Today there are many alternatives if you want to install WiFi smart bulbs in your home , with the aim of controlling all the lights in the house through our smartphone and even through voice assistants such as Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. A positive aspect of the light bulbs is their easy installation, however, changing all the lights in our house and putting these bulbs will cost us quite expensive, in addition, we will not be able to use the existing lights in many cases. Today in this article we are going to tell you how much it would cost you to fill your house with smart bulbs or lights.
Wi-Fi smart bulbs for home
Currently there are a wide variety of models of Wi-Fi LED bulbs that allow us to control them through our smartphone, however, many users would choose to control them through the Alexa or Google Assistant voice assistant. The price of these bulbs is usually around 10 euros , although we can find quite interesting offers to save some money. Depending on the lamps you have at home, you will have to make a greater or lesser outlay of money.
One of the brands that we like the most is Wiz , this brand allows us to control its light bulbs through the official app, but it also integrates with Google, Alexa and even Siri , finally, one of its strong points is that it has integration native with Home Assistant , to have centralized control of all home automation. This brand has WiFi and Bluetooth smart bulbs to install them easily and quickly, in addition, we have models for E27, G95 and E14 bulbs among other types.
It also has filament-type bulbs to give our room an old touch:
As you can see, the average price is around 10 euros per unit approximately. So we must look at how many light bulbs we must change to convert all of them into smart ones , and control them centrally, once we have all registered in the official application, we will be able to create different groups of light bulbs to turn them on or off simultaneously.
Turn your current lights into smart ones
In the event that you have lamps with many light bulbs , possibly the price of buying smart ones is out of your budget . For example, you can have two lamps in the living room that have about 6 bulbs each, so we would have a total of 12 bulbs, with a cost of about €120 to change all of them. Isn’t there something cheaper to get them to turn on and off? That is where WiFi relays come into play, with the aim of making any type of lamps with current light bulbs smart, and even the typical LED ceiling lights that do not have WiFi connectivity.
One of the best manufacturers of WiFi relays is Shelly , this brand has relays of different types oriented to a different use. The model that adapts perfectly to the control needs of the current lights in our home is the Shelly 2.5. This WiFi switch will allow us to control a total of 2 independent light circuits, therefore, by buying a single device worth about 30 euros , you will be able to control the two lamps in the living room separately (to turn one of them on or off with its corresponding 6 bulbs ), as long as they are on independent circuits (if they have individual keys to turn them on and off).
The way of installation is very simple, but it requires a little more knowledge than simply changing a light bulb. In this case, we need to open the registry box corresponding to the lights in the living room (or the corridor, kitchen or any other room that you want to control remotely), once you have opened it, you must identify which is the wiring of the lights in the living room , once done, you will have to make the connection in the device itself and also feed it with two electricity cables that go to the neutral and phase of the house (this is in the same registration box).
Thanks to this type of device, we will be able to convert any lamp or light that we have already bought into smart, and control it from our smartphone very easily, and it also incorporates integration with Alexa and Google Assistant, as well as with home automation in Home Assistant.
