5 Benefits of Installing a Smart Home Lighting System
NEWS
0 min read
With smart home lighting technology becoming more and more accessible, lighting is becoming an even more integral part of our lives, with sophisticated automation benefits bringing mood and atmosphere to our homes.
But setting up a smart home lighting system is not an easy task. There’s a lot to consider and it can be overwhelming at first, but once you know what to consider, you’ll have a plan to transform your home.
In this article, we’ll cover 5 benefits of installing a smart home lighting system, from planning for your room size to designing your smart home lighting and everything in between; colour temperature settings, dimming capabilities, lighting design ideas, the list goes on…
Why is home lighting so important?
The power of lighting is incredible. It can make your home feel comfortable, cosy, and inviting. Not to mention, it’s also an important safety feature in the home.
If you had to choose one single aspect of home automation to install, we would 100% recommend a lighting control system as it will transform the entire look and feel of a home, allowing you to control moods for work, play, entertainment and relaxation.
Smart home lighting is one of the common starting points in the world of home automation as it’s relatively easy to install without needing a professional. There are 3 options when it comes to installing smart lighting in a chosen room:
- Hard-wired light switches
- App-enabled smart plugs
- Smart bulbs that connect to Wi-Fi
Professional smart lighting design
If you’re looking to set up a whole home lighting system then you’re going to need an expert on-hand! There’s some serious planning involved in creating the ultimate lighting design, but once you’ve nailed it, you’re in for a true home transformation!
When planning a home lighting design system, we always consider the following for each room of the property:
- Size/dimensions
- Functionality (activities to take place)
- Type of lighting required
- Desired mood/atmosphere
- Level of desired automation
Once we’ve figured out how you want your smart lighting system to work, we can start on bringing that myriad of benefits to your home. Here are our top 5…
1. Highlight interior design elements
Advanced lighting technologies can contribute to the design of your interiors, helping you to complement architectural features or showcase a key piece of decor. Selecting the correct light fittings and lighting type to implement different lighting scenes for different activities can redefine the interior atmosphere at the touch of a button and give your home a brand new look.
Accent lighting
The power of interior design often lies in highlighting particular objects in a room to attract people to them e.g. decorative shelves or a piece of artwork. A few examples are below:
- Picture lights: special lights to mount above artwork that you want to proudly display.
- Under-cabinet lights: great for kitchens to show off unique touches like countertops (also useful for task lighting – more on this later), or within shelving to showcase treasured possessions.
- Sconces: small wall lights that are great for bringing small amounts of light to corners and corridors.
Using lighting to enhance interior design is particularly important for people who have chosen a property with features they want to highlight.
Top tips:
- Mix different light types such as table lamps, floor lamps and spotlights to create balanced lighting.
- Place lamps at different heights to ensure there are no dark spots and create layers to the room.
- Create balance by using light fixtures on both sides of furniture for equally distributed light.
- Use a dimmer switch to control how much light is needed at any given moment.
- Incorporate natural light by using windows as well as artificial lights when appropriate.
2. Complement the room’s activities
The point about household moods and atmospheres is that they differ from one space to another depending on the room’s primary function.
When it comes to creating a new look, understanding how the light in a room should function is crucial. It’s important to consider where specific light sources will go and how the area will be used before designing it.
Ambient lighting (aka mood lighting)
Lighting is an essential feature that contributes to how you feel when you enter your house. The mood a room sets can make all the difference in how you feel throughout the day, and that’s where smart home lighting comes in.
With various bulbs, including colour-changing options that adapt to the time of day or your activity levels within a room – you can create a unique atmosphere at any given moment.
Maybe you have a living room that needs to be relaxed and chilled? Or perhaps it’s your master bedroom that ought to be romantic and secluded?
In these cases, you’ll need ambient lighting (also called mood lighting) which involves using colour, temperature, and brightness to create a comfortable and even level of light throughout a space. The main sources of ambient lighting are usually ceiling lights, wall-mounted fixtures or recessed spotlights.
We adore mood lighting because it sets the scene for happy moments with friends and family, romantic evenings in and cosy TV nights – you get the gist…
Task lighting
Maybe it’s your office that needs some love and attention when it comes to lighting. Or perhaps your kitchen?
In these rooms, you’ll want task lighting – lighting that, as the name suggests, enables you to carry out certain tasks in that room.
For example, cabinet spotlights in kitchens make it super easy to see what you’re preparing for dinner on the countertops, and bulbs that replicate natural light in an office create a bright and airy atmosphere, more conducive to work as opposed to falling asleep at your desk!
It’s important to make sure that you have the right light for the different activities in your home, whether that’s for example reading, cooking, watching a movie, working at a desk, etc.
3. Control mood-setting and ambient lighting from a smart device
From relaxing low-light settings for early mornings and meditation purposes, to bright natural lights for working at home, smart lighting can be programmed to use pre-set lighting scenes at different times of the day, complementing your daily routine.
Integrating your smart home lighting system with a control system also allows you to use your smartphone or tablet to quickly switch between preset lighting scenes or create brand-new ones by changing the colour, temperature and brightness from a central hub.
You can control lighting from anywhere inside or outside your property from a simple app, allowing you to personalise light preferences depending on individual needs during different times of the day.
For example, a daytime setting:
VS an evening setting:
You can also link smart home automation to voice control functionality to turn lights on and off using simple voice commands – no need to use a light switch when your hands are full of shopping bags! Smart lighting automation takes convenience to the next level.
4. Save energy costs with smart lighting
Another huge benefit of installing a smart home lighting system is the utility saving!
Lighting is one of the largest contributors to your household energy bill, using, on average, 23% of a household’s electricity consumption – that’s a lot!
Using smart home automation and dimming functionality will help you to reduce power consumption and save money on utility bills.
Smart lighting can also be programmed to turn on or off as needed, allowing you to eliminate wasted energy caused by lights left on. You can set timers and motion detection sensors so that if you forget to turn off the lights before you go on holiday for a week, they’ll automatically switch themselves off after a period of inactivity in the room.
5. Integrate safety features with lighting
In addition to the above, a smart home lighting system can also be used as a security measure. For example, lights can be programmed to turn on automatically after dark, providing a light source for any guests who happen to visit at night without having to worry about whether you left the lights on or not.
By integrating sensors, you can also protect your property from potential thieves, automatically turning on a floodlight when a sensor detects movement and activity. This is great for properties in more remote locations that might be setback from street lighting and other surrounding properties.
If you’re feeling really fancy, we can even connect your lighting system to a CCTV camera system so that when the lights turn on, they will automatically start recording footage to be viewed at a later date should anything occur inside or outside your home!
Ready to design your smart home lighting system?
Integrated whole-house lighting systems add value to your property and lifestyle.
Technology enables us to accentuate the best features of our houses through lighting, influence how we feel and even save money.
There are endless possibilities with a smart lighting system; we want to create the best lighting experiences for you.
With an award-winning portfolio, Trusted Technology provides lighting design and control solutions that incorporate the best lighting technologies available.
Regardless of whether you are undertaking whole-house lighting automation or single-room lighting design, there is something in the world of lighting for everyone.
Contact us today for expert advice on installing a smart home lighting system in your home.
