Can Smart Lighting help me reduce my bills?

When buying replacement light bulbs, it can still be tempting to opt for the cheaper classic incandescent bulbs, but unfortunately these bulbs are massively inefficient.  There is no doubt that energy-efficient LED bulbs save you money on your bulbs, so don’t be put off by their higher price.

On top of these, you can now opt for smart bulbs – the next era of the smart home which can help even more with cost savings.  However, as these bulbs never turn off as they need to be on in some form to recognise voice commands, do they actually save you money?

What is a Smart Bulb – In simple terms, it is an LED bulb that has technology built in which enables it to connect to your network or WiFi which allows you to control it remotely.  This is usually done via voice command using an Alexa device or Google Assist.  Always check the specifications to ensure compatibility with your chosen device.

Do they waste money when they are off – smart bulbs are in a class of devices called vampire devices, meaning electricity is still being used when they are off.  This is because even when the bulb is off, it still needs to be connected to your WiFi or network to enable to operate with voice commands.  It is reported that each smart bulb when off uses a lot less than a penny which when you have a couple, you will hardly notice.  Multiply this by 30-40 across your home, it will make some difference.

Do Smart Bulbs save me money – yes they do but they also don’t – confusing?  They absolutely save you money compared to the traditional incandescent bulbs due to their efficiency, but when compared to replacing your old bulbs for straight forward LED bulbs, they aren’t as efficient – simply because they cost more upfront in comparison to LED bulbs and that they remain in standby so therefore constantly using energy.

Tip – those other ‘vampire’ appliances that you have around the home which are easy to overlook that they are in standby are:-

• Computers
• TV’s
• Printers
• Microwaves
• Security Systems

Don’t overlook them, if easy to turn them off rather than leave in standby, do so as this will save you energy usage.