There was a time when the most exciting thing about light bulbs was the choice between clear and pearl. Those days are long gone.
Light bulbs now have the ability to enhance your mood, match your colour schemes, and play music, all controlled from your smartphone, even when you’re nowhere near home.
Sure they cost a lot more (some are over $100) but they use less energy, produce less heat, and last much longer. And they are so much fun.
Take the Philips Hue range for example. Download a free app that can control up to 50 bulbs and you can program the bulbs so you can wake up to a morning sunlight hue and then wind down with a warmer, sunset light. Or take a photo of your favourite piece of home decor and direct the light to match that colour.
Several brands of lights allow you to control the lights when you’re away. Perhaps you would like the lights to turn on as you approach home, or control them remotely for extra security? It can all be done from your phone.
There is more to it than making your home look pretty. Philips Lighting conducted research to discover the real impact lighting has on people’s lives. It showed that 78% of respondents feel more positive if they live in a light and bright environment.
However, around one in five believe their homes are currently too dark or lack mood lighting to create atmosphere.
Philips quoted Belinda Williams, expert Psychologist at The Whole Being Group: Meaningful relationships, purposefulness and personal accomplishments are three key ingredients to wellbeing. As the Philips Lighting research shows, an environment that is comfortable and ambient increases our ability and confidence to engage in tasks and develop tangible relationships with others,” she said.
"Lighting benefits many aspects of our physiology, this happens as light is a fundamental ingredient in the regulation of our circadian rhythm. Equally, the perceived comfort and quality of light can impact mood.
“The ability to adjust lighting depending on demands of activities enhances a sense of control over the environment which has been demonstrated to support performance and wellbeing.”
Smart bulbs aren’t just about light. Manufacturers such as Sony, Sengled and Oxilar have incorporated speakers into their bulbs. The sound may not be equal to that of a multi-speaker sound system, but it is fine for background music, podcasts and audio books.
It also means you can do away with a bluetooth speaker and gain extra table or floor space. Others, such as the MiPow Playbulb Color will also change colour as it plays music.