The smart home is very much here – but what does it actually mean? For some it’s a great way to manage your electricity costs, for others it means enhanced security – but for more and more people, it means smart lights.
Simply put, smart lights are intelligent lighting solutions that you can control via an app, digital assistant or smart home hub. This functionality can be as simple as dimming a standard-style lightbulb, but for the majority of systems such as LIFX and Phillips Hue, the results are far more dramatic.
Think anything between nightclub visuals and 80s style lighting, all the way to warm hygge-friendly tones, and you’re pretty much there.
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So, what are the best lighting solutions you can buy? Keep reading to find out.
Nanoleaf
Nanoleaf isn’t about subtlety, it’s about being the centrepiece of a room. There are a few different types of Nanoleaf on offer right now: from triangular light panels, to hexagonal tile or square ones – but the result is pretty much the same.
Unlike some other smart lights on this list, a Nanoleaf system can be controlled both via an app – or the palm of your hand, and there are some other smart features: it’s a modular system so you can build and design patterns as large or as small as you want.
What’s more, those patterns detect themselves and are aware of their shape, so the NanoLeaf can create waves using its 16 million possible colours.
It’s not one of the most popular systems on this list, but it’s only a matter of time. As you’d expect, NanoLeaf is digital assistant compatible.
We've written a deep-dive into the Nanoleaf range if you're interested in finding out even more about this innovative lighting range, and rounded up our favourite products below.
Nanoleafnanoleaf.me
Description
Nanoleaf's first hard-wired ceiling light panels (you could get bulbs and downlights before but nothing like this) produce a large, diffuse spread of light that looks absolutely stunning. Plugged into your existing ceiling cables and screwed into the wall, the instalation takes longer than other Nanoleaf products that stick to the wall and use socket power. But they're worth it.
Pros
- Hard-wired in
- Very bright
- Sunrise effect is brilliant
Cons
- More committed instalation
- Large displays will be very expensive
nanoleaf.me
Description
The fairy lights you didn't know you needed until now - not just any string of festive LEDs, but ones you can control via your smart home hub, that react to music, and can display 16million+ colours. Click through to Our Review to find our what we really think.
Pros
- Infinitely (almost) customisable
- Easy to set up
- Matter connectivity
Cons
- More expensive than standard LED lights
- No scheduling in the Nanoleaf app
nanoleaf.me
Description
Pick from triangles or hexagons and fit them together in whatever pattern suits you. The Shapes range is the most flexible in terms of design and the only limit is your imagination - also available in Ultra Black, for a stealthy look. Especially impressive on darker walls.
Pros
- Flexible designs
- Wide range of colours
- Touch sensitive control
- Sync to music
Cons
- Slightly fiddly connectors
- Minimum of nine panels
nanoleaf.me
Description
With 16 million colours and tuneable white tones a smart bulb like this one from Nanoleaf is a low-cost starting point for your interior lighting design. Available with a screw or bayonet fitting, as well as in GU10 and downlight form, these rhombicosidodecahedron bulbs (yes, that is a word) should fit right in. Now compatible with Matter over Thread, too.
Pros
- Cost effective
- Easy to install
- Two year warranty
Cons
- Can't follow routines in the Nanoleaf app
nanoleaf.me
Description
A set containing long plastic strips that can be assembled in geodesic patterns or even used around the edges of furniture or as downlights under cabinets.
Our review:
Pros
- Flexible shape design
- Dynamic scenes look impressive
Cons
- Concentrated light output
nanoleaf.me
Description
This one's a little different, formed of hexagonal lighting panels (nothing unusual there) but instead of having a white or black surface when they're switched off, the Elements set has a wood finish. In practice this means they look a lot more natural and low-tech when you're not using them. In use they display a glowing range of colours from cold white to warm orange, so they're not as flexible as the more colourful panels.
Pros
- Look great on or off
- Brings added visual warmth
- Works as a Thread border router
Cons
- Limited colour range
nanoleaf.me
Description
Nine LED integrated, colour-changing, touch-sensitive square panels that are modular and easy to use. Install on any flat surface using the included mounting system. We've got a more in-depth Nanoleaf Canvas review after getting our hands on a set to test out.
Phillips Hue
One of the first smart light solutions and still one of the best, Phillips’ Hue system predates most of the others on this list. It’s been around for ages so features the largest range of bulbs and fixtures, and it also comes with the app support you’d expect from a company like Phillips.
The lights come in various sockets and fittings, so they’ll work in the majority of houses – and their functionality varies. Some bulbs range from dimmable warm white to standard white, while other more exotic bulbs, lightbars and LED strips with give you a range of colours. You only pay for the functionality you need.
Its age comes with other benefits: the Hue system is compatible with the big three assistants: Google Home, Amazon Alexa and Apple HomeKit. If you want to invest even more, a Sync Box will match your living room colours to what’s on your screen.
LIFX
One of the newer systems of the list, LIFX takes the smart lighting formula and turns it up to eleven. While, like Phillips Hue, LIFX is great for painting with light, this system is also designed to be seen.
Special light bars can be hung on the wall and formed into different shapes and then customised depending on your mood. But LIFX’s strips, beams and bulbs can also be hidden underneath beds or in alcoves for a more subtle, diffusing effect.
One more thing: LIFX bars are also polychromatic, so one bar can display a number of colours – and even pulse, cycle, or strobe through them. They’re ideal for a party or gaming room – but they are pricey, and the app takes some getting used to as well.
Google Assistant and Apple HomeKit support is available, but like Phillips Hue, you can’t get as much customisation as in the native app.
10.
LIFX Colour A60
11.
LIFX Lightstrip
Ikea smart lighting
Ikea is one of the largest, most influential interior design companies in the world, so of course it has its own range of smart lights. They’re cheap and obviously compatible with pretty much all of the Swedish giant’s furniture, but unlike some other products on this list they don’t give you the groovy colours and effects people sometimes associate with smart lights.
Think ‘making life easier,’ rather than ‘turn your living room into a nightclub,’ and you’re pretty much there. Throw in other accessories such as motion sensors, wall-mounted dimmers and remote controls, and Ikea system ticks all the key boxes.
If you’re not too bothered about exotic light effects and just want easy, dimmable lights that you can control either via voice or an app, then these are a very sensible option.
View the extensive Ikea smart lighting range here, including integrated lighting, wireless LED bulbs and LED panels.
Hive
Originally known for its smart gas and heating services, Hive now wants to illuminate your house. It’s not the most extensive system – you’ll only really find standard dimmable lights here – but the way Hive works with other gadgets such as smart motion sensors, plugs and heating thermostats means it’s still worth investigating. Well, if you’re already a Hive customer, of course.