With the change of time, many people preferred to choose smart bulbs over electric bulbs. People choose smart bulbs mainly because of the fantastic features of smart bulbs. We can further explain that smart bulbs are internet-capable LED bulbs that can easily control using a mobile device. Smart bulbs are indeed different from regular electric bulbs. Unlike typical electric bulbs, smart bulbs can wirelessly connect with phone apps. Do smart bulbs fire hazard true?
These smart bulbs are very popular because of their unique features. One of the essential features of smart bulbs is that users can dim them without installing dimmer switches. Many people also like to use smart bulbs as these smart bulbs are easily controllable. Some smart bulbs come with scheduling features.
For example, Belkin WeMO LED bulbs are some of those varieties of smart bulbs that you can control even when you are away from home.
More than that, many smart bulbs also can change their color. Flux Smart LED Light bulbs are capable of producing many colors. However, the important thing is that you can easily select any color as you wish. Likewise, changing colors is a unique feature of these smart bulbs. Because of these fantastic features, smart bulbs are not boring, and they will provide you with exciting nighttime.
It is better to know how do smart bulbs work first before discussing smart bulbs fire hazard in detail.
If you are new to using smart bulbs, you might be a bit confused about these smart bulbs. We will bring some important points to your attention about the procedure of the smart bulbs. Smart bulbs always use wireless transmissions to receive or send signals. Of course, smart bulbs are also working as regular bulbs. The only thing is users need to have a mobile device or some smartphone device to make it work.
To operate the smart bulbs wirelessly, users also need to have an automation hub. Users can use multiple methods to connect the smart bulbs into the system. For example, you can use Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or Z-Wave networks for this purpose. If one mode of connection fails, you can still use another to operate your smart bulbs. Therefore, this is a fabulous opportunity for the users. Then an automation hub can connect through an application in your mobile phone, personal computer, or even a tablet.
Other than that, people can also use voice-activated systems to operate smart light bulbs. If you already have a voice-activated system like Apple Siri, Google Home or Amazon Alexa, you can try these smart bulbs.
What Are the Benefits of Smart Bulbs?
Have you ever wondered about the reasons for people choosing smart bulbs over electric bulbs?
Well, smart bulbs have many more benefits for the users than electric bulbs.
One of the main benefits of using smart bulbs is that their price is easier on your wallet.
Smart bulbs are worth their price.
Especially if you have multiple switches in your home, smart bulbs can make your life easy. You only have to give a simple command. Or else you can easily control the lighting in your home using your smart device.
Relatively Lower Energy Usage
Lower energy used by smart bulbs to lighten the home is another advantage of these smart bulbs. Smart bulbs do not use incandescent bulbs to light up the places. It uses CFL or LED bulbs which consume less electricity than incandescent bulbs. So it is easier to save energy using smart bulbs.
Security is pretty much higher!
If you are concerned about the security of your home, a smart bulb system is a good solution for you. Smart bulbs also use motion detectors where lights can activate when a sensor detects any motions.
Therefore, it will be beneficial for security outside your home. Also, motion detectors are handy as you can easily instruct the bulbs to turn on or off in an unoccupied room. Like that way, you do not want to go to rooms to check the lights physically. That is why smart bulbs are convenient and easy to use.
Longer Life Span
If we compare smart bulbs with incandescent light bulbs, smart bulbs have a longer life span. An incandescent light bulb typically lasts between 1000-2000 hours. But compared with smart bulbs, which contain LEDs, they can last between 15,000-25,000 hours depending on the usage of the bulb. Consequently, smart bulbs would be a good option for you to lighten and decorate your house.
Smart Bulbs are Good for Your Eyes!
When focusing on the health side, some research evidence shows that smart bulbs lighting can influence your eyesight. Accordingly, using smart lighting solutions in your home or workplace can help you decrease eye strain.
Disadvantages of smart bulbs
Even though smart bulbs are considered very useful, there are some disadvantages of smart bulbs. High prices can be known as the most common reason that people choose not to use smart bulbs. When comparing incandescent bulbs, lighting your house with a bright smart bulb system can be slightly more expensive.
Other than that, to lighten up your place using smart bulbs, you will need an additional hub. Buying a hub can add some more cost to the buyers. Many smart lighting systems also come with chargers. The disadvantage of this is you might have to stay in the dark if you lose the charger. It is necessary to have smart devices to control the lighting using the smart bulb system. But sometimes, these smart devices are not compatible with the connection of your lighting system. In these situations, you will find it difficult to operate the smart bulbs using your mobile device.
Do smart bulbs overheat?
There is a need to pay much more attention to the safety side of these smart bulbs. Some people also wonder whether it is safe to leave the smart bulbs on throughout the day. Well, smart bulbs have fewer chances to overheat when compared with other lights.
Smart bulbs which use LEDs do not need heat to produce light. LED bulbs can get hot, but the heat inside the bulb gets pulled by the heat sink in the bulb’s base. Because of that, if you are using LED smart bulbs no need to worry at all. LED bulbs do not get hot enough to start a fire. However, you can check the smart bulbs from time to time to ensure that no heat damage is present.
Can smart bulbs cause fires?- Smart bulbs fire hazard
Generally, some light bulbs can be a fire hazard. One of the most common reasons for house fires due to bulbs is faulty wiring the systems. If you can safely place your smart bulbs when lighting your house, you will have minimum chances to catch fire. But it is always better to have some basic knowledge on reducing the risk of a house fire.
As we know, users can easily control smart bulbs using an app on their smart device. With the increased use of LED bulbs, there can be a potential risk of causing a fire. Most of the bulbs have some fire hazard risk. When focusing on LED bulbs, these bulbs can convert more energy to light.
As LED bulbs can get overheated, there can be a minimal risk of catching fire. However, as the energy of the LED is more directed to supply light than producing heat, the possibility of a fire occurring decreases. With these facts, you might wonder whether it is good to lighten your house using smart bulbs. It is essential to keep in your mind that smart bulbs can be a fire hazard at times. But the chances to catch fire are significantly smaller than other types of bulbs.
LED smart light bulbs have the unique feature to convert 95% of the energy into light. Therefore, it leaves only 5% of energy as heat. It can significantly reduce the risk of a fire hazard.
Yet, some factors can increase the chance to catch fire due to the smart lighting system.
For example, poor placement of smart bulbs, human errors, and faulty wiring systems can increase the fire risk of these smart bulbs. We will discuss more details on these reasons that increase the fire risk and the importance of following safety precautions.
Faulty wiring systems are one of the key reasons behind smart bulbs fire hazard!
As we mentioned earlier, faulty wiring of the smart bulbs system can cause it to catch fire easily. You can take simple actions while plugging the LED bulbs into the system to reduce the fire risk.
As the first step, it is essential to make sure that the outlets are functioning well. Most of the common reasons to catch fire due to bulbs are malfunctioning outlets. It is necessary to check these outlets, especially if you plan to fix the smart bulb system in an older house. It is good to seek support from an electrician to reduce the fire risk due to the faulty wiring system. Hiring an electrician could be a little expensive. But it can ensure you and your loved ones are safe while using the smart light systems.
Placing smart bulbs next to heat sources
One of the most common reasons to catch fire when using a smart bulb lighting system in a house is the placement of the bulbs. LED bulbs produce less heat. But placing them next to other heating sources can increase the heat levels of the bulbs as well. It can cause overheating of the bulbs and can also cause bulb-related fires. Therefore, it is safer to place the smart bulbs properly, away from the other heat sources. For example, you can set the smart bulbs away from your TV and next to other power strips. Although, make sure the smart bulbs are away from easily fire-catching materials such as clothes, lampshades, fabrics, etc.
The area that use to set the LED smart lights
Other than placing next to heat sources, the area of your home LED smart lights can also increase flammability risk. It is better not to place smart bulbs in rooms where the fresh air is significantly less. The high heat level of these rooms can heat the LED bulbs, which can be a reason to catch fire.
Using wattage greater than the system
All bulbs have their amount of electrical power expressed in watts known as ‘wattage.’ Whether it is a smart bulb or an electric bulb, it is needed to use with proper wattage while using. The use of more wattage than the number of watts that the system permits can increase fire risk. Therefore, it is best to check the bulb’s Ingress Protection (IP) ratings before use. It can help you to know the level of protection offered by the light bulbs.
Always go for high-quality smart bulbs! – Less quality smart bulbs can cause smart bulbs fire hazard!
Besides the facts mentioned above, less quality and cheaper light bulbs also raise the possibility of fire hazards. Therefore, it needs to make sure that you are using a quality smart bulb lighting system. More affordable bulbs are less likely to ensure your safety because of the fewer testing procedures previously. Additionally, you can use quality bulbs for a more extended period. Although, the users can have an increased level of control of the smart lights through the network.
High-quality LED lights from Atlas can achieve up to 22.8 years. But when it comes to cheaper bulbs, they can achieve about 5.7 years. In other words, we can say that users can buy four cheap bulbs for one quality bulb. But to ensure your and the safety of your loved ones, it is always recommended to use quality smart bulbs.
According to the findings, smart bulbs can get easily hacked by hackers. Researchers have shown that hackers can hack your smart bulbs by hacking your network system. We will discuss more details on the security risk of using these smart bulbs from another article.
