Using Smart Light Bulbs at Home

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All opinions are mine alone.

 

Happy October! We’ve been doing lots of work at our house these days in preparation for baby cakes to get here in just 2 short months! Today I’m 32 weeks and feeling great.  To get ready, I’ve made a list of how we can get the house in shape and that includes some upgrades to our lighting, since we all know how many night time adventures there will be with a newborn, am I right?

I’ll share the list and all the fun things we’ve been doing to prepare soon. First off we started with adding dim-able and programmable lighting, since it’s an easy upgrade.  You’ve probably heard of products like smart light bulbs and how you can control electronics with your phone. I didn’t know much about them until I heard about the Wink hub, and corresponding Wink app that you use on your phone. You can turn lights on, off, program them and dim them right from your couch. And at the end of this post, you can enter to win some for yourself!

Here is how I’m suing smart light bulbs in my home.

1. Pick up a Wink hub and GE light bulbs at Home Depot. You’re there every week anyway right?  They are located in the aisle with the light bulbs. Right now there is a special going on where you can get the hub and 2 bulbs for only $50 {price may var based on where you live). Considering the cost of other bulbs and home technology, I think this is a pretty good deal. The hub alone sells for $50.

2. Plug in the Wink hub. Ours is hiding behind a cabinet in the foyer and you can’t even see it. It looks like a wireless router or the like and is light weight.

3. Put the smart light bulb in a lamp and turn on the lamp. We set this up in our front foyer, which is usually dark. I also plan to add one to the nursery and maybe in other rooms too.

4. Get the Wink app from the app store on your iPhone. The app is free and installs in seconds. Once you create an account, and connect it with Bluetooth and your wifi network, it walks you through the steps to set up your lighting. I added it to my phone’s home page so I could access the lights quickly.

5. Have fun controlling the lights from your phone, that’s it. Now I can turn this lamp on when guests are coming over and we don’t have to use the harsh overhead light. I like the mood of a lamp any day.

If you’ve never thought about getting smart light bulbs for your house, here are some reasons to consider doing so. These are based on my own opinion since I really like to find products that make home life easier, whether it be electronics or a new paint brush, or carpeting.

• They can be programmed to go on and off. Usually people do this with timers, but for some reason they don’t work in our old house and I’ve tried several types. Now I can set a light to go on in a specific room, outside, when you are pulling up to your house and even when you are not home. That is pretty convenient and will work well for us in this house.
• You can add users to your Wink app account. That way you’re not the only one who is depended on to turn on the lights. I mentioned this to Dan and now he can control the light whenever he wants to also.
• You can change the brightness of the bulbs. Usually this had to be done with certain lamps, but now you can do it right from your phone.
• You can change the color of the light. Even better! Warm up or cool down the exact light you want for a dinner party, craft session, or homework time with the kids.
• You can group light bulbs so multiple ones go on or off at a certain time. In case you want to light up the foyer and dining room all at once.
• Having a light on a timer will help the security of your home. It’s always a recommendation to have a light on even when you are not there. We plan to add one to the outside too, which will help us when we walk up to our house at night.
• They can add light to dark area. We have several spots in the hallways, staircase and front rooms that could use a light. I think this will help us avoid the extra step of going over and turning a lamp on or off once we program the light bulb to do that.
• Automated lights make home work easier. I’m adding this because I’m always carrying something in my hands at home. Laundry, items for a project, things in the kitchen and soon, a baby. I’m looking forward to knowing that the rooms will be lit up already when I move around. #GELink #CollectiveBias

Here is a video on the Wink hub to learn more about it.

 

And best of all, there is an offer to purchase the Wink hub for only $20 (it’s usually $49.99) when you purchase two bulbs.

Would you use smart light bulbs in your home?

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