Best Smart Lamps: The New Step Forward in Lighting

Smart lamps are an extension of a smart bulb which is a modern day internet adapted LED light bulb that is designed
to be controlled remotely, scheduled, color controlled and sometimes brightness controlled. Best Smart lamps are controlled through a mobile app or a home automation hub.

Best smart lamps will have a trifecta of lighting nuances old lamps didn’t: Flicker free illumination, multiple tones of white such as warm white and even sync control with other devices. You may also like a lamp with an alarm or sleep tracker?  The most advanced smart lamps will even have a sync function with your game console, splaying multi hued beams across your living room in sync to sounds of your game.

Read to the end to see which smart lamps illuminated me or which left me standing in the dark. Before revealing the best smart lamps lets look at the benefits of smart lamps.

Benefits of Using Smart Lamps

Since when Sir Joseph Swann, (or Edison) in 1875, developed the first incandescent light bulb and his house in Underhill, Low Fell, Gateshead, was the first in the world to be lit by an electric light bulb in the early 1800’s, electric lighting has lit up our world.

Writer, Ernest Freeberg described Illinois as,

“It’s like to be in a town lit, suddenly, by imitation moons.â€

Benefits

• Lower energy use.
• Smart lights use CFL or LED bulbs (light-emitting diode (read a definition on Wikipedia) instead of incandescent bulbs
• They reduce the amount of electricity needed to light a space
• Easy-to-use light customization.
• Longer life span
• Entertainment uses
• Help for disabled people

Best Smart Lamps: The New Step Forward in Lighting

Smart WiFi Table Lamp – Budget Introduction to Smart Lamps

Designed for Apple HomeKit, Siri, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant or any home hub you can change the light brightness from 100% down to 3% for a sleepy mood and do it easily with a voice command. Schedule the smart lamp to turn on and off using the product APP and even control it from anywhere where there’s an internet connection.

I love the simple-to-use APP which allows you to choose a color bar, finger it and hey presto the color changes on your lamp. Made of sturdy plastic it looks like a bedroom night light and that’s what I believe is this diminutive device’s best function.

I found this good price on Amazon (I may get a small commission for purchases)

MODIRNATION Bonsai ‘Tree of Light’ – LED, Stylish Bedside Smart Table Lamp

If you’re looking for a small LED light that’s inspired by bonsai trees, this is the one for you. There’s also a small Bluetooth speaker for playing calming noises from your mobile devices. A feature I like a lot is the Qi standard wireless charger for charging your phone; simply slide your phone over the base and it charges effortlessly.

You can change the brightness of the LED light using touch controls or press and hold to activate a sleep mode that goes off after 30 minutes. I love the look of this lamp with its smooth finish and metallic bonsai tree stem, attached to a stylish cherry tree lamp shade. Ideal for a bedroom, kitchen or even office, the calming changes of light hues are great. But the MODIRNATION Bonsai does only come in one color…that may not matter with LED lighting.

Compatible  with Google Nest devices, Alexa (Philips Hue Bridge (sold separately) is required for Echo 1st Gen and Echo Dot 1st Gen), control the lamp with your voice. With millions of LED colors the mood you set is up to you. If you want a small disco in your bedroom you can have it by voice command or button.

The CET Tree of Light is composed of metal and cherry wood, and the LED light is a 20-watt equivalent, so it’s more of an accent or nightlight than a large room light. Keep in mind that thicker cases may need to be removed from phones in order to charge them wirelessly.

Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance Bloom – Budget Mood Light, Sync System

Chose from over 16 million colors to set the right color for your mood, interior decor, or night light…to name a few uses. Voice controlled by your smart hub, blue tooth compatible with Google Nest, Siri or Alexa to name a few (Philips Hue Bridge is required for Echo 1st Gen and Echo Dot 1st Gen) the lamp creates a mood with 8 watts, 120 lumens for different scenarios. Here’s a few ideas: bedtime stories, romantic dinners, sync for movie evenings or kids birthday parties.

If you don’t want to use voice control a handy controller can stick to the wall via a base or place it on the lamp by magnet. This gives you a useful way to use the lamp even if you don’t have a smart hub or APP. On the downside, which is typical these days the cable is quite short at a few feet, but it works well with a cable extension. At 8 watts this lamp is more of a night light but an enjoyable piece of smart kit in, ‘Best Smart Lamps’.

Philips Hue White and Color LED Smart Button Starter Kit – Smart Hub and Bulbs

This Philips-branded kit  is a great example of how helpful hubs can be. It includes four lights as well as a Hue Bridge hub for connecting the lighting to your phone or voice assistant (It works with Alexa, Apple HomeKit & Google) If you have any older Philips bulbs, as well as any first- or third-party accessories like the Philips Outdoor Motion Sensor, this is how you connect them. If you want to use a single system for all of your smart home gadgets, this is the way to go…use up to 50 bulbs from this starter hub.

With 60 Watts these bulbs are versatile with their strong power: from the simple bedroom back lighting to the home disco party. Amazingly the hub can control 50 lights at once. Examples of their use could be a gentle dimming scheduled for bed time. Or even a dazzling display set as an alarm call…with no chance of missing the alarm.

The smart button can be used if you’re APP shy and its well thought out with a magnet option or stick it to the wall. However, it should be said these are bulbs and not lamps so where you stick them is up to you.

In Conclusion

LED smart lamps are changing our use of the humble light bulb, in the first revolutionary change since the 19th Century. You’ll find all of the above best smart lamps and bulbs offer millions of LED light colors, are programmable by APP or simple switch. For beauty of the lamp itself, I would plump for the bonsai design which I love. The final choice of hub and smart bulbs offers an advanced system for your home with some real punch at 50 watts. Enjoy!

• You may like: A History of Electrical Devices
• Read: Smart Doorbell Q & A
• A ‘smart’ read: How to use a Curtain Smart Device