulb, make sure WiFi has a higher capacity to accommodate different devices into the network. Importantly, make sure the WiFi you are using has 2.4 GHz band and not 5 GHz. The power rating is only 7.5W; hence it won’t make your electricity bill go crazy. Even we tested it for efficiency; there is nothing to worry about.
The app is also simple to use. But the advantage of controlling lights through the app is that you can schedule a specified pattern for a particular time. That’s a cool feature to have for a smart LED bulb.
- It doesn’t consume much energy.
- It requires no hub.
- You can schedule the color patterns using the app.
- Works flawlessly with Alexa.
- Lights can be controlled remotely over the internet.
- Require more than two bulbs for bigger rooms.
Bottom Line
If you like having new shades of light every day, why not get a multicolour smart LED bulb. Lumiman WiFi smart bulb is an excellent option as the best smart color light bulbs.
3. LIFX A19 Wi-Fi – Best For Budget Conscious User
If you don’t want to spend more than $100 and still want a smart bulb that has everything, we advise you get LIFX A19. It may be a little cheaper than others,s but it is impressed us with its performance and efficiency.
The first thing that impressed us was its brightness. Though it is a multicolour LED bulb, the mere 11 Watts gives an effect of 75 Watt bulb. That’s a winner if you consider the performance factor.
As far as the compatibility with home smart devices is concerned, it works with all, Alexa, Apple’s Home Kit, Google Home, Nest, Arlo, and more. Using any of them, you can dim the lights, and change the shades. The good thing is that it offers you different shades of whites too, which is a nice feature to have if you get bored with too many colors.
Of course, app control was our key focus. Using the app or smart home device, you can set different automation if you feel like having something fancy. You can also set a schedule for different colors that suit the time and temperature of the day.
- Much better illumination compared to other bulbs in the same price range.
- No hub required.
- It is compatible with almost all smart home devices.
- You can schedule light shades depending on the time of the day.
- Highly energy efficient.
- Supports only 2.2 GHz WiFi networks.
Bottom Line
If you are not looking to buy the whole set of bulbs or starter kit, just get the LIFX smart bulb. It has everything that you want.
4. LOHAS A21 Light – Best For Saving Power
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Lohas is slowly making its name with quality products. It offers a powerful LED light bulb that requires no time to warm up. If you look around, you won’t find many LED bulbs that could produce illumination of 100 Watt bulb. Smart bulbs are designed to be energy efficient, which this Lohas product does. It gives you the lighting of 100 Watts bulbs with 14 Watt smart lighting.
Much like the other smart LED bulbs that we have tested, A21 supports voice control via Alexa and Google Assistant. Besides, you can control the light with an App. Also, it gives you remote access to the bulb via the internet, which sometimes is missing from some of the smart led bulbs.
We simply followed the instruction from the manual while installing it. It has a QR code, which you can scan to download the app. Using the app, we were able to set the different shades which can easily match the surroundings or time of the day.
However, with the highest brightness setting, you may not want to test much with colors. White is the best of bright lighting.
- Brightness is much higher compared to similar bulbs with similar capacity.
- Great for the big areas of the house or office.
- Very easy to install.
- Voice control as well as remote control via smartphone app.
- Only the white shades offer the highest brightness
- Works only with 2.2 GHz WiFi
Bottom Line
If you are looking for a smart bulb that offers bright lights, based on our tests we suggest you go for LOHAS Smart Bulb A21.
5. Sengled Soft White Starter Kit – Best For Decoration
A smart LED bulb doesn’t have to be the brightest or the most colourful. Sometimes we need classy lights to make the interior look elegant. That is why we added Sengled Smart LED Soft White to this list.
However, we got the best results when we directly paired it with smart devices. Even though the app is fine but we found the naming the bulb and adding a scene photo was too much for the simple labeling of a bulb. Even scheduling looked little patchy, but we had a great experience when connected to smart devices.
As for the efficiency of the bulb, they performed well on our tests. It doesn’t consume much of energy. Yes, the starter kit comes with Hub. You can use the bulb without it. But if you plan to use a set of the bulb, we recommend getting the starter kit that includes the Hub.
- Highly responsive lights.
- Highly efficient.
- Very easy to use with smart home devices.
- Much cheaper than most of the smart LED bulbs.
- App for a smartphone is little patchy.
Bottom Line
If you want the best smart LED light as well as quality lighting for an elegant interior, you must try Sengled smart LED soft white.
Buyer’s Guide – What to Consider?
Smart LED bulbs are a great way to convert your home into an energy-efficient home because LED bulbs consume a lot less energy than traditional incandescent or fluorescent lights. And if you are smart enough to change the scheduling and automation for more efficient use, you can save a lot more energy.
However, a smart LED bulb can cost you more than traditional bulbs upfront. But if you know how to buy the right smart LED bulb for your home, you can save a lot of money in the future. Hence, we will see all the things that you need to know about smart bulbs.
1. Smart Home Compatibility
The most significant advantage of having any smart appliance is that it can connect to the smart home devices like Alexa, Siri, or Google Assistant. These smart home devices give you wireless control over the device. Not just simple command, but you can use the device in a much smarter way.
In the case of smart LED lights, you can switch on or off using simple voice control. You can change shades or set schedules for each bulb individually.
When you are buying first, you have to make sure that the bulb is compatible with the smart home device you own. Also, you have to makes sure which WiFi configuration does the bulbs support. During our tests, we have seen some bulbs that only support 2.2 GHz or 2.4 GHz. Always read the manual if you don’t know how to connect to the smart home device.
2. Brightness
For traditional lights, we use a dimmer switch. The same can be done by either an app or a smart home device for smart bulbs. So that’s a big difference when it comes to changing the brightness.
The other thing that you have to look at while buying the bulb is the capacity. Though they have low watt capacity, the illumination is equivalent to 60 Watt or 100-watt bulbs.
Every place requires a different brightness. Hence, you need to be sure of what should be the capacity of the LED. The Philips Hue White A19 LED Smart Bulb gives you illumination equivalent to 60 Watt bulb. If you want a brighter bulb, you can go for No products found..
Another thing that affects brightness is the width of the beam. Some bulbs may be brighter but may have a 1 cm wide beam to concentrate the light. If you plan to illuminate the whole room, get bulbs that have a wider beam.
3. Set up
The smart home is all about the setup. You may already have home security, smart home appliances, smart home devices, etc. These all make up one set up. Even with a smart light, you will be adding one more item to the home ecosystem. So don’t want the installation to be a tough task.
Most of the smart LED bulbs can easily replace the traditional bulbs as they fit into the same holder. Most of the brands have their app to help you control the bulbs. Download the right app on your smartphone.
Some smart bulbs require a hub. Especially if you are using a set of smart bulbs, Hub becomes the key. Each Hub has a limit of 50 or 60 bulbs. Check with the seller before buying. However, some bulbs don’t require a hub. If you don’t want the hassle of it, you can purchase something like Lumiman Smart WiFi Light Bulb Multicolor.
4. Expansion
You may not want to buy the whole set up in one go. Initially, you may want to stick to 1-2 bulbs, just get the feel of it. Nothing wrong in being safe, but with the time, you may want to add some more to the network. So why not stick to the bulbs that allow you to do so.
We recommend you buy a starter kit that includes Hub if you plan to buy 1 or 2 bulbs initially. The Hub allows you to add more compatible bulbs in the future. Not just bulbs, there are so many accessories that could be added to your smart home lighting system. So make sure that you leave room for expansion.
5. Schedule And Routines
If you schedule the smart bulbs right, you can save a lot of energy. This is why people love smart bulbs. Almost all the smart LED bulbs allow you to schedule when they should be turned on or off and also set the shades of bulbs that should be during a specific time of the day.
For scheduling, the app plays a vital role. It would be better if you look at the reviews and how the app works before you buy several bulbs. Some apps may be too complicated to use. We have seen that in our tests. However, some are easy to use.
6. Warranty
Like any bulb, the warranty is a must. If you look at the prices of smart bulbs compared to traditional bulbs, they are stiff. You don’t want to buy a bulb every month if one of the bulbs is compromised. The warranty ensures that you get the most value out of your investment. After all, smart LED bulbs are all about saving money and energy.
How We Conducted The Tests?
We tested 32 different smart LED bulbs for 139 hours and interviewed 11 experts who have experience in smart LED lights. While testing, we scored each product for parameters like brightness, connectivity, set up, and much more. Our tests also included different conditions like slow wireless connectivity, different times of the day, voltage fluctuations, and many more.
In addition to our tests, we also used the LED light the way an average user uses it. We also went through several review sites to understand what users think about the product. Fortunately, we were also able to get in touch with the brand managers of the products. It helped us to know the different variants much closely.
| Product | Illumination | Connectivity | Installation | Overall | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sengled Smart LED Soft White | 94.9 | 94.6 | 94.2 | 94.57 | Check Price |
| LOHAS Smart Bulb A21 Light | 96.2 | 94.3 | 95.5 | 95.33 | No products found. |
| LIFX A19 Wi-Fi Smart LED Light Bulb | 94.3 | 97.5 | 96.2 | 96.00 | Check Price |
| Lumiman Smart WiFi Light Bulb | 96.2 | 97.3 | 97.6 | 97.03 | Check Price |
| Philips Hue White A19 | 97.4 | 98.4 | 98.6 | 98.13 | Check Price |
After a lot of testing and reviews from the users as well as the experts, our team scored all the models. Depending on the scores, we sorted out the all the smart LED bulbs. Here is a comprehensive table that will give you some idea of how we scored the products:
FAQs
Final Thoughts
1. Why should one get smart LED light bulbs?
If you look at the traditional fluorescent and incandescent light bulbs, they consumed a lot more energy than LED bulbs for the same brightness. Smart LED bulbs have the same quality, but by adding a smart device to it, we can save even more on the energy. Also, you don’t have to run to a switchboard to turn on/ off or change the brightness of the light. You can do it from your phone or just ask your smart home device to do it for you.
2. Does the smart LED light to slow down the WiFi?
It depends on the number of bulbs you are using and the capacity of the WiFi. If the WiFi is already connected to many devices, adding bulbs beyond its capacity will slow it down. So make sure you update your wireless network for the smoother operation of your smart devices.
3. Can smart LED lights be controlled if you are not home?
Of course, many manufacturers offer this feature. However, make sure that the bulbs are connected to the internet.
The way the energy consumption has been increasing per average American home, it calls for smart energy-saving solutions. The smart LED light could be the first step towards it. And to help leap, our buyer’s guide and review will help you make the right decision. Buying is all about knowing the product, understanding your needs, and how much you are willing to spend on it.
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