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- #Wifi vs bluetooth light bulb install
- #Wifi vs bluetooth light bulb update
- #Wifi vs bluetooth light bulb software
For one, you need to update the bulbs if you want to experience the additional colors they have to offer. Smart lights are better for a few reasons. In general, smart bulbs are better, but they’re also more expensive. Which is better, a smart switch or smart light bulb? Even if you’re sporting a wide range of brands, third-party support for Google Home and Apple Home are common enough that you can otherwise manage all of your smart home gadgetry from one spot. Manufacturers will often have families of products that can all be managed from within the same app.
#Wifi vs bluetooth light bulb software
On the software side, smart switches and smart lights are on more even ground. The only real way around dealing with any electrical work is to use a mechanical switcher like Switchmate, but they’re fairly large and clunky-looking. Often, smart switches are incompatible with these three-way arrangements. You’ll also need to figure out if any other switches go to the same light fixture. Some smart switches require that continuous power source, but others don’t. You’ll want to check to see if the switch you’re looking at replacing has a neutral wire to provide power to a potential smart switch. Changing light switches involves dealing with electrical work that not all homeowners are comfortable (or competent) doing. For smart lights, it’s a simple bulb swap and a few taps on the app, and you’re good to go. Smart light bulbs are certainly easier to set up than smart switches. Are smart switches or smart lights easier to install? It may be worth shelling out a little extra for the color that smart lights provide. Whether that’s a big difference will depend entirely on your budget. Generally, however, good smart bulbs cost between $20 and $40, while you can get a passable smart switch for $10. Those higher-end smart switches will often have features like built-in speakers and microphones so you can use voice assistants like Alexa. You can certainly find cheap smart lights, and the fanciest smart switches can crest the $100 mark.
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Smart switches tend to be cheaper than smart lights. Are smart lights or smart switches more expensive? So you may need to move your Wi-Fi router or get a network extender to ensure coverage.
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On that note, you’ll want to make sure smart switches are in range of your Wi-Fi router to ensure consistent connectivity. They’ll also need Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to connect to the home network so you can control the switch from your devices and build automations. The smart switches that work with normal bulbs will have their own apps and setup processes where you’ll have to wire them into your home’s electrical. For example, Philips has a dedicated switch that communicates wirelessly to all of the Hue bulbs in the house. Some smart light bulb manufacturers make switches specific to their light bulbs. You’ll need to check the packaging, though. The vast majority of smart switches work with normal light bulbs. Do smart switches work with normal light bulbs? This can give you the chance to remotely control a lot more than just lights. Smart switches are also handy because they can activate other outlets that are connected to different appliances. This feature is especially helpful when light fixtures are set at inaccessible locations, making bulb replacement challenging. They provide connectivity to lights without needing to change the bulbs themselves, so you can control them remotely from your phone, via voice assistants like Alexa and Siri, or by setting automations so they turn on at sunset. That’s really what’s so convenient about smart switches.
#Wifi vs bluetooth light bulb install
You do not need smart bulbs to install smart switches.