5 Ways You Can Control Smart Lighting
Looking to upgrade the lighting in your home for home automation purposes? If so, smart lighting may be the solution you are looking for. Here are a few ways that you can control your lights when you have smart lighting installed.
Voice Controls
The most common way to control your lights is with voice controls. These use digital assistants, either through a smart speaker or your smartphone, to turn the lights on and off with your voice. You can name lights with specific names so that you can call them out, create group names of multiple lights, or even create routines. For example, you can create a night routine that turns off all the main lights in your home and dims the bedroom lights as you get ready for bed.
App Controls
You can also control smart lights with an app on your phone. This gives you precise control over what you are doing and is often where you make the changes to light and group names. The nice thing about app controls is that it allows you to turn the lights on and off when you are not at home since it all goes through the Internet.
Timers
Timers are a great way to set routines for when the lights turn on and off automatically. This can be based on getting up in the morning with the lights set to a dim level or having the lights turn on when you come home from work. There are even away settings that turn the lights on and off at random to make it look like you are in your home.
Remotes
It's possible to add a remote control that controls all of the lights, which can keep things simple for guests that are in your home. Sometimes these remotes stand alone and can sit on your coffee table with the remote for your TV. You can also buy a remote that is mounted to the wall like a light switch but can also pop off and be used like a traditional remote.
Geofences
You can also automate your lights based on a person entering or exiting a certain area, which is done by tracking the position of your smartphone. Consider putting a digital geofence around your home so that when you leave all of the lights shut off. You can also do the opposite, where the living room lights turn on as you pull up to your home so that you are not walking into a dark house.